All Things Ancient Greece: An Encyclopedia of the Greek World [2 volumes] 9781440874536, 9781440874550, 9781440874567, 9781440874543, 1440874530

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All Things Ancient Greece

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All Things Ancient Greece An Encyclopedia of the Greek World

VOLUME 1: A–J

James W. Ermatinger

All Things

Copyright © 2022 by ABC-CLIO, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ermatinger, James William, 1959- author. Title: All things ancient Greece : an encyclopedia of the Greek world /   James W. Ermatinger. Description: 1st edition. | Santa Barbara, California : Greenwood, [2022] |   Series: All things | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022006600 (print) | LCCN 2022006601 (ebook) | ISBN   9781440874536 (set) | ISBN 9781440874550 (v. 1; cloth) | ISBN   9781440874567 (v. 2; cloth) | ISBN 9781440874543 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Greece—Civilization—To 146 B.C.—Encyclopedias. Classification: LCC DF16 .E55 2022 (print) | LCC DF16 (ebook) | DDC   938—dc23/eng/20220610 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022006600 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022006601 ISBN: 978-1-4408-7453-6 (set) 978-1-4408-7455-0 (vol. 1) 978-1-4408-7456-7 (vol. 2) 978-1-4408-7454-3 (ebook) 26  25  24  23 22   1  2  3  4  5 This book is also available as an eBook. Greenwood An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC ABC-CLIO, LLC 147 Castilian Drive Santa Barbara, California 93117 www.abc-clio.com This book is printed on acid-free paper Manufactured in the United States of America

To Mona Thanks for always being there and helping me

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Contents

VOLUME 1 Guide to Related Topics  xv Preface xix Introduction xxi Timeline xxv Entries A–J Achaea 1 Acropolis 4 Aegae  6 Aegina 9 Aegospotami, Battle of  12 Afterlife 14 Agora 18 Agriculture 20 Akragas 23 Alphabet 27 Amphipolis 30 Andros 32 Arcadia 34 Archidamian War  36 Architecture 40 Archon 45

viii Contents

Arginusae, Battle of  46 Argos 48 Aristotelian Philosophy  50 Army 53 Art 57 Asklepios and the Healing Arts  63 Astronomy  67 Athenian Empire  70 Athens 74 Athletes 79 Attica 82 Barbarian 85 Basileus 88 Boeotia 90 Boule 93 Bronze Age  95 Burials 99 Byzantium 103 Calendar 107 Caria 110 Carthage 112 Chaeronea, Battle of  115 Chalcidian League  117 Chios 120 Chronology 122 Cleruchy 124 Clothing 125 Cnossos 127 Coinage 131 Colonization 134 Comedy 139

Contents ix

Corcyra   142 Corinth  146 Corinthian League  149 Corinthian War  152 Cosmology 155 Cyclades 158 Cyme  163 Cyrene  166 Cyzicus  169 Defenses 173 Delian League  176 Delos 179 Delphi 181 Deme  186 Democracy 188 Dionysus 193 Dorian Invasion   197 Ecclesia 201 Economy 203 Eleusis  206 Elis 208 Ephesus 209 Ephors 213 Epidamnus 214 Epidaurus 217 Epirus 219 Etruscans 222 Euboea 225 Family  229 Festivals  231 Food  234

x Contents

Funerals  237 Furniture  241 Games 245 Gardens 247 Gela 248 Geography 250 Gerousia 255 Gymnasium 257 Helot  261 Heraclea Minoa  263 Himera  264 Homeric Epics  266 Hoplite 270 Horse Racing  272 House 275 Inscriptions and Papyri  277 Ionian League  279 Ionian Revolt  285 Istrus and Olbia  288 VOLUME 2 Guide to Related Topics  xv Entries K–Z Koine 291 Language 293 Law Courts  295 Lelantine War  299 Linear B  301 Literature 304 Macedon 309 Magna Graecia  314

Contents xi

Mantinea, Battles of  320 Marathon, Battle of  322 Marriage 325 Massalia 328 Mathematics 330 Measurements and Accounting  332 Megara  336 Megarian Decree  338 Melian Dialogue 340 Melos 343 Mercenaries 344 Merchant Ships  347 Messenia 350 Metic 352 Miletus 354 Military Ships  357 Mines of Laurium  360 Minoans  361 Monarchy  367 Music and Dance  370 Mycale, Battle of  372 Mycenae 375 Mystery Religions  379 Mytilene 381 Names 385 Navy  386 Naxos 389 Officials  391 Oligarchy 393 Olives 397 Olympia 399

xii Contents

Olympian Religion  401 Olympic Games and Festival  406 Olynthus 408 Omens 410 Ostracism 412 Paideia 415 Panathenaea  416 Panhellenic Games  418 Parthenon 421 Peace of Callias  424 Pella  426 Peloponnese 428 Peloponnesian League  430 Peloponnesian War  432 Perioeci 440 Persepolis and Other Persian Capitals  442 Persia 445 Persian Wars  451 Phalanx  456 Phocis 459 Phoenicia  461 Plataea, Battle of  464 Police  468 Polis  469 Potidaea 471 Pre-Socratic 473 Prytaneis 477 Punishment 478 Pylos 481 Religion 483 Rhodes 487

Contents xiii

Rome 490 Salamis, Battle of  493 Samos 497 Sardis and Lydia  499 Scythians 502 Sex 505 Sicilian Expedition  508 Sinope 511 Slavery 513 Social Status  517 Socratic Method  519 Sophists 521 Sparta 523 Stadium 528 Syracuse 530 Taxation 535 Temples 538 Thasos 543 Theater 545 Thebes  546 Thermopylae, Battle of  550 Thessaly 553 Tragedy  556 Tribes  561 Tribute  563 Troy  565 Tyrants  568 Weapons 573 Bibliography 577 Index 591

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Guide to Related Topics

NORTHERN GREECE Aegae Amphipolis Byzantium Chalcidian League Macedon Olynthus Pella Potidaea Thessaly CENTRAL GREECE Athens Attica Boeotia Delphi Eleusis Megara Phocis Thebes SOUTHERN GREECE Achaea Arcadia Argos

Corinth Elis Epidaurus Messenia Olympia Peloponnese Pylos Sparta

WESTERN GREECE Corcyra Epidamnus Epirus

ASIA MINOR (INCLUDING THE BLACK SEA REGION) Caria Cyzicus Ephesus Ionian League Istrus and Olbia Miletus Sardis and Lydia Sinope Troy

xvi

Guide to Related Topics

WEST OF GREECE Akragas Cyme Cyrene Gela Heraclea Minoa Himera Magna Graecia Massalia Syracuse

AEGEAN ISLANDS Aegina Andros Chios Cnossos (Crete) Cyclades Delos Euboea Melos Mytilene Naxos Rhodes Samos Thasos

NON-GREEK REGIONS Barbarian Carthage Etruscans Persepolis and Other Persian Capitals Persia Phoenicia Rome Scythians

MILITARY BATTLES Aegospotami, Battle of Arginusae, Battle of Chaeronea, Battle of Mantinea, Battles of Marathon, Battle of Mycale, Battle of Plataea, Battle of Salamis, Battle of Sicilian Expedition Thermopylae, Battle of WARS Archidamian War Corinthian War Ionian Revolt Lelantine War Peloponnesian War Persian Wars GENERAL Army Athenian Empire Corinthian League Defenses Delian League Hoplite Megarian Decree Melian Dialogue Mercenaries Military Ships Navy Peace of Callias Peloponnesian League Phalanx Weapons



Guide to Related Topics xvii

CULTURE Alphabet Architecture Aristotelian Philosophy Art Astronomy Comedy Homeric Epics Inscriptions and Papyri Festivals

Religion Temples

KOINE Language Linear B Literature Mathematics Music and Dance Olympic Games and Festivals Paideia Pre-Socratic Socratic Method Sophists Theater Tragedy

SPORTS Athletes Games Horse Racing Olympic Games and Festival Panhellenic Games Stadium

RELIGION Afterlife Asklepios and the Healing Arts Cosmology Dionysus Festivals Mystery Religions Olympian Religion Omens Panathenaea Parthenon

CITY COMPONENTS Acropolis Agora Gardens Gymnasium House Polis

ECONOMY Agriculture Coinage Food Measurements and Accounting Merchant Ships Mines of Laurium Olives Taxation Tribute GOVERNMENT Archon Basileus Boule Cleruchy Deme

xviii

Democracy Ecclesia Ephors Gerousia Law Courts Monarchy Officials Oligarchy Ostracism Police Prytaneis Punishment Tribes Tyrants SOCIETY Burials Clothing Family

Guide to Related Topics

Funerals Furniture Helot Marriage Metic Names Perioeci Sex Slavery Social Status TIME Bronze Age Calendar Chronology Colonization Dorian Invasion Minoans Mycenae

Preface

All Things Ancient Greece examines the history and culture of ancient Greece until the death of Philip II of Macedon in 336 BCE. Ancient Greece witnessed the development of individual city-states that spread from Asia Minor (including modern western Turkey) to Spain. Each city-state acted as its own nation and usually remained independent instead of forming large national states or an empire, unlike Rome. These city-states, termed poleis, promoted Greek achievements, transmitted through Alexander the Great and his successors in the east and Rome in the west, into the modern world. This work attempts to show how various city-states developed during the period from the Bronze Age to the end of the Classical Age, influencing the Greek world and beyond. Entries describe various regions with their individual poleis and the surrounding non-Greek areas that they influenced. The cultural achievements of the Greeks detailed here include literature, politics, and the arts. Associated with the growth and development of city-states were the political forms of governments seen throughout the Greek world; monarchy, along with its derivative, tyranny; republic, or oligarchy; and democracy, or populism. These forms influenced Western civilization, transmitted by the Romans who conquered Greece and then bequeathed them to their successors, the Germanic kingdoms. All Things Ancient Greece examines the intricacies of Greek society and life. Topics include geography, not only broad historical regions such as Attica, Laconia, and Boeotia, but also modern regions associated with collectives of ancient regions like the Peloponnese and Macedon. Separate cities in these regions are presented as well. Other general topics and specific entries cover elements of literature and religion, including major gods related to such attributes as medicine, the afterlife, and personal salvation. Societal customs such as burials, funerals, and festivals and games are placed within the broader society. Other topics relate to the economy, including ships, taxes and tribute, and government, with entries for specific officials, city structures, and reforms. Wars and battles may seem to dominate the content, and this is in part due to the importance that the Greeks put on military action, which they often used to settle political conflicts. Finally, there are more extraneous topics, such as Epirus, Rome, the E ­ truscans, Carthage, Persia, and the Scythians, which show how these peoples and entities were influenced by the Greeks and how they influenced the Greeks in return.

xx Preface

Although not every aspect of Greek history and culture is explored, this work attempts to provide an overview of the ancient Greek world. It offers discussions of the city-states, regions, battles, culture, and ideas that helped shape the ancient Greek world and its societies. Each entry gives general background information on the subject and then delves into more detail by listing suggested readings in both print and web versions. Many entries include sidebars that explore ancillary ideas, biographies, specific examples related to the entries, and primary documents that provide even more valuable information. In addition, All Things Ancient Greece includes a timeline and a general bibliography, which will help the reader examine these topics even more and explore the ancient Greek world and its crucial contributions that helped shape modern society and our world.

Introduction

All Things Ancient Greece explores the Greek world of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas from the Bronze Age to the death of Philip II of Macedon in 336 BCE. Ancient Greece became the foundation for Western civilization and Christianity, providing the philosophical basis for ideas that were needed to allow Western society to thrive. Through Alexander the Great and all the way to Rome, Greek philosophy, politics, literature, arts, and culture spread throughout the Mediterranean, Europe, Near East, and into the Indian subcontinent in antiquity. The political ideologies of monarchies (tyrannies), republicanism (oligarchies), and democracies (populism), as well as their degenerative (negative extreme) natures, have been explored and discussed constantly over the past two and-a-half millennia. In the area of literature, Greek epic poetry, histories, tragedies, and comedies set a standard often unequaled until William Shakespeare. The epic poetry of Homer, best known through his works the Iliad and the Odyssey, influenced Virgil and John Milton. Herodotus and Thucydides created two different styles of history, those using stories and those employing rigorous analysis both of which continue to be used and often together in one work. In the area of the arts, Greek realism developed continually over the centuries, while architecture set the standard for western buildings dominating future generations into the twenty-first century. In addition to the spread of logic and ethics via the Roman Empire, the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle also influenced early Christianity which spread through the everyday language of the east, Greek koine allowing for Christian ideology to develop. The study of ancient Greece is crucial to understanding the growth and development of the attributes of many modern societies. Modern society has received the foundations of government, culture, and philosophy from the ancient Greeks. Governments in the modern age have constantly witnessed the major forms exhibited in Greek cities, for good and ill, and the struggles in modern society often echo from ancient Greece. When modern societies have undergone changes, there are similar examples in ancient Greece. For instance, in 1918 imperial Germany suffered defeat in World War I, leading to a change in government from emperor Wilhelm (monarchy) to republicanism. This republicanism underwent civil discord, resulting in the rise of a tyrant, Adolf Hitler, who was originally popular but then became the archetypical tyrant, leading to total war and destruction. Out of this war, a dismembered Germany underwent changes that led it to democracy.

xxii Introduction

The city of Athens underwent similar changes, evolving from a monarchy to aristocracy or republicanism, then tyranny, and then, after foreign intervention, the establishment of democracy. Athenian democracy then underwent more social upheavals, including an oligarchic government and the reestablishment of democracy during and after the Peloponnesian War. There are countless other examples in both ancient and modern societies which can help. As All Things Ancient Greece shows, ancient Greece was comprised of mountains (hills) and plains (valleys), where independent city-states developed and competed with one another. These city-states, thriving in their various regions, were separated by linguistic and ethnic distinctions that created constant warfare and dissension. These competitions never allowed Greece to unite under one political leader, but they did produce cultural achievements rarely witnessed later or in other regions. In addition to these external competitions, internal struggles within city-states continually took place between groups, providing profound changes. These competitions occurred in nearly every aspect of Greek life: politics, economics, military, and the arts. For example, city-states constantly attempted to outdo each other in building the largest temple to a particular god or goddess in order to attract worshippers and enrich themselves with visitors, goods, and money. The main period under discussion is the Classical Age, or the fifth century, bookended by two great conflicts, the Persian (492–479) and Peloponnesian (432–404) wars. The first brought many of the Greek states together to defend their small cities against an overwhelming multicultural world empire. The second saw these same cities now fighting each other in a total internecine war that no one could escape. Cities attempting to remain neutral were often forced to choose: either join one of the sides or be destroyed. The period before the Persian War witnessed the rise of Greek cities, while after the Peloponnesian War, the cities ran headlong into continual squabbling, hence failing to take notice of an even greater threat—the Greek state of Macedon, which would soon break all of the Greek cities, one by one. This period that this work covers ends with the ­Macedonian victory over the Greek states, which produced a new period called the Hellenistic Age. In many ways, the history and achievements of ancient Greece were told in various tales. All Things Ancient Greece attempts to show that each city-state had its own history and story, connected with some cities while keeping others at bay. Most cities, unlike Athens, do not have coherent histories, and for their stories, we must rely on archaeological and anecdotal materials contained in literary works (often written by biased sources, so their authenticity may be somewhat suspect). While Athens dominates the story of Greece because of its extensive remains, both literary and archaeological, other cities played just as important a role, even if the Athenians did not acknowledge them. If extensive literary remains from other cities had survived, many of the current ideas concerning ancient Greece would undoubtedly be rewritten. Greece should be seen as comprising not only the traditional mainland of the Greek peninsula, but also western Turkey and southern Italy. The physical geography of Greece determined many of these interactions. In the north, extensive plains and high mountains existed, while in the south, mountains and valleys

Introduction xxiii

dominated, with limited arable land. These mountains created barriers separating cities that lay only a short distance from one another as the crow flies, but nevertheless traveling to another city often required an individual to go around a mountain rather than over it, an arduous and often unrealistic journey. Likewise, valleys and ravines could produce insurmountable barriers, preventing cross-movement, but on the other hand, they could allow quick passage when moving downstream. The sea could likewise create barriers, keeping an island safe from invaders, or it could act as a conduit for visits, trade, or war. These various barriers created a phenomenon wherein many small city-states grew up isolated. Because of limited space and diminished arable land, many of these cities were quite small, comprising only a few hundred inhabitants. Where plains existed, such as in Attica and Laconia, the large cities of Athens and Sparta grew and prospered. Most cities usually did not coalesce into larger political entities, preferring to remain independent, even if small. Since arable land was often scarce, a city’s population which often increased dramatically due to lack of war, might produce hardship and often resulted in civil discord. To alleviate overpopulation, cities often sent their citizens overseas as colonists to prevent further hardship, discord, or even death; this development allowed Greek culture to expand throughout the Mediterranean. All Things Ancient Greece examines these independent cities, placing them in the context of the larger ancient world. Opposing Greece directly during this period were large empires such as Persia and Carthage, as well as other regions such as the Etruscans and Romans interacting on the fringes of the Greek world, while barbarians or tribes in the north could constantly attack and disrupt Greece. These states influenced, and were influenced by, the Greeks in a symbiotic relationship. Geography was not the only major factor influencing the Greek cities, but it clearly created a major impact. Another force in the Greek world was the development of governments. The three major forms of government, monarchy, republicanism, and democracy, existed in the Greek world not only across the different city-states, but often internally within some cities. While monarchy, or the rule of one, was common in the Pre-Classical age, the influence of this kind of government had declined on the mainland by the Classical Age. Whether called a king (typically one who could claim descent from a great hero) or a tyrant (one who seized power outside these traditions), monarchy usually gave way to republicanism or an oligarchy, the rule of a few. An oligarchic government did not have a set number of participants and could vary across time or regions. Usually, the leading noble families, whose status came either by birth or wealth, comprised the oligarchic government. This group typically guarded entry into their cadre. Many times, the upper class that controlled the oligarchy often oppressed the lower classes, producing civil strife and creating a change of government. Such a change could be the installation of a tyrant or democracy, the rule of the people, often seen as the height of freedom by some or as the lowest form of chaos by others. In some states, there was a wealth criterion to be eligible to vote, but everywhere the individual had to be a male citizen. The constant struggle between the rule of one, of a few, and of many dominated the Greek world; but in nearly every

xxiv Introduction

case, the Greek city-states believed that their system was better than the despotism of the Persians, for even if a king or tyrant ruled a Greek city, its citizens were still protected and free (at least in their eyes) and not viewed as slaves as in Persia. The conflict, then, between the different forms of government was still secondary to the belief that the Greek citizen was free (to participate in government, at least), a concept that would set Greek government, culture, and writings apart from the despotism of the East. Because of the constant struggle between the cities, there were also conflicts between old and new, often best witnessed via the development of religion. The original religious framework in Greece revolved around nature and superstition. Although superstition, such as omens, constantly existed, there was also a general belief that the gods were humanlike (anthropomorphic), with the same foibles and attributes of humans, but greater powers. These gods often capriciously interfered in the affairs of people and cities, taking sides as they saw fit and constantly causing mischief. The Olympian gods, developed during the late Bronze Age, were in part a fusion of the native indigenous and Dorian deities. Often, for example, these forces manifested themselves through the great shrines and oracles at Delphi and Dodona. The Greeks, like other ancient societies, held that their religion existed for the benefit and salvation of society, not the individual. Mystery Religions arose, and through initiations, they allowed individuals to achieve personal salvation, manifested in the life and death involved in nature. Greek culture was a conglomeration of Mediterranean influences through time and geography. Architecture received influences from the Near East, through the Minoan Cnossus, and then was translated on the mainland through the ­Mycenaean conquerors. These forces then merged with influences of the new immigrants, the Dorians, to produce new architectural forms that ultimately were seen in the temples of the Athenian Acropolis, such as the Parthenon in the Classical Age. This phenomenon paralleled the cultural growth: philosophy, music, literature, and art. Philosophy and its ancillary subjects, such as astronomy (and astrology), math, and geography, allowed the Greeks to develop new ideas. Music and its ancillary form, dance, developed from religion and nature. These arts then became the basis of literature, especially drama, with its divisions of tragedy and comedy. Finally, fine arts, paintings, sculpture, and pottery developed and evolved from stylistic forms to lifelike creations, producing some of the great masterpieces that impacted not only the Greek world, but future generations. All Things Ancient Greece explores the Mediterranean world and how ancient Greece continually influences the modern world. As Greek society developed, especially during the Classical Age, the boundaries of intellectual thought expanded and continuously moved beyond most ideas of the Near East. Greek culture and society dominated the Mediterranean from the fifth century onward. Although not all topics in this area can be explored, even in a large encyclopedia like this, many concepts are examined to help explain the events that influenced the world.

Timeline

Note: All dates are BCE (Before Common Era). ca. ca. ca. ca. ca. ca.

3000 2200 2200–1400 2000–1300 1700 1600–1400

ca ca. ca. ca. ca. ca.

1450 1220 1200–1150 1000 1050–950 800–700

ca. ca.

776 750 735 734 730–710

ca.

728 721 715 700

ca.

688 680

Beginning of Minoan culture Cnossos palace built Crete is the leading power in the Aegean Hittites hold power in Asia Minor Destruction of Cnossos Palace Mycenae shaft graves dominate royal burials before ­tholos or beehive tombs Mycenaeans control Crete Trojan War, followed by destruction of Troy Destruction of Mycenaean centers in Greece Main Dorian invasion of Peloponnese Colonization of Asia Minor by Aeolians, Ionians, and Dorians Oligarchies (aristocracies) throughout Greece, replacing monarchies First Olympic Games (traditional foundation) Foundation of Cyme (Cumae) in Italy; Foundation of Naxos in Sicily Foundation of Corcyra and Syracuse in Sicily First Messenian War in Peloponnese; Lelantine War on Euboea Foundation of Catane, Leontini, and Megara (Hyblaean) Foundation of Sybaris Foundation of Zancle Homer and Hesiod flourished; list of archons at Athens begins Foundation of Gela Gyges becomes the king of Lydia

xxvi Timeline

ca.

670

ca.

675–655

ca.

657 650

ca.

648 630

ca. ca.

627 621 600



594 590 585 582 572 561 559

ca.

557 546



527 525



523 522 521 514 513 510 509–508 499–494 494 492

Lycurgus of Sparta creates the Spartan constitution and reforms military Pheidon of Argos dominates Peloponnese, defeats Sparta at Hysiae Cypselus becomes the tyrant of Corinth Second Messenian War; Orthagoras becomes the tyrant of Sicyon; Theagenes becomes tyrant at Megara Foundation of Himera Cylon attempts to establish a tyranny at Athens; foundation of Cyrene Periander succeeds his father, Cypselus as tyrant Dracon reforms laws in Athens Thales and Sappho are active; Athens seizes Salamis from Megara Solon establishes reforms in Athens Cleisthenes becomes the tyrant of Sicyon Death of Periander; end of tyranny in Corinth First Pythian Games Eleans win control of the Olympic Games Pisistratus establishes the first tyranny in Athens Miltiades the Elder establishes an Athenian colony in Thrace Pisistratus establishes the second tyranny in Athens Pisistratus establishes the third tyranny at Athens; Cyrus of Persia defeats Croesus and seizes Sardis Hippias and Hipparchus succeed their father, Pisistratus Pythagoras develops and teaches throughout the Greek world Death of Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos Death of Cambyses, the son of Cyrus Darius I becomes king of Persia Assassination of Hipparchus Darius’s expedition begins against Scythians Spartans expel Hippias from Athens Cleisthenes’s reforms at Athens, democracy established Ionian Revolt against Persians; Athens burns Sardis Persians defeat Ionians at Lade; Miletus destroyed Persians conquer Thrace, destroy the Persian fleet at Athos under Mardonius

Timeline xxvii



490



487



485



483



480



479 477 474



470

ca.

467 464–455 462–458 461 456 454



451 449



447 440 431



430 429 425



422 421 418 416

Athenians, led by Miltiades, beat Persians, led by Datis, at Marathon and Attica Ostracism introduced and archons selected by lot in Athens Darius dies, and his son, Xerxes, ascends to the throne of Persia Silver discovered at Laureum, Athens; used by Themistocles to create navy Xerxes invades Greece; Battles of Artemisium, Thermopylae, Salamis occur; Gelon defeats the Carthaginians at Himera, Sicily Battles of Plataea and Mycale occur Delian League established Syracuse defeats Etruscans at Cyme; Cimon of Athens takes Scyros Themistocles ostracized and flees to Persia; revolt and defeat of Naxos Cimon defeats Persians at Eurymedon Third Messenian War Ephialtes’s and Pericles’s democratic reforms at Athens Cimon ostracized Athenian expedition to Egypt; death of Aeschylus Athenian defeat in Egypt; treasury transferred from Delos to Athens Pericles’s law on Athenian citizenship passed Cimon defeats Persians at Salamis and Cyprus; death of Cimon; Athens makes peace with Persia Construction of Parthenon begun; Athens loses Boeotia Samos and Byzantium rebel against Athens Archidamian War (first phase of Peloponnesian War) begins Plague ravages Athens Death of Pericles Cleon defeats Sparta at Spacteria (Pylos) and captures 120 Spartans Brasidas wins at Amphipolis; death of Brasidas and Cleon Pease of Nicias ends Archidamian War Sparta defeats Argos at Mantinea Athens captures Melos

xxviii Timeline



415–413 413 411



410 409



408 406



405



404



403 401



399 395



387 382 379 378 378 371 370



368 364 362



360 357–355 357



355–346 347

Sicilian Expedition; Syracuse defeats Athens Decelean War (second phase of Peloponnesian War) Successive oligarchic regimes of 400 and 3,000 rulers in Athens occur Alcibiades defeats Spartans at Cyzicus Hannibal of Carthage conquers Selinus and Himera in Sicily Athenian defeat at Notium Athenian victory at Arginusae; deaths of Sophocles and Euripides Hannibal takes Akragas, peace made between Syracuse and Carthage; Athenian fleet destroyed at Aegospotami Athens surrenders to Lysander or Sparta; Decelean War ends; Thirty Tyrants established Fall of Thirty Tyrants in Athens Defeat and death of Cyrus the Younger at Cunaxa; Xenophon leads 10,000 Greek mercenaries home to Greece Trial and death of Socrates Corinthian War begins, pitting Sparta against Athens, Thebes, and Corinth Corinthian War ends; King’s Peace established Sparta seizes Thebes Thebes becomes liberated Second Delian (Athenian) League established Theban-Spartan War begins Thebes defeats Sparta at Leuctra Epaminondas invades Peloponnese for the first time; foundation of Messene Foundation of Megalopolis Death of Pelopidas of Thebes Battle of Mantinea; death of Epaminondas, end of ThebanSpartan War Philip II becomes king of Macedon Social War occurs Philip II captures Amphipolis and Pydna; conflict begins between Athens and Philip with Athens helping Philip’s enemies Third Sacred War Death of Plato

Timeline xxix



342



340



338



337



336

Aristotle becomes the tutor of Alexander the Great, the son of Philip II Athens and Thebes formally declares war on Philip II causing him to invade Boeotia Philip II defeats Athens and Thebes at Battle of Chaeronea Foundation of the Corinthian League; Philip II elected hegemon Philip II murdered; accession of Alexander the Great to the throne of Macedon

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A Achaea In historical times, there were two regions called Achaea, one in southeast Thessaly and the other in the northern Peloponnese between Elis and Sicyon. The poet Homer used the term Achaea to describe both regions. In fact, Homer used the term Achaeans to describe all of the Greeks as they sailed to Troy. From southern Thessaly came the great warrior Achilles, while King Agamemnon came from the south in the Peloponnese, a mountainous and isolated area bounded on the north by the Gulf of Corinth, to the east by Corinthia (Corinth), to the south by Arcadia, and to the west by Elis. Thessaly was home to the original Greeks, said to be the descendants of human Hellen, with the Greeks being named Hellenes. The area of Thessaly during the Mycenaean period was centered at Iolchus, which was the royal town of Jason and his followers, the Argonauts. From the west came the stories of Achilles and his followers, the Myrmidons, who went to fight Priam, the Trojan king. The second region lay in the Peloponnese. The mountains, though not high, are steep and prevent communication with the other regions. Chamber tombs indicate that this area had been inhabited during the Neolithic period. During the Archaic period (800–500), there were twelve cities that formed a loose confederation. The original inhabitants were said to be Ionians. There were no natural lines of communication to the south to Arcadia. Supposedly when the Heraclidae, or the sons of Heracles, returned to Greece during the Dorian migration and took control of Sparta, a group of Achaeans under Tisamenus moved north to the coastal strip called Aigialos and took over expelling the Ionian inhabitants. The Achaeans were said to have emigrated from Argolis after being pushed out by the Dorians in the so-called Dorian invasion after the Mycenaean period. The general fleeing of the population to less-settled areas like Achaea accounts for the legends of the Dorian invasions (which probably did not occur as given) and the general chaos after the fall of Mycenaean strongholds. It was during the period from 900–700, when the population of Greece increased, that the Achaeans sent colonists to Croton and Sybaris in southern Italy. This was part of the Magna Graecia region and was important for the interaction between the Latins of Italy and the Hellenes of Greece. The area was governed by the descendants of Tisamenus until the time of its last king, Ogyges, when the inhabitants abolished the kingship and created a democracy. The region created a federation, the Achaean League, in the fifth century and had its capital at Helike, where its twelve towns joined together under the league. Helike arose during the Bronze Age, and Homer, in his poem the Iliad, indicated that they sent troops to Troy under Agamemnon’s command. The city’s

2 Achaea

patron god was Poseidon, with its chief temple, Helikonian Poseidon, famous throughout the Classical Age. During the colonization period, Helike established colonies not only at Priene in Asia Minor, but also Sybaris in southern Italy. Helike was destroyed in 373, when an earthquake caused the city and its surrounding area to collapse into the sea with many inhabitants dying. Another important city was Patras, created by the joining of three villages during the Mycenaean period. The region was known for its rich agriculture and in the fifth century became an important port; in 419 during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, the Athenian general Alcibiades (see the sidebar “Alcibiades,” in the “Aegospotami” entry) recommended to the leaders of Patras that their port be joined to the city by the construction of a series of long walls in imitation to Athens for protection. The region also had another important harbor at Aegium, one of the twelve Achaean cities west of Helike and east of Patras. Located on the west coast of the Selinus River, Aegium’s position on a bay allowed its harbor to increase in importance, especially after Helike’s disaster. Aegium annexed its territory and supplanted Helike as the chief city of the league. It too could date its history to the Homeric era, when it sent ships to fight at Troy. The city of Aegeira, located opposite Mount Parnassus near the Gulf of Corinth and Crius River, was another member of the league. Like other cities, Aegeira had a port on the Corinthian gulf and an upper city about a mile from the harbor. The city derived its name from when it was threatened by an invasion from Sicyon and the locals put torches on goats (aiges in Greek) to make their army appear larger. When the enemy fled, the locals renamed the city Aegeira in their honor. The Achaean region established colonies in the eighth century, specifically in Sybaris, established about 720, and Croton on the southeast side of the Italian peninsula in the Gulf of Taras or Tarentum, a part of the Ionian Sea. Although they were private adventures, their home cities nevertheless supported the endeavors, and they probably were supported by other groups in Achaea. Originally, Sybaris was called Lupia. The colony was supposed to have been founded by Is of Helike, and probably occurred due to the expansion of the population in that area during the Dark Ages. Its population was probably a mixture of the new Dorians and the original Mycenaeans, and since the region did not have much arable land and few trading contacts, colonization likely seemed a better option than starvation. This colony was then augmented by other settlers from Troezen in the Argolis. They chose as their site a region on the seacoast four miles wide between two rivers, Sybaris (Coscile) and Crathis (Crati), which not only had fertile fields but had murex fisheries. Although they initially fought the indigenous population, the ­Serdaioi, they began to intermarry with them and advanced inland. According to a later ancient writer, Strabo, the colony expanded to control a wide territory and twenty-five towns. They also began to raise livestock, especially sheep, which provided Sybaris with important wool for trade. They made the bull their symbol on coins, not only due to a representation of the river god Crathis, but also their control of livestock. Sybaris used its position at the toe of the boot of Italy to establish conditions for trade both east and west. It soon became a large city, with supposedly over 100,000 people protected by its six-mile walls. It was faced with

Achaea 3

constant civil strife, however, supposedly due to the intermarriage between the Greeks and the local population. They had a large army and were in conflict with the nearby town of Croton. In 510, due to civil strife, Croton captured the city and destroyed it by diverting the River Crathis so it flooded the city. Survivors fled to their colonies, and about fifty years later, their descendants returned to establish a new colony, Thurii. Sybaris also encouraged fellow Achaeans to colonize the region just to the north on the same gulf at Metapontum, as well as to the west at Laus and Scidrus. Perhaps a more important colony of Sybaris was farther north, near the bay of Naples at Paestum. Here, the colony was established about 625, and three of the best Greek temples from that era are preserved. The earliest, from 550, was dedicated to Zeus and Hera and is now called the “Basilica”; just north of it, another temple was built in 500 in honor of Hera and Athena (although it was known as the temple of Ceres), and nearby was an underground shrine to Hera. While Achaea did not participate in many of the wars during the fifth century, it did support Sparta. Achaea in 367 joined the Theban general Epaminondas in his invasion of the Peloponnese against Sparta, but upon his departure, the oligarchs regained control of the cities and broke away from Thebes. The Achaeans then joined a coalition of states, including Sparta, Elea, and Athens, to oppose Thebes under Epaminondas, who attacked at the Battle of Mantinea in 362 in the largest battle yet fought between the Greeks. His aim was to force the Arcadian League, which had broken away from his coalition, back into the fold. Although approaching victory, Epaminondas was killed and the battle halted, with peace made. The battle and death of the general ensured that the Greek city-states remained fractured until King Philip II of Macedon formed his coalition. Achaea sent troops to Chaeronea to ally with Thebes and Athens against Philip, and in 338 it was defeated. It then joined Philip’s Corinthian League to fight Persia. Achaean League The Achaean League originally espoused neutrality in the wars against Persia and the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens. Set up as a counter to the Peloponnesian League by the Spartans, the Achaean League sought to act as a counterweight; however, when the small city of Pellene favored Sparta, the rest of the league likewise followed. The league’s cities, in addition to Helike, Patras, Aegium, and Aegeira, included Dyme, Pharae, Tritaia, Boura, Keryneia, Leontion, Pellene, and (after 272) Olenus. The cities created the league in part for defensive purposes so as to maintain their neutrality. Most likely, the league was more religious and cultural than military and political. Although in theory the league was democratic, with its assembly of citizens holding power, in reality the running of the cities and their policy rested in the hands of a smaller group controlling the council, which also ensured that their members controlled the office of general. After the Peloponnesian War, when Thebes broke Sparta’s power, democratic forces were able to exert control. This power waned, however, when the league joined other cities to defeat Thebes and the oligarchs once again rose to power. Ultimately, the league was defeated by Macedon. While they did not engage in extensive external politics, the Achaeans were known for their moderation and honesty and were often called upon to arbitrate and negotiate differences between other city-states.

4 Acropolis

The Achaeans created another Achaean League in 280 to combat Macedon. While the original Achaean League was a religious league in the Classical Age, this league, referred to as the Second Achaean League, centered on Dyme, Patrae, Pharae, and Tritaea, and ultimately encompassed the entire region. When Sicyon, Achaean’s traditional enemy, joined under Aratus, the league became a major power. Aratus would lead the league against Macedon until his death in 213. The league at first supported Rome against Macedon after 200, but in 149 it joined Macedon against Rome due to Rome’s increasing power. Rome destroyed the league in 146 during the Achaean War, resulting in Greece’s submission to Rome. See also: Argos; Corinth; Geography; Mantinea; Peloponnesian League; Thebes; Thessaly

Further Reading

Errington, R. M. 1969. Philopoemen. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Larsen, J. A. O. 1968. Greek Federal States: Their Institutions and History. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Pettegrew, D. K. 2016. The Isthmus of Corinth: Crossroads of the Mediterranean World. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Walbank, F. W. 1933. Aratos of Sicyon. Cambridge: University Press. For a synopsis of the Achaean Leagues, see “Achaea,” the Latin Library, http://www .thelatinlibrary.com/historians/notes/achaea.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Acropolis In Greek cities, the citadel was typically known as the acropolis or “High City,” and usually built on the city’s highest spot and fortified. In times of trouble, the inhabitants of the city and its surrounding area could find refuge behind the

The Acropolis of Athens. (Sven Hansche/Dreamstime.com)

Acropolis 5

acropolis’s walls. The acropolis was usually not meant to be an inhabited area, although in some cities at different times, a king or tyrant might set up his official residence there. The term is derived from the Greek akro, meaning “high” or “extreme,” and polis, meaning “city.” Typically, the acropolis became the city’s religious site where its main temples were located. Famous cities such as Athens, Thebes, Corinth, and Aegina each had a notable acropolis; one city that seems not to have had one was Sparta. The most famous acropolis is the Acropolis of Athens. In antiquity, it was also named the Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man Cecrops, the first king of Athens. Inhabited since the early Neolithic Age, the site underwent several changes determined by the political climate of the area. The site is about 500 feet above sea level in the center of Athens. The rock is flat, which allowed for different buildings over its span until the fifth century, when its final form took place. During the Bronze Age, a Mycenaean palace was situated with a large fortress wall, some 30 feet high by 2,000 feet long and between 10 and 20 feet thick. Its gate was located on the south side, and a tower on the approaching right side ensured an adequate defense since an attacker would be exposed on that side and vulnerable to counterattack. This wall would protect the citadel until the fifth century. During the Archaic period (the eighth to fifth centuries), the area grew into a religious center with an early temple to Athena, the titular goddess of Athens. During the late sixth century, the tyrant Pisistratus and his family built the Propylaea (or entry gate), another temple to Athena, and other gates. Persia attacked and captured Athens in 480, burning the temple of Athena on the Acropolis and looting the site. After Persia was beaten back, the Acropolis’s walls were rebuilt and a new building program ensued. Many of the building materials were used to make the Acropolis level, which allowed the site to be enhanced and increased the construction there during the fifth century, from 480 to 406. Debate among the Athenians raged for several years as to what to do with the Acropolis between one group wanting to preserve the ruins as a memorial and another wanting to rebuild the Acropolis. Ultimately, the group wanting to move forward and transform the Acropolis won out; and it was during the fifth century, when Athens controlled the Aegean Sea, that the Acropolis took on its final form. Under the statesman ­Pericles, the Classical Age of Athens (460–430) saw its greatest achievements. Using tribute from its allies, Athens under Pericles’s direction led a grand rebuilding of the Acropolis to include a series of temples and shrines that not only glorified the gods, especially Athena, but also Athens as a great empire. Pericles’s plans included a complete reworking of the Acropolis. The Parthenon, or Temple to Athena, was rebuilt, and the Athenian sculptor Phidias and two architects, Ictinus and Callicrates, ensured that the temple was one of the most famous throughout antiquity. The Propylaea was rebuilt out of Pentelic marble and greatly enhanced with two colonnades. To the south of the Propylaea was the small Ionic temple to Athena Nike, or Victorious Athena. On the west side of the Acropolis, where the ground was uneven, stood the Erechtheion, built between 421–406 during the height of the Peloponnesian War. The entrance faced east and had six Ionic columns and not one but two porches, one on the

6 Aegae

northwest and the other on the southwest, supported not by columns but by huge female figures called the Caryatids. This structure was actually a double temple, with the western section for the cult of King Poseidon-Erechtheus and the eastern part dedicated to Athena Polias. The region between the temple of Athena Nike and the Parthenon was the Brauroneion, or sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia. Other religious structures completed the Acropolis. It was during this great age that the artistic accomplishments on the Acropolis were achieved. For example, Polygnotus, a Greek painter, decorated many of the parts of the Propylaea. He may have been the teacher of Phidias (480–430), who was a sculptor, painter, and architect already known for his great statue of Zeus at Olympia. Polygnotus also designed the gold statue of Athena for the Parthenon, as well as a bronze statue of Athena Promachos in the area between the Propylaea and Parthenon. This statue, one of his earliest works, was dedicated to “Athena who fights in the front line.” It probably was a statue of thanksgiving for the victory over the Persians. One of the highlights for the Athenians was the Panathenaic festival instituted by Pisistratus in 566 and held during the next few centuries. The festival highlighted Athena’s preeminence not only in Athens, but also in the Aegean. The Acropolis was continually maintained after the fall of the Athenian empire, and it became more of a museum during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Today, the Acropolis stands as a remembrance to Athenian power and Greek civilization. See also: Athens; Panathenia; Parthenon

Further Reading

Hurwit, J. 1999. The Athenian Acropolis: History, Mythology, and Archaeology from the Neolithic Era to the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Papathanasopoulos, G. 1991. The Acropolis: A New Guide to the Monuments and Museum. Athens: Krene Editions. For more about the archaeological site of the Acropolis, see “Acropolis, Athens,” UNESCO: World Heritage Center, Greece, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/404 (accessed May 18, 2021). For a general review of the history of the Acropolis, see Venieri, Ioanna, “The Acropolis of Athens,” Odysseus, Ministry of Culture and Sports, 2012, http://odysseus .­culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2384 (accessed May 18, 2021).

Aegae Aegae was the capital of the later kingdom of Macedon during the Classical Age. Macedon lay in the central part of the Balkans, where natural routes converged in the fertile plain, which was formed by Haleacmon, Axius (or Vardar), and Lydias rivers. This plain was surrounded by hills and mountains and continually remained the center for the country. The Bronze Age society had contact with the Mycenaean cultures but was not controlled by them. The twelfth century saw the region overrun by a series of invasions, culminating in the Dorian invasion. These latter invaders intermingled with the indigenous elites to produce the new Macedonian royalty. The original capital was located at an indeterminate site called Lebaea.

Aegae 7

The tomb of King Philip II of Macedon. (Konstantinos Lagos/Dreamstime.com)

During the Archaic Age, in about 640, King Perdiccas I began to expand east from the Haleacmon to control the plain. This conquest allowed him to move the capital to Aegae, near Vergina, in order to better control the entire region. Located in the Pieria region, south of the Haleacmon, this region became the new administrative center of Macedon. Near the city, numerous tombs, including unusual rectangular barrel-vaults, have been discovered, which attest to the site’s importance throughout Macedonian history. Although many of the tombs had been robbed of goods in antiquity and modern times, some of the walls still contain finely decorated painted friezes of high quality. One of the tombs not disturbed in the great mound appears to have been the final resting place of a king, and in a nearby chamber is a woman, probably his queen. The king’s tomb, the Great (or King’s) Tomb, contained a gold casket with the cremated remains intact. The wall contained a set of finely detailed paintings providing some of the best remaining evidence of paintings, more finely detailed than those on pottery, the other major medium. These tombs contained further examples in a small chamber tomb under the Great Mound, showing the abduction of Persephone by Hades. In the Great Tomb, there is a hunt scene with intense landscapes detailing the presented hunters. Another tomb shows a chariot-racing theme, while still another shows a lion hunt. All of these tombs in the Great Mound probably belong to the Macedonian royal household and remained so even when the capital was moved to Pella in about 400. These tombs also contained weapons, horse trappings, and an altar on top of the mound that is reminiscent of the burial customs described in the Homeric hymns.

8 Aegae

Philip II’s Last Remains The Great Tomb probably represents the tomb of Philip II, Alexander the Great’s father. In the lion hunt painting, both father and son appear to be represented. The gold casket in the tomb has the symbol of a sunburst on its lid, a sign of Macedonian royalty. A skull discovered in the tomb shows signs of damage from an arrow that would have blinded an eye, something that had happened to Philip. This is also shown in a discovered small ivory bust, one of a set of royal figures, which shows a damaged eye as well. In addition, a set of discovered golden grieves are of different shapes and lengths indicative of a wound, again something Philip had endured after being wounded in battle. The tomb also had a helmet, shield, and iron corset with gold studs in the shape of a lion, all indicative of a royal body. This undisturbed tomb also had in an accompanying antechamber an undisturbed tomb that housed a single female. As in the main tomb, a gold wreath or crown was discovered, indicative of a royal burial. A smaller gold casket with a sunburst was also discovered, which contained a cremated body of a woman wrapped in a purple shroud (the color signifying royalty). These tombs were probably the resting place of Philip II and his last wife, a young noblewoman, Cleopatra. Philip had been assassinated by an aggrieved soldier and Cleopatra was murdered by Olympias, Philip’s ex-wife and mother of Alexander. ­Alexander would have desired to provide an ornate and sumptuous tomb for his father to ensure his own succession and loyalty of the nobles, since Philp had created a new and vigorous kingdom.

The capital of Aegae lay between the modern town of Vergina and Palatitsa. There was a small hill or acropolis, a defended point, and probably the capital’s original stronghold. The acropolis was large, with at least six building units. The town was arranged or laid out in the Hippodamian or grid system. The town’s theater where Philip II was assassinated has also been located. Lying between the acropolis and the cemetery was a palace on a plateau dating from the third century, but probably built on a previous palace. This later palace had peristyle courts, circular halls, and double-storied colonnades. The town’s agora, as in other citystates, was the center of life in the capital. Here, evidence of the commercial life of the town was located, including the discovery of potters’ workshops with molds and figures. A newly circular sanctuary to Demeter and her daughter, Persephone, also has been found. It appears that although the capital was then moved to Pella, Aegae continued to be used as a royal residence, and probably as the ceremonial center of the monarchy. The burial sites attest to its continuation as a royal cemetery. This may show that although Pella was the capital, Aegae was the royal retreat, residence, and cemetery. See also: Macedon; Pella; Polis

Further Reading

Galanakis, I. 2011. Heracles to Alexander the Great: Treasures from the Royal Capital of Macedon, a Hellenic Kingdom in the Age of Democracy. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum. Grant, D. 2019. Unearthing the Family of Alexander the Great: The Remarkable Discovery of the Royal Tombs of Macedon. Yorkshire, UK: Pen & Sword History.

Aegina 9 For a history of the archaeology of Aegae, see “Aegae: Capital of the Macedonian Kings,” World Archaeology, volume 51, January 7, 2012, https://www.world-archaeology com/features/aegae/ (accessed May 18, 2021). For a detailed examination of the tomb of Philip II, see Musgrave, J., A. J. N. W. Prag, R. Neave, R. L. Fox, and H. White. 2010. “The Occupants of Tomb II at Vergina. Why Arrhidaios and Eurydice Must be Excluded.” International Journal of Medical Sciences 7, no. 6: s1–s15. doi:10.7150/ijms.7.s1. Available from https://www .medsci.org/v07p00s1.htm (accessed May 18, 2021) and Bartsiokas Antonis, JuanLuis Arsuaga, Elena Santos, Milagros Algaba, and Asier Gómez-Olivencia. 2015. “The Lameness of King Philp II and the Royal Tomb I at Vergina, Macedonia,” PNAS, 112: 9844–9848. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4538655/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Aegina Aegina is an island in the Saronic Gulf off the coast of Athens (ca. twenty miles), which received its name from the mother of the hero Aeacus, the island’s first king. The nearly triangular island runs about six miles from north to south and ten miles from east to west, with a total of about thirty-four square miles of area with fertile plains on the northern and western sides. Mount Oros, an extinct volcano, dominates the island. The island had been inhabited since at least 2000, with evidence of Minoan pottery and a gold treasure found in 1891. The gold jewelry included earrings, diadems, a bracelet, a cup, rings, a pendant, and plaques and is attributed stylistically to Minoan heritage. The island was ideally located between the Peloponnese in the south and Attica in the north. Although Herodotus claimed that Aegina was a colony of Epidaurus, which lies on the northern tip of the Peloponnese, its archaeological evidence clearly shows an older history. It is possible that its original inhabitants came from Asia Minor during the great migration in the third millennium. During the Mycenaean period, the island was under their influence and may have escaped initial destruction by the Dorian invaders. Throughout its history, Aegina remained an oligarchy. Unlike many of the Greek states, it did not trace its origins to mythical or heroic kings. During its rise to power, the island’s leaders were its important families, and during the age of tyrants in the sixth century, Aegina escaped that phenomenon. The island did not convert to democracy, which may have also been one of the main reasons for its continual hostility with Athens. The evidence shows that Aegina never had a viable democratic party that was able to exert much influence over the policies and outcomes of the struggles with Athens. Aegina appears to have helped Eretria in its war against Chalchis over the rich plain of Lelantine, a fertile region of the island of Euboea about 700, which Eretria lost. Aegina’s contribution may have been minimal, and only offset any help by Samos, its enemy and rival, to Chalchis. During the seventh to fifth centuries, Aegina increased its power and prestige through its naval expansion. It is reported that Pheidon of Argos created a mint on Aegina producing the Aeginetic stater, the first such coin minted in Europe. The electrum stater, dating first from Aegina

10 Aegina

to about 700, and then at Corinth, was valued at three drachmas. The image for Aegina was the turtle, which was sacred to Aphrodite, the island’s chief deity. The early staters had a sea turtle, and this was replaced with a land tortoise at the end of the Peloponnesian War. The Aegina standard, as well as its competitor at ­Athens, was one of two standard currencies recognized in the Greek world. During this period, Aegina established trading ports in the Pontic region and Egypt. It is clear that its power rested on the lucrative trade that it carried on with Asia. Aegina cultivated a series of trading partners during its rise during the Archaic period. One such city was Kydonia, on the northwest coast of Crete. Herodotus indicated that the city was founded in 520 by the Samians and that they were later defeated by Aegina. Strabo then reports that Aegina colonized the area, and Kydonia even minted coins similar to Aegina. This location allowed the Aegineans the ability to move to the southern coast of the Mediterranean to Egypt, where they traded at Naucratis. Tradition had it that this city on the Canopic branch of the Nile River was founded by Ionian and Carian pirates who were forced to go there and established a trading base. Most experts, however, believe that it had been established well before the Mycenaean period, and after the ­Mycenaean collapse, contacts between the Greeks and Egypt were renewed ­during the Dark Ages. Herodotus claimed that Greek mercenaries descended from the Carian/Ionian pirates were settled at Naucratis and established a trading post or emporia. Later in the fifth century, it established a similar trading station in the Pontic for the rich grain trade. Unlike other Greek cities during this period, Aegina did not establish colonies. This may have hurt it because it could not call on its daughter cities for help in its subsequent struggles against Athens. With its position and outposts, Aegina was able to trade throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and build up a network of trading partners. During this period, the rise of Persia occurred, and Aegina was well positioned to reap the rewards. It appears to have had good relations with Persia, which allowed the island to grow economically. The rise of trade by Aegina became central to its increase in power and prestige and began its rivalry with nearby Athens. The struggle between the two city-states probably concerned control of the Saronic Gulf. The first struggle between the two city-states occurred when Athens was led by Solon in the early sixth century and limited commerce between Aegina and Attica. The origins lay with Aegina carrying off idols from Epidaurus of the goddesses Damia and Auxesia. The Athenians decided to steal the statues from Aegina, and the Aeginans set upon the Athenian attackers, killing all but one, who returned to Athens to announce what happened. Although perhaps allegorical and mythical, this probably relates to an age-old feud between Athens and Aegina. The legend of the continuing struggle is further given by Herodotus, writing about 440, who held Athens as the bulwark against Persia and all of the other citystates as inconsequential. In his writings, he downplayed Athens’s rival states when possible. According to Herodotus, in the next phase, Thebes, another rival of Athens, asked Aegina for help after its defeat in 507, and Aegina responded by attacking Athens and its territory of Attica. Athens planned to attack but was told by the Oracle at Delphi to resist. The next part in the struggle occurred in 491,

Aegina 11

when Persian representatives arrived in Greece to demand submission. Athens refused, but Aegina submitted. For Herodotus and the Athenians, this was seen as treason, but for Aegina, it made perfect sense—with its already established trade contacts with Persia and the east, the demand perhaps did not mean as much to Aegina. It may have seen that Greek cities in Asia Minor that had submitted continued to prosper, and it planned to do so as well. When Aegina submitted to P­ersia in 491, the Spartan kings Cleomenes I and Leotychides arrived and seized ten of its leading citizens as hostages, giving them to Athens. Later, the Athenians refused to give up the hostages, and Aegina seized some Athenians in retaliation. War broke out between the two, with Aegina winning a naval battle. Although the account is probably fictional, it does lay the groundwork for the rivalry. Aegina was powerful in trade and had connections with Persia; Athens and Sparta were anxious about Aegina joining Persia, especially since the Aeginan fleet would have been sizable; Sparta probably coerced Aegina into joining, or at least staying neutral with, the Greeks before the Persian invasion of 490; and Athens and Aegina struggled in the period after Marathon in 490. During the period from 490 to 480, the Athenians began to expand their navy, and in the Constitution of Athens, Themistocles, the leader of Athens, argued for the building of 200 warships to fight Aegina. The growth of Athenian warships would have been needed not only to fight against Persia, which Themistocles argued, but more immediately for keeping Aegina at bay. It is possible that Aegina did not suffer much after the Persian defeat at Marathon in 490. They could inform Persia that they were not involved since they had to give over hostages to Athens, and they even had won a victory over Athens. During the next decade, Persia began to seek revenge. The Aegina fleet continued to dominate the region and controlled the Saronic Gulf. It was probably during this period that Aegina reached the height of its naval power and apparently its continual trade partnership with Persia. The death of the Persian king Darius I, who had sent the invasion in 490, now prompted his son, Xerxes I, to not only avenge his father but take over all of Greece. In 480, the Persians once again returned to Greece. It is not clear if Aegina submitted this time to Persian demands. The Persians may have believed that the earlier submission was sufficient, while Aegina may have believed that with the death of Darius, it was no longer in force. It is clear that the Greek fleet assembled at Salamis in 480 had a large Aegina contingent. Herodotus, even though he was pro-Athens, could not ignore the contribution of Aegina, and in fact the Greeks awarded them the honor of victory. Therefore, Herodotus’s statement that Aegina supposedly contributed only 30 ships as opposed to Athens’s 180 ships is probably false. In fact, the Aegina fleet may have rivaled that of Athens. The victory appears to have been made in great part by Aegina and its fleet. After the war, Aegina was protected by Sparta and its alliance with Cimon, the new leader of Athens, who wanted friendly relations. While Cimon was in power, he pursued relations with Sparta, and Aegina did not suffer. After Cimon was ostracized by Athens in 461, however, everything changed. With the anti-Spartan party in power, Aegina was now attacked, and during the period from 461–456 during the First Peloponnesian War, it was defeated. Athens conquered the island and forced them to pay 30 Talents in tribute.

12

Aegospotami, Battle of

The Athenians would ultimately expel the Aeginetans from the island in 431 during the first year of the Peloponnesian War, and they settled on the mainland near Argos. Although continually harassed by Athenian forces, they ultimately were restored to Aegina after the Spartan victory in 404, although by that time they were insignificant. This loss of power, however, should not be seen as deriving from a naval ­victory by Athens over Aegina in the 450s. Rather, its power had begun to decline after Salamis. Although it had helped win the battle, that cost the Aeginetans their livelihood. No longer would Aegina have access to the Persian markets and trade centers. This time, they could not claim that they were coerced because they had actively fought for the Greek cause. After the war, Athens took the lead in the new Delian League, which not only liberated Greek cities in Asia Minor, but established a new maritime empire. Aegina was not part of this league, and as such, it could not partake in the benefits of the victories. Athens was effectively able to squeeze Aegina out of its trade connections, and without access to Persian markets, the naval power of Aegina began to decline. As Athens’s power increased, Aegina’s decreased, so when the two finally went to war, Athens, which had increased its own fleet, now destroyed its competitor. See also: Athens; Coinage; Euboea; Lelantine War; Persian Wars; Salamis

Further Reading

Fearn, D. 2011. Aegina: Contexts for Choral Lyric Poetry: Myth, History, and Identity in the Fifth Century BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Figueira, T. 1981. Aegina, Society and Politics. New York: Arno Press. Higgins, R. 1979. The Aegina Treasure: An Archaeological Mystery. British Museum Publications. For a discussion of the relationship between Aegina and Athens, see Rien and Hélène Emeriaud. November 29. 2018, “Aegina and Its Enmity with Athens,” Kosmos Society, https://kosmossociety.chs.harvard.edu/?p=41996 (accessed May 18, 2021).

Aegospotami, Battle of Aegospotami was a battle between the Athenian and Spartans that took place during the Peloponnesian War in 405, near the town of Lampsacus in northern Asia Minor near the Hellespont. The Athenian fleet had defeated the Spartan fleet earlier at the Battle of Arginusae, forcing the Spartans to reinstate their general, Lysander, who had earlier won a series of battles. Lysander realized that to defeat the Athenians, their supply of grain from the Black Sea region needed to be cut off. Lysander was a friend of the Persian prince Cyrus, son of King Darius II, and he used this relationship to gain money for building a new fleet. With this fleet, Lysander began a series of campaigns in the Aegean Sea, but he avoided direct battle with the Athenian fleet stationed at Samos, which protected the Hellespont. Lysander then attacked the region around Athens, including Salamis and Aegina, and landed near Athens itself, forcing the Athenian fleet to move in pursuit. Lysander then sailed past the Athenian fleet toward the Hellespont and took



Aegospotami, Battle of 13

Abydos and then Lampsacus, which controlled access to the Hellespont and the grain trade. The Athenians realized that without its grain supply, Athens would starve, so they moved their fleet of 180 warships to a protective base at nearby Sestos. The Athenians then moved their fleet away from Sestos to a beach near Lampascus; although it was not as well defended or supplied as Sestos, it was closer to the enemy. The Athenians would sail each day to Lampascus, but Lysander refused to engage in battle against the better-trained Athenian fleet. At the same time, the exiled Athenian general Alcibiades (a nephew of Pericles), who lived nearby, suggested that the Athenians return to Sestos and offered help from some local ­Thracian warlords if he received a share of the command and glory, and presumably also an end to his exile. The Athenians refused his proposals. Two accounts of the battle exist. In one, a small Athenian fleet of 30 ships sailed out to engage with the Spartans, and then the remainder would attack. Here, the small fleet was destroyed, and before the remaining Athenian fleet could sail out, the Spartans caught it unprepared on the beach and destroyed most of the ships. The second account is similar, in that the Spartans sailed across from Abydos, which was apparently their new base, and caught the Athenian fleet by surprise since the Athenians were foraging for food and had left their ships undefended. In both cases, the majority of the fleet was destroyed on the beach, and there was no naval battle. Of the 180 warships, only 9 escaped. A message was sent to Athens Alcibiades Alcibiades, son of Cleinias, was a member of the Athenian Alcmaeonid family and a nephew of Pericles. Born about 450, he rose to fame as a statesman, general, and orator, becoming an important figure in the latter part of the Peloponnesian War after the ­Athenian general Cleon’s death in 421 at Amphipolis. Socrates, his teacher, had saved his life in battles at Potidaea and Delium. In 415, he advocated for the Sicilian Expedition and was appointed one of the generals. The mutilation or defacing of the male genitalia of the Herms statue at a crossroads, occurred before the expedition left, and Alcibiades was blamed. His opponents argued that he should set sail and stand trial upon his return; suspecting a trick that would remove his supporters, Alcibiades argued that he should be allowed to defend himself before sailing. His opponents prevailed, and he set sail; soon after, he was ordered to return to stand trial. His suspicions about his enemies waiting until he was gone, with his supporters removed, proved correct; and knowing that without his supporters present, he would be found guilty, he jumped ship and fled to Sparta. He gave valuable advice to the Spartans, including the erection of a permanent fortress at Decelea, near Athens, to control its silver mines. After accused of seducing the wife of the Spartan king, Alcibiades fled to Persia and convinced the Persians to help Athens fight the Spartans. He was accepted by the Athenian democrats at Samos and led the fleet to victory from 411 to 407. He returned to Athens in 407 in victory. In 406, he was defeated at Notium and fled. Although he counseled Athens prior to the Battle of Aegospotami in order to gain a better position, it ignored his advice and were defeated. He again fled to the Persians. He was living in Asia Minor under Persian control, but in 404, the Spartan commander, Lysander, convinced the Persian governor to hand him over or kill him. ­Alcibiades attempted to flee the Persian governor’s assassins and go to the Persian king to plead his case, but the assassins killed him.

14 Afterlife

informing it of the disaster, including that over 3,000 Athenian sailors had been executed. Lysander ordered the execution of all but one of the Athenian generals (Adeimantus was spared, giving rise to his possible betrayal) and 3,000 ­Athenians; the other Greeks were spared. Unable to move its grain fleet from the Black Sea region, Athens was doomed. Lysander then began a slow journey, island by island, toward Athens, allowing many of the islands’ inhabitants to flee to Athens and thereby swelling the city’s population. Without food, and facing the prospect of a long siege with many dying of starvation, Athens surrendered. The Battle of Aegospotami effectively ended the war because without its fleet, Athens was powerless to stop the Spartans from dismembering its empire and advancing upon the city. See also: Athens; Military Ships; Navy; Peloponnesian War; Sparta

Further Reading

Brice, Lee L. 2012. Greek Warfare: From the Battle of Marathon to the Conquests of Alexander the Great. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Kagan, Donald. 2003. The Peloponnesian War. New York: Viking. Roberts, J. 2017. The Plague of War: Athens, Sparta, and the Struggle for Ancient Greece. Oxford: Oxford University Press. For a general discussion of this battle, see Rickard, J., August 31, 2011. “Battle of Aegospotami, 405 BC,” http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_aegospotami.html http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_aegospotami.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Afterlife The Greek concept of the afterlife revolved around several key components. First, there was the concept of where the dead resided. Second, there was how individuals had lived their lives on Earth. Finally, there was how the dead were remembered. All three components had different aspects that changed over time. The Greeks believed that when a person died, he or she would go to the underworld, where all the souls of the departed went unless the individual was declared a god. Called Hades after its ruler, Hades, brother of Zeus, it stood in opposition to the land of the living and brightness seen at Mount Olympus. This dreariness is seen in Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey, where Odysseus travels to the underworld and meets the spirit of Achilles, the great warrior who had died at Troy. Although Achilles was great, even in the underworld, he would wish he was nothing but a slave in the land of the living. Hades was served by several rivers that flowed from various regions. The boundary between the living and dead was the River Styx, named for the goddess Styx. The river began near Feneos, in the northern Peloponnese, and flowed into the underworld and converged with other rivers in the great marsh. The River Acheron, the river of woe, originating in northwestern Greece in Epirus, was the one across which the ferryman Charon carried the newly departed to Hades. The River Lethe, named after the spirit of forgetfulness, flowed through the cave of Hypnos, god of sleep, and the dead would drink its waters to forget their previous

Afterlife 15

lives. The River Phlegethon, said to be a stream of fire, flowed into the recesses of Tartarus, running parallel with the river Styx. The River Cocytus flowed into the River Acheron, across from the underworld, and was referred to as the “river of wailing.” In Greek mythology, the dead were carried across Acheron by Charon, and they would normally have a coin in their mouth to pay him. Some individuals were refused transport, such as those who did not have a proper burial, as portrayed in Sophocles’s Antigone, where the main character buries one of her brothers in defiance of the king, Creon, lest he not be permitted to cross over. Once at the gates of Hades, the three-headed dog Cerberus guarded its entrance. A crucial part of the afterlife Relief of the mourning Athena. (Hartemink/ was where one lived in Hades. Dreamstime) Over time, the Greeks changed their views on this point. Originally, as seen in Homer, the underworld was seemingly static. All the dead lived there regardless of their past lives among the living. Although even at this time Elysium and Tartarus, two diametrically opposed sunny and dark realms, were known to exist, they were not fully developed. By the time of Plato (The Phaedo), it was believed that the afterlife had various levels. Socrates here argued that the soul of one who was virtuous in the present enjoyed a better reward in the afterlife, with a more pleasant experience, than someone who had lived a life of pleasure and excess. During the Archaic and PreClassical periods, the Greeks had begun to develop the idea of values in the present world leading to the same experience in the afterlife. The worst place that one could be cast into was Tartarus, the deep bowels of the underworld, where the wicked were relegated for punishment after being judged unworthy. The judges for the underworld were Rhadamanthus, judge of Asia; Aeacus, judge of Europe; and Minos, judge of Greek souls. Above this region were the Asphodel Meadows, where most people went. They had not committed any great crimes, but they did not achieve anything of note either. This region was usually devoid of soldiers, who had protected their homeland and who might be distinguished and so were rewarded with Elysium, ruled over by Rhadamanthus. Here, souls did not have any work and were characterized as being righteous, which could include military glory, or moral and ethical good. One normally was either a demigod or hero,

16 Afterlife

Living a Good Life How one had lived on Earth was crucial for the afterlife, and this concept evolved over time. At first, it celebrated the life of the hero. To the Greeks, everyday individuals were not celebrated unless they had done something notable for the city. This idea typically was controlled by aristocratic families to further their political authority. The common individual was not seen as important enough to celebrate, except by one’s family, or to leave behind some kind of remembrance. To individuals seen as important to the state as well as their families, it became necessary to record their deeds. This in turn allowed a family to create stories about the person’s heroism, an important factor for society since it gave examples of the value of spending one’s life doing good deeds to benefit the city. In some cases, it was also meant to show that a terrible person offered a bad example to the city. The important aspect of this system was not whether an individual was “good” or “evil,” but rather whether the person did something “good” or “bad” for the state. It had little to do with moral character and much to do with feats of heroism in the military or political realm. In later times, the idea of a person’s moral state did emerge, and the philosophers attempted to bring in the idea of moral quality as an aspect of the person’s eventual position in the afterlife.

such as Peleus and Achilles. Once an individual soul arrived at Elysium, it could either stay there or be reborn. The Greeks even had a concept that if an individual was reborn and then, after dying two more times, it arrived at Elysium, the soul could be sent to the Isles of the Blessed, a place of eternal paradise. These islands were said to lie far to the west, in the Atlantic Ocean. Here, souls seemingly just existed, without strength or purpose. In addition, they could not influence the world of the living. As seen in goods meant to accompany the dead, the living believed that the dead merely existed, passing their time doing simple things such as playing dice. One of the crucial components in the afterlife was how the dead were remembered. If they were not remembered, their souls would wander and be forgotten and could not achieve entry into Elysium. To ensure that this would not happen, it fell upon the living to commemorate the life of the departed. This often was done through a sacrifice at a gravesite or some kind of remembrance and celebration of the dead person. Failure to do this was seen as being impious. If they were forgotten, then the dead had no hope of attaining eternal happiness. The annual celebrations may have even been more important than the actual funeral and burial. In antiquity, having family members remember to commemorate the dead was crucial. In fact, it was part of the son’s duty to offer celebrations, perhaps even leading some families without sons to adopt a son not to just keep the family name going, but also to offer remembrances to all of their dead. There were various festivals for commemorating the dead. Many of the festivals are only known by name since most ancient authors do not describe them. But one, the Genesia, is mentioned by Herodotus, and the Issedones performed this to commemorate their deceased fathers. Herodotus gives it as a matter of fact, without any details, which indicates that those who read his work would have known its importance. Later authors indicated it was on the fifth of Boeromion. The term came from gene (the

Afterlife 17

plural of genos, meaning “clan” or “family”), and was usually confined to the aristocratic families; it must have had a connection with the powerful clans, and although it lost it political and military origins, it kept its significance as a celebration of the deceased. The genos was still important for religious and social issues such as family adoption, burials, and annual celebrations of the dead. It appears that the annual celebrations varied with time, and of course one’s economic means as well. A simple celebration might be the leaving of flowers and a simple meal (such as a cake) for the dead. In addition to graveside celebrations, there were family traditions in the home. Plato, for example, indicates that the nomos governed the setting up of ancestral objects which commemorated the dead, although he did not give a description of them. The nomos was the idea that law or convention determined the order of things according to reason. These parts of the annual celebrations were probably different for each family and were handed down through the family, generation after generation. Their importance lay in treasured family objects given by the gods, the hiera patroa and the theoi patrioi, which lay in commemorating the past deeds of the family and were kept by the family to celebrate them. A final aspect of remembering the dead had to deal with the monuments or gravesite remembrances. While these may have been as simple as a mound of dirt or as expressive as a great tholos, it was important for the family to have some kind of physical place to remember their departed. The most common were the stele, where gravestones represented the departed, even if in an idealized way. Some stelai were mere slabs with a name, while others were intricate and artistic. The rise of the Mystery Religions, especially those that worshipped Demeter and Persephone, changed how many Greeks viewed the afterlife. While the traditional religions had the status of the individual determining their position in the underworld, the Mystery Religions offered others a chance to reach Elysium. By knowing the revelations of the gods through their mysteries, an individual could reach a higher level. These revelations were open only to those who went through initiation rites. While the Mysteries of Eleusis were known and celebrated by all of Athens, the select Mystery Religions, especially in the late Classical Age, were open only to a small group, typically those who could afford the initiation fees. The concept of the afterlife changed throughout Greece’s history from a bleak, undesirable place where all individuals would end up, to a place filled with happiness that was attainable to only a few. At the same time, the idea of what individuals did for their city and society was crucial. Great people (i.e., those who helped the city) were celebrated and given eternal rewards. Finally, how individual families celebrated their departed ancestors was seen as a crucial part of the afterlife. While the body may no longer be present, the memories continued. One would continue “living” in a sense, so long as their descendants continued to celebrate them. This celebration occurred not only at the gravesite, where a gravestone might be erected to indicate who the deceased was and what he or she did, but also at the home, where the family held their own celebrations and memories in private. See also: Burial; Funerals; Mystery Religion; Religion

18 Agora

Further Reading

Buxton, R. 2004. The Complete World of Greek Mythology. London: Thames & Hudson. Mirto, M., and A. Osborne. 2012. Death in the Greek World: From Homer to the Classical Age. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. For a description of art for the afterlife, see Department of Greek and Roman Art. “Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2003, https://www.metmuseum .org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Agora The agora was a central meeting place in ancient Greek cities. It was the center of town life, a public space where individuals met and engaged in commerce and discussion. In the early development of the city-state, it was the meeting place for citizenry (i.e., free male residents) to gather to hear information from the local king and later the governing board or council. At such meetings, citizens would discuss political actions, including measures for war and peace. The agora also became the central point for gatherings before proceeding on military campaigns. The agora was a broad, open area usually associated with the political and religious segment of the city. Often, the city would erect shrines and temples around the outer edges, which had the effect of confining the area. During monarchies, it was common for the leading citizens to have their homes near the agora in order to have access to the king, and later, when the monarchy was replaced by the rule of aristocracy or oligarchy, these individuals often became the towns’ leaders.

Ruins of the ancient Greek agora in Athens. (Scaliger/Dreamstime.com)

Agora 19

The political and religious functions, which also encouraged and promoted discussion, allowed the dissemination of information and views; and in citystates that were democratic, the agora became a crucial space for discussing varying political views. This political discourse gave rise to the other major function of the agora: commercialization. As a general meeting place, the agora soon developed into an area where goods could be bought and sold. Individual merchants and farmers were allowed at first to set up temporary stalls to ply their wares. Since business occurred on public lands, the buyers and sellers now looked to the city-state to ensure fairness and protection in commercial acts. This gave rise to city-states enacting laws for commercial activity, including days when business could occur, as well as standardized weights and measures. Each city would often have its own standards, which merchants were required to follow. To safeguard the public, many cities had an official, the agoramus, who was in charge of ensuring that the city’s weights and measures were accurate and were followed, and if merchants violated them, they could be fined or prevented from doing business. As the commercial life grew, cities began to view the agora as more of a central part of people’s lives. This gave rise to permanent stalls and colonnades and the emergence of other businesses, such as artisans’ workshops. Often, the workshops were built off the agora, with showrooms in the agora. Typically, the workshops employed slaves and artisans and needed space that was not appropriate for the central marketplace, which sold finished products. The most famous agora was in Athens, located northwest of the Acropolis and north of the Aeropagus hill. The Temple of Hephaestus on the Areopagus overlooked the marketplace and the Agoraios Kolonos, a nearby hill to the west known as a place where the craftsmen set up shop. Numerous buildings were in the agora. On the south side was the South Stoa I, between the Enneakrounos or fountain house, and the Heliaia, built during the Peloponnesian War, where the original supreme court of Athens met. Nearby was the strategion, a religious structure associated with the general office (strategos), which was used as a meeting place for the ten elected generals. The Prytaneion, the residence of the Prytaneis, or chief executive of the city, was also probably located here. It later became the official residence of the Archons. On the northwest corner of the agora were several religious and civic buildings. The Stoa of Zeus, a two-aisled stoa, a Greek word meaning covered walkway used for gatherings, built during the Peloponnesian War and used for both religious and civic purposes. Also located here was the Altar of the Twelve Gods, built in 522 by Pisistratus the Younger. It was a sort of pantheon to all of the principal Olympian gods who protected Athens. It was the center of Athens, and all distances were calculated from this spot. Nearby was another Stoa, the Stoa Basileios (meaning “king”) or Royal Stoa; it was built in the sixth century, where the Areopagos, or council in charge of religious affairs, met. The Temple of Aphrodite Urania, built in the early fifth century, was also here. In addition, the north side had the Stoa Poikile, or Panted Porch, which was decorated with numerous paintings and loot captured in war. The Stoa included the Battle of Oenoe, the taking of Troy, and the Battle of Marathon, which was described by Pausanius in the second

20 Agriculture

century CE. The stoa was where Zeno taught his philosophy, from which the name stoics came in the third century. Since the agora was the political center of Athens, other monuments were also celebrated, including the Monument of the Eponymous Heroes, or the ten heroes representing the ten tribes of Athens. A marble podium was used to post proposed decrees and announcements. It was near the metroon, originally a temple that was probably dedicated to Demeter, on the west side of the agora; and later the public archives of Athens, also known as the Old Bouleuterion, where the city council was housed. Ultimately, when the New Bouleuterion was built at the end of the fifth century, the Old Bouleuterion was converted to a temple to Cybele. The Bouleuterion was the council house where the Boule, or Council of 500, would assemble. The Old Bouleterion, on the west side of the agora, was nearly square, with an oblong antechamber going into a larger room with wooden benches arranged around the walls. The New Bouleterion was built just west of the old one, and although smaller, it was arranged as an amphitheater, with 12 levels of benches. The agora was the central life of Athens not only in the political sense, but in the social world as well. It allowed the Athenians the opportunity to engage not only in trade, but in politics so that their concept of democracy flourished. See also: Athens; Economy; Food; Measurements; Officials; Polis; Socratic Method; Sophists

Further Reading

Camp, J., and C. Mauzy. 2010. The Athenian Agora: Site Guide. 5th ed. Princeton, NJ: American School of Classical Studies at Athens. For a map of the agora of Athens at time of Socrates and Plato, see Suzanne, Bernard “Map of the Agora of Athens in Socrates and Plato’s Time,” 1998. “Plato and His Dialogues,” https://www.plato-dialogues.org/tools/agora.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Agriculture The ancient Greek economy revolved around agriculture. Most inhabitants in the Greek world were in some way connected to farming and the production of the food supply needed for society. With a geography of hills (mountains) and valleys (plains), the amount of arable land in Greece was not as significant as in other areas with broad plains, such as southern Russia or even Laconia in the Peloponnese. The mountains could not be used for cereal production, but they could be used for herding and the growing of viticulture. The plains were often small in area, capable of only supplying food for the local community. Most of the regions in Greece could not support massive increases in population, as seen in the age of colonization after the Dark Ages in the eighth century. During the Dark Ages, the population of Greece had expanded, requiring many cities to send out colonies since they could not adequately feed their entire population. By the Classical Age, some cities, such as Athens, were importing their food supply from outside the main Greek world. It is probable that only about a quarter of the land was suitable for farming. For some areas, like in the Peloponnese, with Laconia and Messina,

Agriculture 21

the land was more extensive than in Attica. The city of Athens, as the largest consumer of goods, could not cultivate enough supplies in their own region. The practice of agriculture resulted in technical works being written down. Most of these agricultural works were known and used, but most have been lost. The works mainly came from the Near East and Africa and were translated into Greek. Many of the practices were then translated into Latin and have come down through Roman writers. Land tenure in Attica was probably the same throughout the rest of southern Greece. It is clear from the ancient sources that the rich and powerful began to control and occupy more land, but they did not eliminate the poor farmer. This produced a situation where small farms became subservient to the large estates, resulting in inequalities not only in economic strength but also political power. Consequently, some poor farmers became enslaved through debt to the wealthy landowners. Solon decreed that individuals could not sell themselves into debt servitude; however, he did not split the land up among the poor farmers. This was different in Sparta, where Lycurgus divided the lands more equally among the Spartans. In other cities, tyrants often rose to power because of similar disaffection. They would often decrease the power of the nobles by giving land to the poor. After the fifth century, land began to become concentrated once again into the hands of a few, including in Sparta. Although they were extensive, the estates never became as large as they had been under the Romans. The major crops in Greece were wheat, barley, olives, and grapes. Local farms would produce vegetables and fruits. In the early Greek period, the diet was mainly in the form of cereals, as seen in the Odyssey. Barley was easier to cultivate than wheat and did not need as much water, but wheat was more nutritious. The soil was not heavy, as in northern Europe, so it was less rich. On the positive side, though, it did not take a heavy plow with animals to till the soil, so it was easier to plant and cultivate. Messenia was the only region in Greece where the soil was rich enough to allow two crops to be grown per year. While the land was not well suited for cereal growing, it did allow the cultivation of olive trees. Olives were known to have been grown since the early Greek period. Unlike grain cultivation, which occurred yearly, olives took years to mature and were a long-term prospect. Olives were a versatile fruit that could be eaten or pressed into oil for fuel and dipping sauces. Unlike northern Europe, with its deep and compacted soil, Greek territory was mainly covered with light soil, making plowing fairly easy. Unlike France or Germany, where teams of oxen were needed to pull the heavy plows required to create deep furrows, in Greece, the work could be done with a single ox, or even humans pulling the light plows. With the furrows relatively shallow, the yield was often not as extensive as in northern Europe. The main cereal crops were barley (probably over 70 percent of the production), and wheat, both of which were planted in October through December and then harvested in April and May. It is interesting that in the winter months in Athens, there were no religious festivals, and assembly meetings seemed to have been rare due to the importance of planting. Since the rains came in the winter months, the crops would receive adequate water; by spring and into the summer, the amount of rain decreased dramatically. The barley crop was used for making barley cakes, which were probably more common

22 Agriculture

than bread and porridge and provided most of people’s caloric intake. Wheat (emmer and durum) and hulled barley were grown in most areas, while millet could be grown in areas of greater rainfall. The winnowing, threshing, and storage of grains took place in June and July. The Greeks practiced the two-field system, in which one field was cultivated with grain, barley or wheat while the other remained fallow. In the fallow field, weeds were allowed to grow, which were then plowed under to provide nutrients for the soil. Alternatively, the other field was planted with beans and other legumes, which allowed nitrogen to be reintroduced into the soil. This rotation of crops allowed the soil to be constantly repaired and remain productive. After cultivation, the fields would be used for grazing, allowing manure to be introduced to fertilize the field and introduce more nutrients. Most farms were small, probably only amounting to about five hectares in Attica, although aristocrats would have up to twenty hectares. In Sparta, due to its communal system, smaller farms were about twenty hectares in size, while the richest citizens had estates up to fifty hectares. This system allowed a farmer to produce enough food for his family, with a small amount left over to sell. The other main foodstuffs were vines and olives. Vines were pruned in early spring, just prior to the harvesting of the grain, and were gathered in September to be pressed to make wine. Shortly after the grape harvesting and pressing, olives would be harvested and pressed into oil. For the farmer who probably had all three types of crops, the year was always full of work. Often, a field would have both olive trees and cereal production side by side, with a vineyard on a nearby hill or mountain. The profitability of the three types of crops also allowed for diversification. Cereal would produce the lowest profitability per acre, and at the same time suffered the greatest risk from adverse weather; olive trees, which took several years to mature, produced about 3 times as much profit than cereal, and vineyards produced a profit of over 20 times as much. These gains varied by region, of course, due to the type of soil and whether the terrain was flat, or on mountains and hills. Spring was the rainy season, and during this time, the fallow lands were prepared for new planting. Now the fields were planted with grain and the rains allowed the crops to flourish. In the summer, when the rains stopped, irrigation from the streams and rivers provided the water needed to continue the growing season. The grain was harvested in June and July, when the farmer cut the stalks with sickles by hand. The grain was then threshed by animals trampling it underfoot and then stored in sacks. The grain would be ground into flour and made into bread in the homes. Women or slaves worked to make the bread. After the harvesting of grain, the farmer would turn to preparing the farms for winter. In fall, during the initial downtime between the harvesting of grain and that of the vineyards and olive groves, the farmer cleaned the farm and collected wood for the winter. He would then break up the soil that had hardened over the summer, which required extensive work since the farmers did not have animals to pull the wooden plow. At the same time, the grapes were harvested. The grapes picked from the vine were put into vats, where the farmers and their families crushing them by stomping. The juice was then collected into amphorae and

Akragas 23

allowed to ferment into wine. In late autumn and early winter, the olives were ripe for being either picked by hand or knocked off the trees with a pole into a cloth below. The olives were then allowed to ferment for a few weeks to soften them before they were brought to the vats to be crushed by hand and the oil put into amphorae. After the harvesting of olives and grapes, the trees and vines were pruned. In late winter, legumes were harvested. In Greece, cattle were a symbol of power—the more cattle a family owned and possessed, the more power it had. While most farms did not have extensive herds of cattle, some had large numbers, amounting to over 200 cattle and 1,000 sheep and goats. Cattle, sheep, and goats were all capable of surviving on the mountainsides. Sheep and goats became common and were easier to raise than cattle, and they also provided meat, milk (which could be made into cheese), and hides used for clothing. In addition, pigs and chickens were commonly kept on farms. Although oxen were plow animals, they were also used for sacrifice. Donkeys and mules were used as pack and draft animals. Although restricted to the nobility, horses were used for military actions and racing. In Thessaly, the raising of horses was extensive among the aristocracy. Horses were used by the nobility for racing, especially in the Panhellenic Games. This was seen in Aristophanes’s The Clouds, where the son of the hero loves horse racing and gambling, and showing the prejudices of the nobility and the poor. Other foodstuffs were used as well. Fish was harvested, especially anchovies and tunny. Often, they were salted and preserved in amphorae. Fishing was especially prominent in the Bosporus region. Farms also would often keep bees, which provided honey for preserves, medicine, and wax. Agriculture was the mainstay of most Greeks, which allowed the various regions to flourish during good times; however, droughts occasionally occurred, which could wreak havoc. The regions often were affected in their population by the amount of arable land available. When the population exceeded the food supply, it could lead to civil war or other forms of warfare, colonization, and pestilence. See also: Economy; Food; Olives

Further Reading

Burford, A. 1993. Land and Labor in the Greek World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Isager, S., and J. Skydsgaard. 1992. Ancient Greek Agriculture: An Introduction. London: Routledge. For further discussion of food and agriculture, see by Cartwright, Mark. “Food and ­Agriculture in Ancient Greece,” World History Encyclopedia, July 25, 2016, https://www.ancient.eu/ar ticle/113/food—agriculture-in-ancient-greece /(accessed May 18, 2021).

Akragas Akragas is the Greek name of the modern city of Agrigento, in southern Sicily, which has been inhabited since the Neolithic period. Settlers from nearby Gela evicted the original indigenous population and established a colony. Legend had it

24 Akragas

The Doric temple of Concordia at Akragas, Sicily. (Alphaspirit/Dreamstime.com)

that Daedalus and his son Icarus founded Akragas after their flight from Crete, and it probably relates back to settlers originally coming to Gela (and hence ­Akragas) from there. The city was established on a plain on the southern coast of Sicily, about three miles from the sea near the junction of the rivers Akragas (now San Biagio) and Hypsas (now Drago). The site was well protected, with cliffs encircling it and a mountain ridge with two peaks to the north. The region was well watered, allowing agriculture to grow rapidly. The city came under the influence and power of the tyrant Phalaris who ruled from 570 to 554. He came to power through his position as the builder of the temple of Zeus Atabrius in the city’s citadel, which gave him access to a defensible position and allowed him to seize power after arming his workers. As typical with early tyrants, Phalaris endeared himself to the inhabitants by bettering their living conditions. He erected a great wall, nearly seven miles in circumference with nine gates, to protect the city and make it one of the most powerful in Sicily. He supplied the city with fresh water and created many of the buildings in the city proper. During his rule, he expanded Akragas’s power and territory. The people of nearby Himera also elected him commander with absolute power, allowing him to control most of the island for a short time. Phalaris, however, was also associated with a particular type of torture and execution. He had the sculptor Perillos of Athens construct for him a bronze bull, in which his victims were placed, and then a fire was lit underneath, which roasted them; their shrieks were said to sound like a bull bellowing. (Supposedly, the first victim was Perillos himself.) A century

Akragas 25

Phalaris’s Brazen bull The tyrant Phalaris was supposedly known for his cruelty, and according to ancient authors, he had a torture device created in the form of a bull. A version of the story was given by Lucian of Samosata (Oration “Phalaris”), a Greek satirist from the village of Samosata on the Euphrates River in the Roman province of Syria, who wrote during the second century CE during the Roman Empire about Phalaris giving out justice to the inventor of the device: A countryman of my own, one Perilaus, an admirable artist, but a man of evil disposition, had so far mistaken my character as to think that he could win my regard by the invention of a new form of torture; the love of torture, he thought was my ruling passion. He it was who made the bull and brought it to me. I no sooner set eyes on this beautiful and exquisite piece of workmanship, which lacked only movement and sound to complete the illusion, than I exclaimed: “Here is an offering fit for the God of Delphi: to him I must send it.” “And what will you say,” rejoined Perilaus, who stood by, “when you see the ingenious mechanism within it, and learn the purpose it is designed to serve?” He opened the back of the animal, and continued: “When you are minded to punish any one, shut him up in this receptacle, apply these pipes to the nostrils of the bull, and order a fire to be kindled beneath. The occupant will shriek and roar in unremitting agony; and his cries will come to you through the pipes as the tenderest, most pathetic, most melodious of bellowings. Your victim will be punished, and you will enjoy the music.” His words revolted me. I loathed the thought of such ingenious cruelty, and resolved to punish the artificer in kind. “If this is anything more than an empty boast, Perilaus,” I said to him, “if your art can really produce this effect, get inside yourself, and pretend to roar; and we will see whether the pipes will make such music as you describe.” He consented; and when he was inside I closed the aperture, and ordered a fire to be kindled. “Receive,” I cried, “the due reward of your wondrous art: let the music-master be the first to play.” Source: Lucian of Samosata, as per H. W. Fowler and F. G. Fowler. 1905. The Works of Lucian of Samosata in Four Volumes. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, Volume 2, pp. 206–207.

later, the poet Pindar, in his Pythian 1 ode, indelibly associated the name of the bull and the torture with the name of the tyrant behind them. A brazen bull was taken from Akragas by the Carthaginians to Carthage (probably in 406) and returned to them by Rome either in 202 or 146 (probably the latter). In 488, Phaleris was defeated by Telemachus. Supposedly, Phaleris himself was executed in the same manner as his victims, being put into the bronze bull and roasted. During the next half century, the city continued to prosper and grow, perhaps reaching a population of nearly 100,000. In 488, Theron, a descendant of Telemachus, who had just defeated Phalaris, became the tyrant of Akragas. He drove out the tyrant Terillus at Himera in a war between Akragas and the cities of Selinunte and Himera, and then apparently set up his own son Thrasydaeus as the leader in Himera. Terillus appealed to Carthage for help, and an army under Hamilcar landed and engaged Theron and Gelon, the tyrant of Syracuse; the two warriors defeated the Carthaginian army at Himera in 480. Reportedly, Thrasydaeus’s rule became harsh, and the citizens of Himera asked Syracuse for help in pushing him out—which unfortunately led to Theron massacring the inhabitants and resettling

26 Akragas

the city. Theron created a power-sharing bloc with Selinunte and Syracuse, allowing the three cities to effectively dominate Sicily. Theron was known as a patron of the arts, and like many Greek tyrants, was able to find the balance between focusing on the arts and public building and the ruthlessness needed to maintain power. In 473, Theron died and was succeeded by his son Thrasydaeus, who became unpopular for his violent, cruel, and arbitrary actions and was defeated by Hiero of Syracuse and expelled by the people of Akragas. He fled to Megara Greece, where he was publicly executed. After his expulsion, the city became a democracy, but under the influence of Syracuse. During the war between Athens and Syracuse in 413, the city of Akragas remained neutral, allowing it to remain safe. In 409, the Carthaginians under Hamilcar’s grandson, Hannibal, destroyed Himera. They then moved against Akragas and for seven months besieged the city before capturing and destroying it in 406. The Carthaginians carted off untold loot from the city, including the famed bronze bull. Akragas never regained its former status. Timoleon from Corinth attempted to reestablish the city when he became master of Sicily in the 340s, but it failed to return to its former glory. The site contains some of the best-preserved architectural remains in the Greek world, commonly referred to as the Valley of the Temples, although in reality they sit on a ridge. The site contains seven temples in the Doric style. This style has a simple circular capital and was the earliest of the three forms, the others being Ionic and Corinthian. The columns could be smooth or fluted; they did not have a base and stood on the flat platform, or stylobate. The columns were the squattest of the three orders, with their height only four to eight times their diameter. The style was developed in the western part of Greece. The seven temples at Akragas display these attributes. The Temple of Concordia, measuring 120 by 50 feet, is well preserved and built during the 430s on a solid base, which allowed it to have a flat platform four steps above the rocky terrain. The porch had six columns on the short sides and thirteen on each long side. The temple derives its name from a nearby inscription to Concordia, even though it does not appear to have any connection with the temple. It is preserved due to its being converted to a Christian church in the fourth to fifth centuries CE. It was known as the Parthenon of the Magna Graecia. The Temple of Juno (or, more properly, Hera Lacinia) was built about 450 and is in the Archaic Doric style. Its remains are not well preserved, but there is enough of it to show that it had a design of six columns (hexastyle) on the short side and thirteen on each long side (the same as the Temple of Concordia). It measured about 120 by 60 feet and was about 45 feet high. It too was damaged in the Carthaginian attack in 406. The best-preserved part, the northern side, has a complete frieze. The Temple of Heracles derives its name from Cicero, who indicated that there was a temple to the hero in this region. It is the earliest temple and dates to either the late sixth century (based on its style with a rise of three steps, with six columns on the short side and fifteen on the long side) or to the early fifth century, as a temple to Athena built by the tyrant Theron. It had a long interior cella. It

Alphabet 27

measured 225 by 90 feet and was about 50 feet high. Nine of the columns were reerected in 1922. The temple was destroyed by an earthquake. The Temple to Olympian Zeus, or Olympeion, was the largest Doric temple constructed in antiquity. It was never completed and lies in ruins. Built to commemorate the victory at Himera over the Carthaginians, it was supposed to have been built by captured Carthaginians. It had a height of 60 feet and an area of about 350 by 110 feet. The columns did not stand freestyle; rather, they were connected to the large curtain wall to provide support. The thick columns were arranged 7 by 14. There were 38 caryatid figures at the top, presented as if holding up the roof. The temple is now in ruins and was never completed when the city was sacked in 406. The Temple to Castor and Pollux also in ruins, and the reconstructions of the late nineteenth century were from other temples. Dating from the mid-fifth century, it probably measured about 100 by 50 feet and again has an arrangement of 6 by 13 columns. It too was destroyed in 406. It had a circular altar in front of the temples for sacrificing. The Temple of Asclepius is a small structure from the late fifth century and measured only 70 by 35 feet. It rises on three steps. The Temple of Hephaestus measured 130 by 65 feet, rising on four steps. It was another hexastyle temple, with 13 columns, and probably dates from 430. The temples at Akragas point to a vibrant life during their heyday. See also: Carthage; Colonization; Gela; Heraclea Minoa; Syracuse

Further Reading

Griffo, P., and L. Matt. 1968. Gela: The Ancient Greeks in Sicily. Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society. Messineo, G., and E. Borgia. 2005. Ancient Sicily: Monuments Past & Present. Rome: Vision. Robinson, E. W. 1997. The First Democracies: Early Popular Government Outside ­Athens. Stuttgart: F. Steiner. Sojc, Natascha. 2017. Akragas: Current Issues in the Archaeology of a Sicilian Polis. Leiden, Netherlands: Leiden University Press. For a discussion of the archaeological site, see Archaeological Area of Agrigento, UNESCO World Heritage Convention, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/831/ (accessed April 22, 2022).

Alphabet The Mycenaean writing system, or Linear B, was used until the thirteenth century, when the Dorian invasion destroyed the indigenous system of power and ushered in a new civilization that would become the forerunners of the classical Greeks. The next system of writing would occur in the late ninth or early eighth century, when the Greek alphabet emerged. No Greek text has survived from this intermediary period, the so-called Dark Ages, which is devoid of all types of writing. The, new system of writing, the Greek alphabet, is different from the earlier Linear B writing, which used syllabic signs. The new script used by the Greeks

28 Alphabet

Origins of the Greek Alphabet The invention of the Greek alphabet derived from the Phoenicians. This passage from Herodotus (Histories 5.58–5.59) shows that the Greeks copied the Phoenician alphabet and later altered it to their needs. In addition, Herodotus discusses the development of parchment from vellum (skins of animals) to paper. However, he does not mention the Mycenaean script, Linear B, and probably did not know of it, which indicates that the Greeks had been ignorant of writing before then. Now the Phoenicians who came with Cadmus, and to whom the Gephyraei belonged, introduced into Greece upon their arrival a great variety of arts, among the rest that of writing, whereof the Greeks until then had, as I think, been ignorant. And originally they shaped their letters exactly like all the other Phoenicians, but afterwards, in course of time, they changed by degrees their language, and together with it the form likewise of their characters. Now the Greeks who dwelt about those parts at that time were chiefly the Ionians. The Phoenician letters were accordingly adopted by them, but with some variation in the shape of a few, and so they arrived at the present use, still calling the letters Phoenician, as justice required, after the name of those who were the first to introduce them into Greece. Paper rolls also were called from of old “parchments” by the Ionians, because formerly when paper was scarce they used, instead, the skins of sheep and goats—on which material many of the barbarians are even now wont to write. I myself saw Cadmeian characters engraved upon some tripods in the temple of Apollo Ismenias in Boeotian Thebes, most of them shaped like the Ionian. Source: Herodotus. Translated by George Rawlinson and Edward Henry Blakeney. 1912. The History of Herodotus. London: J. M. Dent. Volume 2, p. 25.

was adopted from an earlier Phoenician alphabet, which was akin to the Hebrew and Arabic languages. The origin of the Phoenician alphabet and its system of writing was derived from Egyptian hieroglyphics. Unlike the Egyptian system, the Phoenician alphabet allowed for simplicity due to its limited number of symbols, as opposed to the numerous systems of pictographs and their complexity. Unlike Egyptian hieroglyphics and cuneiform, which developed in the Near East and required long periods of training and education to use correctly, the Phoenician alphabet was fairly simple to learn. This alphabet is similar to those found in Canaanite and Aramaic sources, and it used only consonants and no vowels. The alphabet had twenty-two consonants, and vowel sounds were implied. The language was written and read right to left. The Phoenicians on the coastline of the Levant spread the alphabet outside the Canaanite interior through their commercial trade system. Their trade system allowed for the spread of the alphabet throughout the Mediterranean to North Africa and Carthage, where it continued to be used until the second century BCE; to the Italian peninsula, where it developed into Old Italic; on Asia Minor, with the Anatolian script; and the Greek world. Phoenician inscriptions have been found throughout the Mediterranean region. Its simplicity further helped to bring about changes in the social structures of the regions that came into contact with it. Since it could be learned by common

Alphabet 29

inhabitants, the alphabet and subsequent language facilitated its spread and further adoption. No longer were language and writing confined to a small group of inhabitants who held power (i.e., the priests and royal scribes), but to a wider group. The alphabet and development of language aided in the development of new systems of power and government. During the Dark Ages, the Greek adoption of the Phoenician alphabet began to take hold, which allowed the creation of the Greek written script. The Greeks developed a different phonology, though; while adopting the Phoenician alphabet, they developed it in their own style and form, including the addition of vowels. This development was crucial since it allowed an even more complex system of writing and language. Clearly, the development of the Greek alphabet and language was designed by a Greek who knew Phoenician. It appears that the initial adoption and development of the Greek alphabet occurred on the Greek mainland and was then exported east to Phrygia, and also west with Euboean traders to the western Mediterranean through their colonies. This was then transferred to the Etruscans, who now developed their own language. This in turn was then developed into the Latin alphabet. The arrival of the Phoenician alphabet probably first came to Euboea, where the earliest-known inscription has the new Greek alphabet by 750. During this period, the Greek alphabet now developed into Attic, Ionian, Euboean, and Cretan, among others. With the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians voted to adopt a standardized Ionic alphabet developed by the archon Eucleides, called the Euclidean alphabet, which included the addition of the letters eta and omega. This ended the development of the Greek alphabet and allowed the systemization of writing all vowels. The following gives the final names of the Greek letters in uppercase and ­lowercase, the English equivalents, and pronunciations (if different from English): Greek Name Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Epsilon Zeta Eta Theta Iota Kappa Lambda Mu Nu Xi Omicron

Capital Ancient Greek

Lower Case Greek

Modern English

Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ

α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ

A B G D E Z E Th I K L M N X

Ο

ο

O

Pronunciation A, as in father

E, as in end Ay, as in hay Th, as in thick

X, as in box O, as in off

30 Amphipolis Greek Name

Capital Ancient Greek

Lower Case Greek

Modern English

Pi Rho Sigma

Π Ρ Σ

π ρ σ, ς

P R, Rh S

Tau Upsilon Phi Chi

Τ Υ Φ Χ

τ υ φ χ

T U Ph ch

Psi Omega

Ψ

ψ

Ps

Ω

ω

O

Pronunciation

S, as in say; if at the end of a word, written as ς U, as in put Ch, as in the Scottish loch, but softer O, as in grow

With the adoption and evolution of the Phoenician alphabet into the Greek alphabet, the system of writing allowed the development of literature to be written from oral poems, beginning with the Homeric Hymns. The adoption of the alphabet also made it possible for Greek cities to document their accomplishments. See also: Koine; Language; Linear B; Phoenicia

Further Reading

Bernal, Martin. 1990. Cadmean Letters: The Transmission of the Alphabet to the Aegean and Further West Before 1400 BC. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. Jeffery, L. H. 1961. The Local Scripts of Archaic Greece: A Study of the Origin of the Greek Alphabet and Its Development from the Eighth to the Fifth Centuries B.C. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. For a discussion of the Greek language, see Ager, Simon, “Greek,” Omniglot, https:// omniglot.com/writing/greek.htm (accessed May 18, 2021); and Howitt, Caitlin, “Greek Alphabet,” “Archaeologies of the Greek Past” course, Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology, Brown University, https://www.brown.edu/Departments /Joukowsky_Institute/courses/greekpast/4739.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Amphipolis The Athenian colony established in 437–436 at Amphipolis in Macedonia under Pericles sought to control the region and gain access to Thracian resources, especially timber for their ships and gold and silver. The colony would also allow the Athenians to harbor the grain fleet from the Black Sea. Pericles led a naval expedition to the Black Sea at this time to impose Athenian influence. The city of Amphipolis was strategic in the region. Athens had attempted to establish a colony in the region earlier in 465 but met with disaster. Now, in 437, Hagnon, son of Nicias (who later died in the Sicilian Expedition), founded the city on the former site. The name Amphipolis means “around the city,” and there are several theories from antiquity about the reason. Thucydides, who lived during the period, stated that it

Amphipolis 31

was due to the Strymon River flowing around the city; the Suda, a late lexicon, has the name stemming from the population living “around the city”; and Julius Pollux, during the Roman Empire, said that it was because the city was located on an isthmus. Given that Thucydides was contemporary and that his family was from the region, his version should be accepted. Amphipolis grew in importance, and because of its strategic position, it became the natural theater of war between Athens and Sparta. The city was not a cleruchy (a type of Athenian colony where citizens retained Athenian citizenship), but rather an independent ally of Athens. However, it was not a member of the Delian League. Brasidas and his Spartan army took the city in 424 rather easily. Aware that the historian Thucydides was approaching to retake the region, Brasidas indicated that anyone who wished to leave would be granted safe passage, while anyone wishing to remain and pledge loyalty to him could keep their property, Amphipolis surrendered, which was a serious blow to the Athenians. Brasidas made overtures to the Thracians who supported him, as well as the Macedonians under Perdiccas II. Thucydides failed to take Amphipolis and could only take Eion, a city that Athens had first captured from the Persians at the start of the Delian League. It lay three miles from Amphipolis at its mouth into the Aegean. As punishment for his failure to take the city, Thucydides was exiled, not returning to Athens until after the war in 404. This ended his direct involvement, and also historians’ understanding of the war from Athenian contemporary sources. While he downplayed his fault, saying he could not have arrived in time, his actions were at best negligent, and at worst disastrous for the Athenians. His exile resulted in his version of the war being acquired from outside Athens, depriving him of crucial information. During 423, the two sides maintained an armistice, which Athens used to refortify the region to prevent further disaffection. The armistice was to last one year, and upon its expiration, the Athenians prepared to act. In 422, another relief force was sent by Athens under the demagogue Cleon, who had boasted in the Assembly that he could take Amphipolis. The Athenians took him up on his claim, and he arrived to fight Brasidas. Arriving with thirty ships, 1,200 hoplites, and 300 cavalry troops as well as allies, Cleon took some nearby positions and planned to attack. Brasidas had 2,000 hoplites and 300 cavalry and troops from Amphipolis. Brasidas believed he could not win and withdrew to Amphipolis, with Cleon in pursuit. Cleon then realized that he could not besiege the city successfully, so he retreated in a disorganized fashion. Brasidas now attacked and achieved a complete victory. Brasidas, however, was mortally wounded, and Cleon was killed when attacked by the Spartan general Clearidas. Thucydides reported seven Spartans killed, as opposed to 600 Athenians. Brasidas learned of the victory before his death. Brasidas was praised for his valor and buried at Amphipolis. Neither Sparta nor Athens wanted to continue the war, since the first ten years of fighting had taken their toll. The next year, 421, the Peace of Nicias was forged, and for the time being, the war ended. Although it would eventually be broken, the Peace provided both sides a chance to recuperate.

32 Andros

After the war, Amphipolis remained independent and was an important city in attempting to stop Macedon, under Philip II, from controlling Thrace. In 357, Philip II conquered Amphipolis, depriving Athens and its allies of a major, wealthy city and a bulwark in the region against Macedon. Although the city was not immediately part of the Macedonian kingdom, Philip made sure that it was allied to him. Macedonian coinage, weights, and standards replaced the Amphipolis standards, and the city effectively became Macedonian. It was used by Alexander the Great as his jumping-off point for his conquest of Persia. See also: Archidamian War; Athens; Chalcidian League; Macedon; Peloponnesian War; Sparta; Thessaly

Further Reading

Broneer, Oscar. 1941. The Lion Monument at Amphipolis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard ­University Press. Butera, C. Jacob, and Matthew A. Sears. 2019. Battles and Battlefields of Ancient Greece: A Guide to Their History, Topography and Archaeology. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Military. Kagan, Donald. 2009. Thucydides: The Reinvention of History. New York: Viking.

Andros The island of Andros is located in the northern Cyclades archipelago, roughly seven miles off the coast of Euboea and about two miles north of Tinos. A mountainous island twenty-five miles long by ten miles wide, it was known for its wellwatered valleys. The earliest settlers, dating to the fifth millennium, introduced the cultivation of barley and wheat and promoted fishing, especially for tunny, around the island. The island has edifices and fortifications that date from the preCycladic culture, and it was clearly an important sea-trading center due to its location close to the mainland. Ionian invaders during the fifteenth century from the mainland supplanted the original inhabitants. Its population increased so that in the tenth century, Andros sent out colonists to Sagora and Ipsili. The island’s population during the eighth century had grown sufficiently that when famine struck, it was forced to send colonists to the Chalcidice region in northern Greece in 655. During the Lelantine War between Chalchis and Eretria on Euboea, Eretria seized Andros and a few other islands, only to lose them after their defeat to Chalcis. Andros and Chalcis rivaled each other in the Chalcidice, although they cofounded Stageira, the birthplace of Aristotle. The Parians arbitrated the disagreement in the region, along with Samos and Erythrai. Early Iron Age remains at Zagora, a small village, show houses of the Megaron style, featuring a single room with a porch. Later construction added on to these simple houses to create larger structures. The site may have been a colony of ­Eretria and was probably a stopping-off point for merchants. The village was abandoned in the late eighth century to merge with the city of Andros nearby. The abandonment was by choice, not due to a war. It may have suffered from an earthquake, or perhaps the rise of Andros nearby made it natural for the inhabitants to move. The merger may have also been due to the war on Euboea making trade

Andros 33

difficult. Its capital lay at Palaeopolis, on the western side of the island, and was probably founded during the Mycenaean period. During the Archaic period, before the fifth century, the city was prosperous and took the lead for the entire island. It had good harbors, and the agora was located on the eastern side of the city near the port and is now submerged. The city contained a temple to the god Dionysus. There is no evidence of city walls and fortifications until the fourth century. The city and island prospered in the period before the pre-Persian Wars and sent out and established colonies in the Chalcidice in Thrace, most notably Stagira and Acanthus. In mythology, the island was named for Andros, the son of Anios, king of Delos, who in turn was the son of the god Apollo and Rios, the granddaughter of Dionysus. This connection with Dionysus can be seen on coins and his favored worship on the island. The Cycladic culture during the Bronze Age (3000–1000) represents the Greek culture during the times of the Minoan and Mycenaean periods on the islands in the Aegean. A hallmark of the culture is sculptural remains of women in a flat design in white marble. It was probably during this period that interaction with various civilizations took place, including in Asia Minor to promote Andros especially as a stopping point between the Greek mainland and Asia. In the Archaic Age, the island became a regular commercial port for Phoenicians and Ionians. It had rich copper mines, which made it an important trading center. Its wealth is evidenced by its extensive coinage. With Xerxes’s invasion in 480, the island was conquered by the Persians. Andros may in fact have voluntarily joined the Persians, which commonly occurred when Persia invaded smaller city-states, since it sent ships for Xerxes and attacked the Athenian fleet. The Athenians were not able to conquer the island at first during the Persian Wars, although afterward they joined either the Athenian alliance or the Delian League. Its relationship with Athens was not positive, and even early in the Delian League’s history in 477, it was forced to receive a cleruchy, an Athenian garrison. During the Peloponnesian War, Andros joined with Athens in its expedition to Sicily in 415–413. The disaster in Sicily may have led to the island declaring its freedom in 411 or 410 and withdrawing from the Delian League. The Athenians besieged the island in 408 but failed to retake control. During the fourth century, Andros joined the Second Delian League with Athens against Sparta and took part in the Battle of Chaeronea against Philip of Macedon. After his victory, Philip controlled the region, even going so far as to garrison the island. See also: Athenian Empire; Athens; Cyclades; Delian League

Further Reading

Cambitoglou, Alexander, Sarah Peirce, Olwen Segal, and John Papadopoulos. 1981. Guide to the Finds from the Excavations of the Geometric Town at Zagora. ­Athens: Archaeological Museum of Andros. Hall, Jonathan M. 2014. A History of the Archaic Greek World, ca. 1200–479 BCE. 2nd ed. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. For the history of the Cyclades, see Lloyd, Matthew, “A Tale of Three Cities, Zagora, Hypsele, and Andros,” Ancient World Magazine, April 4, 2018, https://www

34 Arcadia .ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/tale-three-cities-zagora-hypsele-andros/ (accessed May 18, 2021). For more on Cycladic art, see the Department of Greek and Roman Art, “Early Cycladic Art and Culture,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004), https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ecyc/hd_ ecyc.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Arcadia Arcadia, a mountainous and landlocked region of the Peloponnese, traces its history to the myth of Arcas, the son of Zeus and the nymph Callisto; Zeus’s wife, Hera, sought to punish Callisto by turning her into a bear. Zeus hid the child Arcas in a remote region that eventually became known as Arcadia. His maternal grandfather, Lycaon, raised him, although he later placed him upon a pyre as a sacrifice to the gods, Zeus freed Arcas and turned Lycaon into a wolf. Arcas became king, and while hunting one day, he came across his mother, who was in the form of a bear, and prepared to shoot her. He was prevented from doing so by Zeus, who then turned him into a bear as well, and both were put into the stars as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. The tale probably references the natural ruggedness of the region and its pastoral setting. Arcadia was bounded in the north by Achaea, by the mountain ridges from Erymanthos to Cyllene in the east, and then by Corinth in the northeast and ­A rgolis in the east, from Cyllene to Mount Oligyrtus and Parthenius on the ­A rgolis border. To the south lay Laconia, with the border being the Parnon and Taygetos ranges, while in the southwest lay Messenia from Mount Nomia to Mount Elaeum, where it then ran into Elis on the west, bordered by the Erymanthos and Diagon river valleys. The region had a few plains, such as at Tegea and Megalopolis. The population retained the language it had used prior to the Dorian invasion (ca. 1000) due to its mountainous and uninviting geography. During the Classical Age, this language difference with the other regions of mainland Greece was evident. Since it was the same type of dialect as spoken on Cyprus, it points to the idea that the Arcadian language was spoken throughout the Peloponnese before the Dorian invasion. The region was fiercely independent, and during the seventh century, it defended itself against Spartan aggression. Eastern Arcadia contained a broad plain overlooking the sea where the cities in the north would create a synoecism (melding together) to form the city of Mantinea, while those in the south did the same to create Tegea. They were typically allied with Sparta against its neighbor Argos. During the Persian Wars, they joined with Sparta and fought at Thermopylae and Plataea. Several important cities during this time included Tegea, which guarded the entrance into Laconia, near the Argive border, and Mantinea, in the northeast near Corinth. Mantinea had become a unified city in 470, and Sparta allowed the union of the villages into an enlarged city due to their neutrality during the war with the Arcadian League and Tegea. During the competition between Sparta and Athens, Mantinea first fought with Sparta and then attempted to gain its independence by joining with Argos and Athens. The Spartans decided to

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Orestes’s Bones One story had the Spartans asking the Oracle at Delphi if they would be victorious against Tegea, with the Oracle indicating that they would be. The Spartans marched out and brought fetters to bind the defeated Tegeatae, but the Tegeatae successfully fought the Spartans, even defeating them in several battles and binding the invading Spartans instead with their own fetters. After several battles (all ending in defeat), the Spartans again consulted the Oracle and was told that they would win if they brought back the bones of Orestes. Although at first they could not find his bones, a Spartan during a truce with Tegea discovered that a large coffin lay within a certain courtyard, and the Spartans successfully dug up the bones. After that, the Spartans defeated Tegea and forced them into their alliance. The whole story of Orestes’s bones probably lies in Sparta, as Dorians, trying to appropriate non-Dorian races into their alliance. By possessing Orestes’s bones, the Spartans could claim that they were not actually Dorian but Achaean, a reference to the original Mycenaean inhabitants.

divert a river to flood Mantinea, forcing the Mantineans out of their strong defensive position into the field below. Here, at the First Battle of Mantinea in 418, the Argive army was defeated and forced to rejoin the Spartans. The other chief city, Tegea, was a powerful city between Mantinea in the north and Sparta in the south. It sent ships to Troy fighting for Agamemnon in struggles against Sparta during the early classical period. The difference between Tegea and Messenia was that the territory of Tegea was not incorporated into Spartan territory; it was allowed to remain free but dependent upon Sparta. In return, Tegea would contribute forces to the Spartan army and agreed not to harbor any Messenians who might flee Sparta. The change in Spartan policy toward the rest of the Peloponnese by not trying to annex the regions, but rather create a series of alliances, began with Tegea and continued throughout the sixth century. The Tegeatae fought at Thermopylae with 500 men and at Plataea with 3,000. Argos, Sparta’s perennial foe, successfully raised an alliance of Arcadian cities in about 475 to combat Sparta. Argos and Tegea entered into an alliance against Sparta. At the Battle of Tegea in 473, the combined forces of the alliance faced the hoplites of Sparta outside the walls of Tegea. Although the combined army was defeated, the Spartans could not take Tegea. At this point, all the members of Arcadia that were the traditional enemies of Tegea (except for Mantinea) joined in an alliance against Sparta called the Arcadian League. As the Spartan army marched north into Arcadia, Argos, which had instigated the whole alliance, did not support the Arcadians. The Spartans won a great victory at Dipaea in 471 and forced Tegea back into the alliance. They remained loyal, including during the Peloponnesian War. After the Peloponnesian War, the region of Arcadia witnessed a revival of independence and resistance to Sparta. The cities realized that the only way to break away from their dominant southern neighbor was through aligning themselves together. To accomplish this task, the independent villages and cities realized that they had to form some kind of federal league, giving up some freedom and independence in exchange for strength in numbers. Mantinea became the chief city of

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the newly created league. Previously, Mantinea had been threatened with flooding by the Spartans, who changed the course of the River Ophis. To prevent this from happening again, the Mantineans decided to dig a new riverbed to split the river so that two loops surrounded the city like a moat for protection. They then proceeded to build an elaborate city wall of stone with ten gates, each purposely built so that the attackers had their right side exposed to the defenders on the walls and towers. This new Pan-Arcadian League, with Mantinea in the lead but Tegea absent, decided to build a new city so that none of the previous cities could claim preeminence as Athens and Thebes had. The decision was helped by the defeat of Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 by Thebes, so they created the new city of Megalopolis in the western large plain of central Arcadia. The River Helisson flowed through the middle. It had a double wall that was five and a half miles long, with towers. The nearby cities joined together to create Megalopolis. The city lay near the northwestern edge of Laconia and would provide a strong counterforce to Sparta. Like Mantinea, Megalopolis was similar in fortifications and designs to present a large base against the Spartans. Tegea underwent a revolution in 370, and the pro-Spartan party was thrown out and joined the Arcadian League. Although the league had been bolstered by Thebes in 370, new rifts formed that threatened to break it. The city of Elis, outside the league, had claimed control over one of the cities in the league, Triphylia. Sparta now endorsed the claim of Elis over its neighbor, a break from the past. The Arcadians in 365 attacked Elis and were rebuffed, but they succeeded the following year. The problems of the league were the age-old divisions between Mantinea and Tegea, with the former rejoining Sparta. Thebes attacked again in 362 with Megalopolis, and Tegea, but this time Sparta, Athens, Elis, and some of the Arcadian towns led by Mantinea opposed them. The Thebans under their leader Epaminondas were victorious at Mantinea, but he was killed while pursuing the defeated foes, and the status quo remained. Arcadia would briefly oppose Macedon in 335 by sending forces to the Isthmus in case Alexander the Great attacked. But once Macedon destroyed Thebes, the Arcadians abandoned the Isthmus and abandoned any future plans of fighting. See also: Mantinea; Peloponnese; Sparta; Thebes

Further Reading

Nielsen, Thomas Heine, and James Roy. 1999. Defining Ancient Arkadia: Symposium, April 1–4, 1998. Copenhagen: Munksgaard. For a history of Arcadia, see Bernard, Suzanne, 1998, “Cities and Locations of Ancient Greece: Arcadia,” in Plato and His Dialogues, https://www.plato-dialogues.org /tools/loc/arcadia.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Archidamian War Named after King Archidamus II of Sparta, the Archidamian War was waged between Sparta and Athens from 431 to 421 during the early part of the Peloponnesian War. Based mainly on land, the Spartan forces were nearly invincible. The



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Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta, controlled most of the Peloponnese in southern Greece. The Athenian Empire, nearly exclusively naval, controlled the Aegean and could summon resources from all over the eastern Mediterranean. With its recent treaty and alliance with Corcyra, Athens now had the largest and third-most-powerful navy under its control. After Athens attacked Potidaea, a Corinthian colony under the control of Athens, Sparta could no longer hold back due to threats of Corinth breaking with its league. The real reason for the war was Sparta’s belief that Athens was bent on taking over the entire Greek world. This could be seen as having some validity since Athens had converted the Delian League, a defensive group originally formed to stop and push back the Persians after the Persian Wars in 479, into an offensive empire against the rest of the Greek world. Sparta proclaimed that it had decided to liberate the Greek world from Athenian domination. It issued an ultimatum that Athens revoke a decree against Megara prohibiting the sale of Megarian goods in Athens. Athens ignored the demand, and war began in 431. The Spartan strategy centered on trying to knock out Athens quickly in a decisive land battle. The war started when Thebes attacked Plataea in the hope of clearing the route to and from the Peloponnese. If Thebes had been successful, the Peloponnesian League would have had the ability to take over the north. When the Thebans failed, with Plataea being a continual bone of contention, Athens was in an ideal position. The Spartans sent delegates to Persia, but they were rebuffed when the Athenians captured the delegation. The Spartans attacked Attica by land in an attempt to force a land battle in the first year of the war. Athens under Pericles decided to abandon its territory to the ravaging Spartan army, moving its rural population into the area between the great long walls from the Piraeus harbor to Athens. Pericles decided to send the fleet round the Peloponnese, attacking with hit-and-run tactics. While it was a wise move in the sense that Athens did not have to engage in a land battle, it was also costly because Athens would see its crops ruined and countryside ravaged. The Spartans now marched to Plataea and besieged the city, which finally fell in 427. Worse yet, the plague hit Athens during the second year of the war, killing at least a third of the population. During the third year, Sparta did not attack, while the plague, although less damaging, took Pericles’s life. With the loss of Pericles, the demagogues, led by Cleon, now embarked on more costly adventures while forcing their Athenian subjects to pay more. Cleon became the leader of the new war party, wishing to increase his prestige and attempt to fill the shoes of Pericles. Thinking that Athens would fall due to the ravages by Archidamus and the fall of Plataea, the island of Lesbos revolted. Athens spent three years, until 427, to take back the island, but it now went on the offensive. The Athenians under their new leaders began an expansive campaign. They launched their new aggressive powers against the Western Peloponnese, even sending a small expeditionary force to Sicily. The Athenians attacked islands near the Peloponnese such as Minoa, which commanded the port of Megara. With the new tribute from the Delian League, the Athenians were able to extend their power. The culmination of this policy was the attack on Pylos, on the western coast of the Peloponnese, leading to the capture in 425 of nearly 300 Spartans, of which 120 were Spartiates, full landholding citizens. This development led

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Pericles Pericles (c. 495–429), the son of Xanthippus, was a member of the Alcmaeonid family through his mother rising to become Athens’s greatest leader during the Classical or Golden Age. He held the office of general or strategos for most of his political career, from 461 until his death. Rising to prominence in the 460s, he successfully had his political opponent, Cimon, ostracized in 461. Pericles was now free to pursue his policy of full democracy and expansionism. Unlike Cimon, who proposed coexistence with Sparta, Pericles now pursued a confrontation with the land power, attempting to create both a sea empire (i.e., the Delian League) and a land empire. During this time, he aided the Egyptians in their rebellion in 454, and with the fleet’s loss, he moved the treasure from Delos to Athens, creating the Athenian Empire. He won some success on the Greek mainland, but Thebes defeated Athens in 447, ending the Athenian attempt to create a land empire to join its sea empire. In domestic policy, Pericles successfully curtailed the power of the Areopagus, expanded payment for jurors, and limited citizenship to those with both parents as citizens. He successfully kept the empire together when subject cities rebelled due to high taxes. When the Peloponnesian War broke out, Pericles, believing that it was inevitable, argued that the Athenians should not engage Sparta directly, but rather wear it down through hit-and-run tactics. Sparta invaded and ravaged Attica two years in a row, but Pericles avoided conflict, arousing the anger of the Athenians, who stripped him of his generalship and fined him. In the second year of the war, 430, a plague broke out, ravaging the city, and in 429, the city populace forgave Pericles and elected him general again. In this year, the plague returned, claiming his two sons and then Pericles himself. The loss of Pericles doomed Athens to defeat.

to Archidamus abandoning his yearly ravages on Attica for fear of the Spartan captives being executed. The Athenians also built a fortress at Pylos allowing nearby helots (state-owned serfs who worked the land and could not be sold) to flee Sparta, hurting their economy and prestige. The fall of Plataea, however, allowed the Spartans to march north to Thessaly, Macedon, and the Chalcidice Peninsula, where the Spartan commander Brasidas convinced the city of Amphipolis, an Athenian colony, to rebel. Using the city as a base, Brasidas was able to raise multiple rebellions in the north. At the same time, the Thebans defeated an Athenian force at Delium. Both events caused the two sides to agree to an armistice for a year, and upon the end of the peace in 422, Brasidas and the Athenian general Cleon renewed the war near Amphipolis, where both were killed in battle, with the Spartans victorious. The result led to the Peace of Nicias, named after the Athenian general and statesman, which attempted to undue ten years of war. The Peace of Nicias brought an end to the Archidamian War, which Athens could portray as a victory. Not only had it weathered the war relatively unscathed, it even increased its influence in the West with its treaty with Corcyra. Although it lost Amphipolis in the north, Athens was able to maintain its empire and even increase its tribute. This treaty between Athens and Sparta was supposed to last fifty years and hence was probably known as the Fifty-Year Treaty. In March 421, both sides agreed that they wanted the war to end, and Sparta asked to have its prisoners returned.



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The peace was negotiated by Nicias of Athens and King Pleistoanax of Sparta. Pleistoanax was the son of Pausanias, the victor at Plataea in 479 over the Persians, who had been disgraced after being accused by the Ephors of conspiring with Xerxes after the battle and then died soon afterward. Pleistoanax reigned as king from 458 to 409, and about 445, he was exiled for taking bribes from Pericles to withdraw from the battlefield from Eleusis in 446. In 428, during the war, he was allowed to return, supposedly by order of the Delphic Oracle, but more likely so that the Spartans could keep an eye on Pleistoanax during the war. He was accused by many in Sparta of being responsible for some of the disasters, and so he would have been eager for the war to end. Nicias was an Athenian statesman from a wealthy family involved in the Laurium silver mines. He had begun his rise to power during the rule of Pericles, and when he died, Nicias became the leader of the conservative or aristocratic party. He was in opposition to Cleon, the leader of the people’s or democratic party. Nicias was able to use his wealth to win support from the people since his oratory skills were not as good as those of Cleon. His wealth was used to put on plays, build temples, and outfit ships, all actions that favored the lower classes so that he could win their votes. He served as a general in 427 and 425, where he engaged in some small operations but avoided the potentially dangerous campaigns, which could have led to disaster. He was not a coward, and when he fought, he was seen as courageous, but he was cautious, not desiring to fight if possible. Peace treaties normally occurred when one side defeated another, forcing a complete political solution, such as when Sparta defeated Argos, forcing it to remain neutral. However, this was not the case in this instance. The peace was meant to return everything to where it had been ten years earlier. All would give up what they had conquered, except that Athens would retain Nisaea and Thebes, Sparta’s ally, would keep Plataea. This would mean that Sparta would give up Amphipolis, while the Athenians would return the prisoners it had captured at Sphacteria near Pylos. Delphi would maintain its independence, and the temples once again were open to all. Athens could continue to collect tribute but could not force anyone to join the league. In addition, Athens would come to Sparta’s aid if the helots rebelled. Sparta could not secure the agreement of Corinth, its chief ally, the Boeotians, Elis, and Megara, which all were important for help in the isthmus region. While Athens honored the return of the Spartan captives, Sparta was able to negate the transfer of Amphipolis to Athens, which was the Athenians’ chief goal. Athens, therefore, did not return Pylos. As such, the treaty was already broken before it was even in place. Sparta had betrayed its allies, since Corinth and Megara did not regain their possessions. Corinth now openly attempted to undermine the league by diplomatic action. The first real test was when the Spartan allies Elis and Mantinea, along with Sparta’s perennial enemy Argos, began to break away. King Agis of Sparta could not break up the plan, and when the allies received aid from Athens under Alcibiades, they planned to seize Tegea from Sparta. The Battle of Mantinea in 418 became the largest one in the Peloponnesian War. Sparta, with the Lacedaemonians and their neighboring ally, Tegea, faced Mantinea, Athens, Argos, and

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Arcadia, and successfully defeated them. As a result, Sparta avenged its humiliation at Pylos. Also, Athens was put in a difficult situation when it supported the allies in opposition to Sparta, its nominal ally. Finally, the allies were broken and forced to return to the alliance, while Argos now became neutral. The Peace of Nicias lasted from 421 to 415, but the battle at Mantinea effectively ended the peace treaty, although it was only negated in 415 with the Sicilian Expedition. The Archidamian War resulted in both sides experiencing extensive damage and fatigue. When Brasidas and Cleon were killed, the two most adventurous and strongest advocates of continuing the war were gone. The Peace of Nicias resulted in both sides having a temporary truce, allowing them a chance to recover. The peace did not succeed in ending the Delian League (Athenian Empire) or freeing it from Athenian control. The treaty did not end the real hostilities, though, since Alcibiades of Athens desired more power and now proposed a new plan—the conquest of Sicily. See also: Amphipolis; Athens; Peloponnesian War; Potidaea; Sparta

Further Reading

Cawkwell, George. 1997. Thucydides and the Peloponnesian War. London: Routledge. Kagan, Donald. 1987. The Archidamian War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Kagan, Donald. 1991. The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition. Ithaca, NY: ­Cornell University Press.

Architecture The monument architecture seen in Greece has its origins in the architecture of Egypt and the Near East. These structures and the influence of monument design arrived in Greece via Crete and the Minoans. Through Minoan contact with Egypt and the Near East, the architectural types and designs arrived in Crete and can be seen in the monumental palaces, such as the one at Cnossos. Here, the modular complex without defensive walls, on a hill facing the sea, had a large, open palace courtyard surrounded by royal apartments, state rooms, and throne rooms, which are mainly colonnaded as in Egyptian architecture, offering entrance through numerous points. Unlike in Egypt and the Near East, many of the monumental architecture in Crete was also civic in nature. Although most of the Greek architectural remains are temples, usually classified as religious rather than civic, they were part of an elaborate complex of religious, civic, and open spaces. Parts of Doric temple architecture. (Sir Banister The difference between the Fletcher, A History of Architecture on the Comparalight, airy, and open structures tive Method for Students, Craftsmen, and Amateurs. of Crete contrast with the London: B. T. Batsford, Ltd., 1924)

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massive stone construction of Mycenae. The open courtyard of Cnossos gave way to the megaron, with its monumental form of a homestead with a central hearth and access through a single entrance or doorway. The approach is axial from the medium-sized courtyard through a columned porch and vestibule, which differed from the open-sided style at Cnossos. Here, the flow is linear and symmetrical. This difference from Cretan architecture also can be seen in the creation of the great beehive or vaulted tombs of the fifteenth to fourteenth centuries, best seen at Mycenae in the Treasury of Atreus, with its entrance cut into a side of low hill and faced with massive stone walls leading to a doorway with a relieving triangle on top to shift the weight from the door lintel to the sides of the tomb to keep from breaking the lintel due to pressure, and a soaring vault, an architectural type not seen again until the Roman Empire 1,500 years later. When the Dorians swept away the Myceneans, this engineering feat was lost to future Greeks. Greek architecture had its basic form in the megaron, a rectangular structure with a porch along the façade before the entrance, and a pitched gable roof. It had existed for centuries, found at Troy about 2700 and in Mycenaean cities and palaces. The Mycenean megaron was centered on four columns set in a square shape to support the open space in the center. By the end of the Dark Ages, the general appearance of Greek architecture had begun to take shape. The megaron then became larger and was made of stone instead of wood. At the same time, the roof was extended, often around all four sides, to create a deeper porch so that the colonnade extended around the entire structure. These in turn allowed for more developments for temples producing the straight-lined Doric order, the less massive and more graceful Ionic order of Asia Minor, or the merging of the two orders creating the Corinthian order in the fifth century, probably at Corinth. The siting of buildings was also important in the development of civic architecture. It was important for a visitor to see at least two sides of a building or temple in order to comprehend its size and function. This included making the columns at the ends thicker than in the central part of the colonnade to highlight regularity so that the light would produce the illusion of all the columns being regular. This also featured columns that taper at the top and swell in the middle or entasis to create the illusion that the columns were in fact the same size. This allowed the structure to appear homogeneous and straight. Greek architecture can be seen in a variety of forms and styles. The Greeks were known for their precision and high-quality creations. Their forms of perspective and use of formulas became standard throughout the Mediterranean. The main development was in the post and lintel, with vertical posts supporting a horizontal lintel. The fundamental component of Greek architecture was the column, which during the Archaic and Classical periods were represented by the Doric and Ionic capitals. In the late Classical and into the Hellenistic ages, the Corinthian capital became common. Solid stone drums rested on top of each other to form a vertical column. The columns were wider at the bottom and then became narrower at the top, but they had an outward or convex curve (bulge) or entasis, which gave the appearance to correct the optical illusion that the columns became

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Ancient Greek orders. (From The New York Public Library, https://digitalcollections. nypl.org)

concave. At the top was the capital, which was convex in the Doric order while scrolling out in the Ionic and concave in the Corinthian. Doric columns had no base, and the columns were fluted. The capitals had two parts, a flat slab called an abacus that was wider than the column to support the beams, and a plain echinus or molding, a cushion-like slab. The entablature, a horizontal continuous lintel, rested on top of the capital and was composed of three parts: the architrave, frieze, and cornice. The architrave was usually plain, with the exception of a small band that has pegs attached to them called guttae. The frieze has stone slabs of alternating series of triglyphs, a tablet with three vertical bars or groves, and metopes, square spaces between the triglyphs, often decorated with relief sculptures. At either end of the building was the pediment, often decorated with sculptures. Like the triglyphs and metopes, the pediment had reliefs, which later had sculptures in the round. These triangular pediments were enclosed by gables. Ionic columns had bases to support them that had more vertical flutes than the Doric columns. The Ionic capital has two volutes (also called scrolls), spiral scrolllike ornaments that rested on a band of palm leaf ornaments. The abacus became narrow, and the entablature was now just three horizontal bands, and the echinus was fluted. What became more important in the Ionic order was the frieze, which became a sculptural relief running around the whole building, a continuous scene that usually told a story. The third order, the Corinthian, had capitals with bell-shaped echinus and were richly decorated with acanthus leaves, spirals, and palmettes. In addition, on each corner was a pair of volutes so that from any side, the same image was

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presented. From the remains, the Doric order was more prevalent on the mainland and southern Italy. The Ionic order was found more on the Aegean islands and in Asia Minor. The temple became the most common type of architectural form in the Greek world, with many examples found, especially in what is now southern Italy and Sicily. These temples were usually oblong, with a series of columns around the building, and they held cult statues meant to protect the cities. The original temples were most likely constructed of wood, and later some were made of stone as well. Although most of the largest temples in antiquity were probably 150 feet long, some, like the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, were 300 feet long. The general structure of the Doric order, especially temples, featured the stepped platform, which had the stylobate, or the floor of the temple on which the columns were placed, on top. The columns with grooves or flutings supported the capital, which had the echinus or molding around the abacus, which supported the entablature. The first part of the entablature was the architrave, or a horizontal beam supported by the columns. On top of this was a small ribbon or taenia of molding. It was on this that the frieze sat, made up of triglyphs and metopes. The triglyphs, three vertical bands, had under them the regula, a fillet, and gutta, which probably were used to repel water so that it would run off. In between the triglyphs was the frieze or metope. On top of this was the cornice, a horizontal decorative molding that crowned the entablature and encased the entablature. Below the cornice was the mutules, square blocks aligned with the triglyphs, which harkened to earlier times, when the structure was made of wood, and this is where the wooden rafters were held in place by pegs. Above the cornice was a pediment supporting the roof, and on its edge was the sima, an upturned edge that formed a gutter that fed into downspouts. Above the door and window was the tympanum, a semicircular sculpture. On the far edge and corner of the pediment was the acroterion, an ornamental ornament that could be a statue or simple acanthus. Across the span of the structure was the roof, which was often supported in the interior of the structure with more columns. Originally, the structures would be made of thatch, but with the rise of stone, ceramic tiles were used. The Ionic order had a large base on which the slender, fluted columns rose. On its capital, two opposed volutes are in the echinus. Unlike the plain echinus of the Doric order, the Ionic order has an egg-and-dart motif. Typically, the height was nine times its diameter at the base. Whereas the Doric order column had twenty flutes, the Ionic order column had twenty-four. During the Classical period beginning in 447, the construction of the great building in Athens was under the direction of Pheidias and the general planning of Pericles. The Classical Age gave rise to the theoretical concept of beauty, and it was seen in the areas of architecture with the development of proportion and order. In addition to temples, other Greek architectural structures include stadiums, theaters, and propylaea (gates). The stadium, oblong and oval, encouraged the development of athleticism. Located on the outskirts of cities, these structures were used during the great festivals. The stadium often had a bank of seats rising along the long, straight sides. The long sides would be open at one end, while the other end had a curve.

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Another Greek architectural structure was the theater, a half-circle cut into the side of a hill with seats rising upward, with a stage at the bottom. Theaters were built throughout the Greek world and allowed the union of civic and religious functions since many of the theatrical productions took place during religious festivals. Still another Greek structure was the propylaea or gate. The great Propylaea on the Acropolis is one of the best examples of aligning religious and civic functions. The Propylaea followed the Ionic order in order to support a higher roof than Doric columns could attain. The Propylaea provided a monumental entrance to the Acropolis on its western side. As a gate, it would also act as security. Since the entrance was not only for people but also for sacrificial animals, a sloping roadway in addition to steps was created. To accomplish this, the architect had the entrance on a lower level on the east and an exit on a higher level on the east. To ensure a graceful design, the roadway became the central axis with the west entrance, with two other entrances with steps for pedestrians. The Propylaea also included two porticoes, as well as a picture gallery. It was built just prior to the Peloponnesian War (437–432), and its construction was interrupted by the war (it lacks two planned audience halls and was never completed). Some other Greek unusual buildings include the Tholoi, or circular structures. Their design and purpose are not always known. It is possible that they derived from the early circular huts or to covers of a sacred hearth. In Athens, the Tiolos in the Agora was the official dining room for the chairmen of the Boule. The Tholoi at Epidaurus and Delphi are extremely refined buildings. The Tholos at Epidaurus was built by Polykleitos the Younger in the early fourth century, who also constructed the theater at Epidaurus. The Tholos had two colonnades, an outer Doric and an inner Corinthian. The Tholos at Delphi is often associated with the priestess of the Oracle. Another unusual architectural structure was the tomb of Mausolus of Halicarnassus, which was 150 feet high with a pyramidal roof. The evolution of Greek architecture allowed the further development of civic and religious life. The religious structures soon spread throughout the Greek world and became prominent in the Classical Age, when the union of civic and religious functions can best be seen at Athens. The new structures promoted the glory of Athens and its empire. See also: Acropolis; Art; House; Parthenon; Stadium; Temples; Theater

Further Reading

Emerson, Mary. 2018. Greek Sanctuaries and Temple Architecture: An Introduction. 2nd ed. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Stierlin, Henri, and Anne Stierlin. 1997. Greece: From Mycenae to the Parthenon. Cologne, Germany: Taschen. Taylor, William. 1971. Greek Architecture. New York: John Day. For an examination of the history of Greek Architectures, see Becker, Jeffrey A., “Introduction to Greek Architecture,” Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org /humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/beginners-guide-greece/a /introduction-to-greek-architecture (accessed May 18, 2021).

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Archon Archon was the term for a ruler, leader, or magistrate in Greek cities. This person could generally be seen as a leader and was often seen in societies, such as burial or social clubs, as well. Originally, the king was the supreme leader of political, military, and religious matters, but when kings were driven out or replaced by aristocrats, his power was often split up among various officials, often called and led by archons. Information on the Athenian government and magistrates, including the archons, is best known from the so-called Constitution of the Athenians, written in the fourth century and often attributed to Aristotle, where the king’s power was transferred to the archons. Originally, the archons in Athens were elected every ten years, with this later changed to every year. The first three archons were called Eponymous, Polemarch (or war-archon), and the third Basileus (or king-archon), and the later six remained judicial officers or thesmothetai (law-setters), for a total of nine archons. After Cleisthenes reformed the Athenian constitution, a tenth archon was added, who was the secretary for the thesmothetai. The Eponymous archon gave his name to the year, thereby providing a type of dating system, and he was the chief leader or magistrate during that time. Originally, the Eponymous archon presided over the civic functions of the government; the boule, or council of 500; and the ecclesia, or the general assembly. When the Athenian democracy was in full force, the Eponymous archon was still the official leader of the state, even though his power was mainly ceremonial. He had primary oversight of family cases. The Polemarch was the senior general or commander of the army. In Athens, his power was later transferred to the ten strategoi or generals, one elected from each of the tribes. He continued to command armies until 487, but after the Persian Wars, he was then selected by chance or lot. His continued devolution occurred when it was mainly ceremonial and in charge over trials involving inheritance, foreigners, and status. The Archon Basileus was in charge of the religious structure of the state. During the early period, the Archon Basileus probably ensured that the city’s religious functions and sacrifices were properly attended. He was also tasked with overseeing trials of murder and arson, since these were viewed as a violation of religious laws. The trials of such crimes were still undertaken by the Areopagus. In 487, the Archon Basileus was no longer elected from the aristocracy but chosen by lot, as with the other archons. The thesmothetai were in charge of determining the general court calendars and which courts the magistrates handled. They were also in charge of the courts of impeachment of magistrates, for the improper submission of decrees, penalties in excess of the boule’s authority, appeals for the deme’s registers (demes were county districts or villages, usually outside the polis), bribery, and a host of other charges, both criminal and moral. The archons were also charged with overseeing the great literary festivals, which ensured that the city was properly praised. This duty involved the selection of poets or playwrights, the chief actors, and the wealthy patrons who paid for the

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productions. The archons not only selected the writers, but also matched them with the chief actors and the patrons. Before Cleisthenes’s reform in 509, the archons were elected from the wealthiest and most powerful families. While Solon in the mid-fifth century opened up the office by basing it on wealth, the archons still came from the most important and powerful families, even if their wealth had diminished. Once the archons had served in their positions, they became members of the Areopagus, the chief court and assembly for Athens before the reforms took place. During the time of Pisistratus and his family, the nine yearly archons, although supposedly elected, were in reality chosen by the tyrants, which gave them increasing power over the legislative and judicial functions of the state. When Cleisthenes reformed the constitution, he devalued the power of the Areopagus, in part due to their connection with the old tyrant. The archons now increased by one, to ten, and continued to be elected. This would go on until at least 487, when the reforms occurred and the archons were chosen by lot. As proof, the names of the Eponymous Archon, which gave their names to the Athenian year they served in, were previously held by important men who controlled the politics of Athens, such as Themistocles and Aristides, but afterward, the individuals were no longer just important men, but rather shows the results of being chosen by chance. This was the eventual evolution of Cleisthenes’s reforms, which had made the archons less important. The archons ultimately became another set of magistrates appointed by lot, who oversaw the courts and ensured the smooth running of the state. See also: Athens; Boule; Democracy; Ecclesia; Officials; Prytaneis

Further Reading

Hardy, C. S., and R. B. Hardy. 2020. Athens 415: The City in Crisis. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Robinson, E. W. and E. W. Robinson. 2008. Ancient Greek Democracy Readings and Sources. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Stockton, D. L. 1991. The Classical Athenian Democracy (reprinted with corrections). Oxford: Oxford University Press. For an archaeological and historical discussion of ancient Athens, see “State Religion: The Archon Basileus,” American School of Classical Studies, http://www.agathe .gr/democracy/state_religion.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Arginusae, Battle of After the disaster in Sicily in 413, where the Athenian fleet was destroyed, the Spartans began to make inroads into the Athenian Empire and liberating cities under their control. Backed by Persian gold, the Spartan commander Lysander had succeeded. Alcibiades returned from exile and started a new offensive against Sparta, retaking the Hellespont. Lysander defeated an Athenian fleet at Ephesus that was keeping guard at nearby Notium, and although Alcibiades was not present, he was responsible, as the overall commander of the fleet, for this setback.



Arginusae, Battle of 47

Realizing that the news would not be well received in Athens, Alcibiades fled to a castle in the Hellespont, where he had made plans to secure his safety. In Attica, a Spartan army had continuously occupied the Decelea fort, depriving Athens of much-needed resources. The Spartan offensive in the eastern Aegean Sea was becoming successful in 407 and threatened to defeat Athens once and for all. During the winter of 407–406, both sides prepared for the spring campaign. The Spartan fleet under Callicratidas had 140 ships, while Conon, who led the Athenians, had only 70. The two sides battled at Mytilene, and Conon lost thirty ships, with the rest pinned in Mytilene. The situation was grave, and Athens dipped into its reserves in the temple and constructed a new fleet; with the allies, it sent a total of 150 warships to free Mytilene. Callicratidas’s fleet had risen to 170, and leaving 50 ships behind at Mytilene, he sailed with the remainder to meet the Athenians near the island of Lesbos. A battle was fought between the two navies at Arginusae, where 70 Spartan ships were either sunk or captured. In the battle, the Athenians drew up their fleet in two battle lines of roughly the same numbers. Their plan was to prevent the Spartans from breaking through the lines and enveloping the fleet. The Spartans were forced to split their fleet and attack both sides of the Athenians. During the battle, the Athenian left wing in the open sea under Aristocrates and Pericles, the son of the statesman by the same name, successfully defeated Callicratidas, who was killed either onboard after engaging Pericles’s ship or by falling overboard and drowning when he rammed the ship. The Peloponnesian fleet fled to Chios. While the Athenians won a great victory, it was not complete since a strong north wind prevented the fleet from sailing to Mytilene to attack the Spartan fleet there. The Spartan admiral at Mytilene now had time to evacuate his fleet, which allowed Conon and the Athenian ships to meet up with the main fleet. Since the storm prevented the fleet from sailing to Mytilene, it also failed to

One Wrong to Correct Another The loss of Athenians, ships, and sailors after the victory at Argnusae outraged the Athenian people, who blamed the commanders, who did not attempt to rescue the men. The commanders were immediately removed from command and ordered back to Athens for an inquiry. Politicians, realizing they could capitalize on the anger against the commanders, ordered an investigation. The commanders blamed the ships’ captains, the trierarchs, who in turn blamed the commanders for not giving orders to save the men until after the storm had come in and it was too late. It is clear that someone was to blame, but it became a “he said, he said” situation. In the end, the commanders were put on trial, not in individual law courts but all together in the Assembly. Socrates, one of the prytaneis, the fifty members keeping the agenda for the Assembly for that month, objected to putting the motion before the Assembly but was overruled. It is clear that practice forbade the communal trial before the Assembly, but no one objected. Two days of hearings followed, and six of the eight commanders present, including Pericles, were sentenced to death and executed. In their eagerness to fix the blame, they created another disaster, this one with the laws and individual rights as victims. The Athenians had committed a wrong to make up for another, and in the end deprived the state of commanders who were well trained.

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rescue the crews from 25 ships the Athenians had lost during the battle. Both acts probably infuriated the Athenians just as much, since they had failed to wipe out the Spartan navy and lost over 4,000 men. The victory at Arginusae restored the Athenian naval power in the eastern Aegean. The Spartans proposed a peace agreement in which they would evacuate the Decelea, but it was rejected by the Athenians. The Spartans now began to rebuild their fleet under Lysander, once again with the help of Persian gold. The new fleet under Lysander sailed north to the Hellespont to engage the Athenians again. See also: Athenian Empire; Athens; Delian League; Navy; Peloponnesian War; Sparta

Further Reading

Hamel, Debra. 2015. The Battle of Arginusae: Victory at Sea and Its Tragic Aftermath in the Final Years of the Peloponnesian War. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. For a general discussion, see Rickard, J., “Battle of Arginusae, 406 BC,” August 31, 2011, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_arginusae.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Argos One of the major cities in the Peloponnese was Argos. Located in the Argolid region in the Northeast Peloponnese, the city became famous and powerful for a brief period in preclassical Greece. The Argolid was a triangular extension of the Peloponnese, with mountains on the northeast and southwest and the sea on the north, east, and south. Argos lay on the rich fertile plain near Mycenae and Tiryns. With twin citadels on the hills Larissa and Aspis, the city was located on the southern part of the plain. As described in the Iliad, Argos was a dependent of Mycenae, and after the end of the Trojan War and the fall of Mycenae, it was ruled by Temenus, a descendent of Heracles reputed to have come from nearby Tiryns. The Dorian invasion destroyed this Bronze Age village, but it was reborn during the Dark Ages, with Larissa being its first citadel. Argos became Dorian, and the local population was made subservient, not as slaves but as lower-class citizens called perioeci (those who dwelled around), and also gymnesioi (lightly armed troops), probably because later they contributed these types of troops to the army. Argos became renowned for metalworking. Their residents had perfected the use of silver refinery and the working of bronze. Their pieces were often given as gifts to the nearby Argive Heraeum, a sanctuary existing since the Neolithic period and given over to the goddess Hera by at least 750. Soon after, Temenus became a mere figurehead without much power. This was reversed with the accession of King Pheidon. Although the exact dates are disputed, he probably ruled around 670, and his intervention in the Olympic controversy over which city would control the games, Elis or Pisa (Elis won) probably occurred in 669 instead of 748, as stated by ancient authors. Although a hereditary monarch, Pheidon soon exceeded his position and greedily seized power, becoming in essence a tyrant. With this act, he began the popular trend in the northern Peloponnese of creating tyrants.

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The power of Argos reached its pinnacle under Pheidon. He set about unifying the Argolid and took possession of Aegina, the most important trading center at that time. He was also credited with creating the hoplite soldier, known for its large, double-gripped shield called Argive, breastplate, and heavy helmet. With this new heavy infantry, he developed new tactics, and soon Pheidon had a formable force. He probably began the creation of the new phalanx battle tactics that were more fully developed later. The rise of hoplites was due mainly to the middle-class soldiers that now filled their ranks. It provided Pheidon with a counterweight to the old aristocrats, as a large military force was now at his disposal. It may have been this change in armor and tactics that helped him to defeat the Spartan army in 669 at Hysiae, allowing him to control the northern part of the Peloponnese. In 668, he intervened in the oversight of the Olympic festivals and games by returning them to Pisa from Elis. It also appears that at this time, Argos colonized Curium in Cyprus. The rise of Argos was temporary, however, as after Pheidon’s death at about 655, the Argives could not maintain their power. The major threats were Sparta, its traditional enemy, and Corinth to the north, whose own tyrant was inspired by Pheidon. The old aristocratic elements in the city now seized control, and within a short time, the kingship was gone, replaced by an oligarchy. Argos was no longer able to unify the Argolid; it was checked by the tyrant Cleisthenes of Sicyon (600–570). Argos elevated the local games at Cleonae under Argive control to Panhellenic status, renaming them the Nemean Games, to counter Sicyon’s new prestige. It became the last of the four Panhellenic Games. Sparta, however, remained Argos’s main threat. In the mid-sixth century, Sparta declared that it would protect the rest of the Peloponnese from the advances of Argos. In 546, it invaded the Argolid to contain the city. The battle took place at Thyrea, where the Argive Heraeum Temple devised a formula for a contest where 300 Argive soldiers fought 300 Spartans in the Battle of the Champions. In the end, two Argives and one Spartan survived, with neither yielding; this resulted in a full-scale battle, with both sides sending their entire armies, probably with 10,000 men each, which Sparta won after Argos conceded defeat. In 494, after a revival of Argive power over Sparta, the Spartan king Cleomenes I landed near Tiryns, and 6,000 Argive soldiers were killed at Sepeia, thus eliminating a generation of soldiers. Argos was now a second-class power. During the Persian Wars, Argos remained neutral and isolated, due in part to its crushing defeat at Sepeia. During the period of the Athenian Empire, Argos had a tenuous alliance with Athens as it was fighting Sparta, but it was ineffective. When Sparta and Argos finalized a thirty-year peace treaty in 446, Argos was effectively out of the Peloponnesian War. Argos gained some prestige and power during the Corinthian Wars in 395–387, even occupying Corinth for a brief period, but after being repulsed, it returned to its isolationism and minor position. It remained neutral during the wars with Philp II of Macedon, but was eventually reduced to an even lesser power. See also: Achaea; Mantinea; Mycenae; Peloponnese; Sparta; Tyrants

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Further Reading

Cartledge, P. 2009. Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities. Oxford: Oxford ­University Press. Iakovidis, Spyros, and Barbara Hewitt. 1984. Mycenae-Epidaurus, Argos-Tiryns-­ Nauplion: A Complete Guide to the Museums and Archaeological Sites of the Argolid. Athens: Ekdotike Athenon. Robinson, E. W. 1997. The First Democracies: Early Popular Government Outside ­Athens. Stuttgart: F. Steiner. Tomlinson, R. A. 1972. Argos and the Argolid; From the End of the Bronze Age to the Roman Occupation. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Witmore, C. 2020. Old Lands: A Chorography of the Eastern Peloponnese. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. For an examination of the Hellenistic theater at Argos, see Hines, Thomas G. 2006, “The Hellenistic Theatre at Argos, Greece,” The Ancient Theatre Archive, https://www .whitman.edu/theatre/theatretour/argos/introduction/argos.intro1.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Aristotelian Philosophy Aristotelian philosophy or argument derives from Aristotle and his style of teaching or argumentation. Aristotle wrote on a wide variety of subjects, such as physics, where he argued for five elements corresponding to the modern elements: earth (solids), water (liquid), air (gas), fire (plasma), and Aether, which is the divine substance. He experimented with optics and made observations on astronomy and geology. He conducted research in biology and created the classification of living things. His work On the Soul can be seen as one of the first psychological works where humans have a rational soul, as opposed to the vegetative soul of plants, which just grows, or the sensitive soul of animals, which can experience sensations and emotions. The rational soul of humans can reason, and therefore grow beyond its instincts. In the area of philosophy, particularly practical philosophy, he examined ethics, politics, economics, and rhetoric. His view on slavery, counter to modern ideology, held sway for centuries. Aristotle believed that slavery was necessary for the Greek cities to continue to function, and he viewed nonGreeks as the targets for such slavery. He also believed in the concept of a just war, for which he advocated the idea to conscript “natural slaves” (i.e., nonGreeks). He favored war, as it would increase one’s virtue, and he clearly imbued in Alexander the Great the idea of Greek superiority over the Persians. Aristotle believed that ethics was not a theoretical idea, but rather a practical philosophy aimed at creating a good person who does good to become good. He used the example that an eye is good only if it can see, since the purpose of an eye is sight. Therefore, humans had to have some function that was specific to them, and it must be pursued according to reason. For Aristotle, the best activity was to pursue a good and virtuous life, which would lead a person to happiness. Another practical philosophy of Aristotle’s was politics. He believed in the idea of the polis, viewing it as more important to the individual than the family. He stated that “man is by nature a political animal” and attempted to show that a city



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Aristotle Born in 384 at Stagira in the Chalcidian peninsula, Aristotle was taught by Plato, who had established the Lyceum (Academy) and the Peripatetic school of philosophy. This school greatly influenced Aristotle, and he regarded not only Plato, but Socrates, Plato’s teacher, as his mentors. He established methods of inquiry and wrote on many subjects, of which only about a third has survived, including physical and natural science, logic, art and aesthetics, literature (including poetry), theater and music, economics, and politics. Aristotle’s father, Nicomachus, died when he was a child, and little is known of Aristotle’s early years. At about eighteen, he traveled to Athens, where he joined Plato’s Academy. He remained there for nearly twenty years, until Plato’s death around 347. Aristotle then left Athens, and at the request of Philip II of Macedon, he became the tutor of Philip’s son, Alexander, and his friends beginning in 343. Aristotle was married to Pythias, a daughter of Hermias of Atarneus from Asia Minor, who bore him a daughter. After teaching in Macedon until 335, he returned to Athens and established his own school. After his wife died, he became involved with Herpyllis of Stagira, who bore him a son, whom he named Nicomachus. During the next twelve years in Athens, he wrote most of his works. After the death of Alexander the Great, the general anti-Macedonian feelings sweeping Greece prompted some Athenians to denounce Plato, and he fled to his mother’s estate in Chalcis on Euboea in 322; he died the same year.

was like an organism, a living unit, as opposed to a tool or machine. He famously classified all kinds of government into three classes: government of one, which if good was a king who ruled for the betterment of all, if bad a tyrant who was good for only himself; government of a few, where an aristocracy was good for all but an oligarchy was good only for the rich; and government of the many, where a constitutional government is for the good of all, while a democracy is good for the poor. These ideas often have some portraying Aristotle as opposed to democracy, but that view is too simplistic; he was probably in favor of the democracy of ­Cleisthenes, but not of Pericles. One of Aristotle’s most important contributions was in rhetoric and poetics. In his work Rhetoric, he indicated that there were three types of ways to appeal to an audience: ethos, or appealing to the speaker’s character (his general character, which would give the reason why he should be respected); pathos, appealing to the audience’s emotion; and logos, appealing to logical reasoning. Associated with this was his division of rhetoric into types of speeches: the epideictic or ceremonial speeches, praising or casting blame; the forensic, arguing for guilt or innocence; and the deliberative, urging an audience to decide upon an issue. Often, these speeches required rhetorical proofs: those by syllogism or deductive reasoning, called enthymeme, and those by example, called paradeigma. In Poetics, he argued that epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, sculpture, music, dance, and painting were imitations of some aspect or medium, object or manner, which he called mimesis. He probably wrote two books—one on tragedy, which survives, and one on comedy, which is unfortunately missing. His ideas produced the concept of the Aristotelian argument, now known as the classical argument. In this style, Aristotle believed that the goal was to convince his audience about some issue, either through speech or writing. By using a series

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of strategies, whether via reason or examples, the author could persuade the audience to accept a premise. The Aristotelian argument uses ethos, pathos, and logos in the best possible way. For the author, ethos is creating credibility through the use of sources or authority. This can be done by the author building his own credibility or using another source that has been established as credible. For Aristotle, this was the most important and powerful mode of persuasion. Pathos appeals to the emotions of the audience; although it can be powerful since people can be moved by their own emotions, it is not necessarily based in fact and therefore is less credible. On the opposite side of the emotions of the audience is the logical side, or logos. What is it that makes sense to the audience as the author builds the argument? It is a logical and clear argument that wins the case, so data, facts, and statistics are often presented. It is crucial for the author to avoid faulty logic, such as a blanket statement or assuming that an event caused another. The hallmark of the Aristotelian argument is that the author or speaker introduces an issue. Here, he presents the argument thesis and gives the necessary facts and sources to convince the reader of its validity. The author explains the issue, and more important, why his position needed to be heeded. Aristotle made clear that it was important to refute the opposition, and it must be done in a logical fashion, point by point. In many ways, this is crucial to supporting one’s own argument, as it leaves the opposition without any proof to stand on. The author then presents his own proof as to why he is right, which plants the idea in the mind of the reader or listener of why the speaker is right, and then provides conclusions that touch on the main points and urge the reader or listener to follow them. Aristotle classified the rhetorical arguments of previous centuries into a coherent system, which can be classified as the Aristotelian argument. This argument can be seen in the Athenian attempt to conquer Melos and the supposed speeches given by both sides, producing an argument for Thucydides. It really composes two Aristotelian arguments—one by Thucydides about the dangers of war and the impact on future generations, and the Athenian view of the situation then and now. The Athenians stated that the island of Melos needed to join the Athenian Empire or be destroyed—this was the thesis of Thucydides’s argument. He then put into the mouths of the Athenian envoys the history of the situation, clearly outlining why this is an important event or action. As the argument went, Melos has received the benefits of the empire without paying, and that is not fair to the rest of the Athenian Empire; the city cannot remain neutral, as both sides are closing in, so better join the Athenians. Athens cannot let Melos be separate and independent; if it were, it may turn against Athens, so either Melos must join Athens or Athens must destroy it. Thucydides then put into the speech the various opposing views given by the Melians, where the Melians attempt to refute them, and then Athenians present a reason why their argument is wrong. The Melians begin by stating that they have right on their side since they did not provoke the war, while the Athenians reply that might makes right; the Melians then say that the law of nations allows them to remain neutral, and no nation has the right to attack with provocation and that they would receive help. Since they had been free for nearly seven hundred years, they desire to remain free. The Athenians counter that they have their laws and the right to have an

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empire since they had defeated the Persians, and the Melians could avoid this trouble if they just submitted. Finally, the Melians appeal to the laws of the gods who would save them; the Athenians reply that their gods had given them their blessing. Here, the Athenians counter each of the Melian points, showing how their view is just as correct. The Melians attempt to use ethos to explain their position of being free for centuries, while the Athenians reply using ethos, stating that the Melians had gained the advantages of the empire. Both sides try to use credibility or sources to promote their idea. The Melians then attempt to use logos or a logical argument by saying that the Spartans would come and help; the Athenians likewise use a logical argument by stating that the Spartans had never come to aid anyone. Finally, the Melians use pathos or emotion by invoking the gods, which the Athenians counter by invoking their own pathos. The Athenians present their views that it only makes sense for the Melians to join since up to that time, all of the islands were subject to Athens. The Athenians then give their conclusion with an emotional warning—if the Melians do not yield, it will only bring destruction. In the end, according to Thucydides, the Melians were defeated and enslaved and the island occupied by the Athenians. Thucydides was attempting to show how the naked aggression of the Athenians existed and how in the future it might be used against them. The Aristotelian school provided an important development in rhetoric and philosophy that continues to this day. It is used in all aspects of political life and shows how crucial Aristotle was to the development of logic, ethics, and inquiry. He completed the century of philosophical development of Socrates and Plato, and these three philosophers form the most important triad of ancient thought. See also: Gymnasium; Paideia; Pre-Socratic; Socratic Method; Sophists

Further Reading

Kenny, Anthony John Patrick. 2001. Essays on the Aristotelian Tradition. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Schrenk, Lawrence P. 1994. Aristotle in Late Antiquity. Washington, DC: Catholic ­University of America Press. For further examination of Aristotle, see Shields, Christopher. 2008 [revised 2020]. “­A ristotle,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://plato.stanford.edu /entries/aristotle/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Army Through its history, ancient Greece engaged in military activity both at home and abroad. With so many independent states, the military development and interactions required constant change. Although each state varied in its military ­practices, armor, and structure, many aspects were similar. The Homeric Poems portray the Greek army as a contingent of warriors who engaged in a free-for-all surrounding their leaders. Leaders such as Agamemnon and Achilles would arrive at the battlefield in chariots, dismount, and engage in hand-to-hand combat, while their followers did the same. When the opposing leader was killed or forced to retreat, his followers usually left the battlefield as well, allowing the opposing leader to claim a victory and set up a monument in

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commemoration. Warfare changed with the development of urbanized areas in the Dark Ages. During this time, the rise of the hoplite (heavily armed infantrymen) occurred. The creation of the hoplite phalanx required reliance on each other and group training. This change to a citizen army of heavily armed infantry probably occurred from the eighth century to the mid-seventh century in the Archaic Age, perhaps at Argos. In this system, soldiers stood side by side, with each one overlapping his shield with that of his colleague on the left so that with the exception of soldiers on the far right, everyone was well protected. The first few ranks were the ones mainly involved since their primary weapon, the spear, would project out, creating a mass of spear points in three to four rows against the enemy. The remaining rows would support the front rows by providing support and bracing them against the frontal rush. They would also push their comrades forward, allowing them to move against the enemy and potentially break their formation. Greek armies were not made up of professional soldiers but citizen warriors, meaning they could campaign for only a limited period each year since they had farms and businesses to tend to. This meant that although wars were constant year after year, they were not prolonged yearly. A typical army was in the field for only a short period of time. The battles typically occurred in the summer, between the winter planting and early spring growing seasons and the fall harvesting time. With the exception of Sparta, armies were neither full time nor professional. They would often march to a predetermined area to engage. When battles occurred, they were usually of short duration, with the number killed being small, but armies required a high degree of discipline to prevent a rout. It was not uncommon for a battle to be fought by two armies numbering 6,000 apiece, but with casualties limited to 200 or so. The armies had skirmishers, lightly armed infantry, and cavalry, but their role was mainly reconnaissance and preventing the enemy from outflanking the army, and they did not usually engage the enemy forces head on. The major component was the hoplite phalanx, where the soldiers were arranged shoulder to shoulder in rows often ten to sixteen deep. The first few rows had their spears sticking out of the battle wall, while the later rows held their spears with the spearheads up. The front rows presented a wall of spikes, while the later rows were used for support. The battle then usually came down to a show of strength. Both sides would advance and, when they got a short distance away from each other, begin to run toward the enemy to build up momentum. The goal was to achieve enough force to crash into the enemy and break the line. If they succeeded in breaking the enemy line, the battle was typically over, with the defeated army quickly retreating so that they might not lose more. If the initial crash did not achieve success, then the two forces began the next phase, the pushing match, where the rows in the rear would push their comrades forward, a tactic known as the othismos aspidon (push of shields). This was a very tiring exercise, and battles usually would last only an hour or so. When one side retreated, the other side would often follow with their cavalry and lightly armed troops to keep them retreating without exposing their hoplites to breaking ranks. Although casualties were low, the front lines usually saw the most; they often contained the generals, who were men from leading families. Often a single battle

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would decide the entire war, with the defeated side surrendering and accepting a treaty. The losers would often ransom the dead bodies and allow the victors to set up a monument to celebrate their victory. If a battle did not take place, one side would often retreat to its city, and the attackers would destroy the surrounding crops and homes. Since the campaigns occurred in the summer or during the early harvesting season, it was crucial to prevent invaders from destroying the crops. This often meant that an army would risk engaging in battle to prevent their fields from being destroyed. During the Classical Age, armies normally did not besiege cities due to time restrictions. Since the armies were normally composed of nonprofessional soldiers who had other occupations, keeping them in the field would be too time consuming and prevent their primary activities (usually farming) from being performed. A siege would potentially require a lot of time and energy and expose the attackers to the chance of being attacked by allies of the besieged, resulting in defeat. The hoplite soldiers were protected with armor. Their primary weapon was the spear or doru, which was about seven to ten feet long. It was used mainly for stabbing, not throwing. The spear had an iron head and had a counterweight or spike on the bottom with several functions—to strike an enemy on the ground, to brace the spear in the ground during an assault, or even to use as another spear if the spearhead were broken. Unlike the later Macedonian spear, the sarissas, which was eighteen feet long and required both hands, the doru could be held with one hand. The Greek hoplite also was armed with a short sword. The armor he wore was expensive and was usually handed down to successive generations within a family. This meant that the army was a hodgepodge of armor of varying ages and durabilities. The most important part of the armor was the large circular shield or hoplon, which was about three feet in diameter and made of wood covered with bronze, making it weigh about twenty-five pounds. Held in the left hand, it was concave, allowing the soldier to hang it on the shoulder and brace it with his forearm and hand. When held, it covered the left half of his body and extended to the left to cover the right side of his colleague on the left with his own shield. This meant that the soldier on the far right was protected only on his left half. Armies made sure that their best soldiers were on the right, and the enemy would try to attack and move so that they could overwhelm the opposing right side. The soldier would also have metal (often bronze) helmet and greaves that protected the legs from the knees down to the ankles, areas unprotected by the shield, and a breastplate made of bronze (the most expensive) or leather. In addition, the shield could be used as a weapon to push or strike an enemy soldier. While the main component of the Greek army was the hoplite soldiers, there were also other elements. Light infantry would be used to scout an area, provide cover for the army on the march, carry extra supplies, and if needed perform as auxiliaries. They could throw javelins or stones, and although archers were rare, some armies had them. In later periods, the archers, often from Crete or mercenaries from Asia Minor, became more common. Although the cavalry existed, it again was expensive, so it was rarely used in the early period. In the late Classical Age beginning during the Peloponnesian War, the cavalry became more

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important. It now developed into its own branch, with the purpose of scouting, harassing, and outflanking the enemy. It was also used when the hoplite force was broken and retreated to attack them. An example of this is when the Athenians who retreated from Syracuse in 413 were attacked and defeated by the Syracusan cavalry. Thebes used cavalry as a shock force after the Peloponnesian War, and Philip of Macedon, while a hostage, would learn the value of cavalry and put it to good use in the Macedonian army. This force was perfected by Alexander the Great, who made the cavalry his central fighting unit. Since the armies were not professional and outfitting soldiers was expensive, many of the campaigns were short lived and battles themselves only lasted about an hour or two. An exception to this was Sparta, which had a professional army. Using their helots, or state slaves/serfs, to farm, the Spartans were able to create a professional force. This meant that they could be kept in the field for longer periods. Sparta did not usually do this, however, since they feared that the helots might rebel if their masters were away from home too long. The Greeks tended to fight battles with small numbers of men, only a couple of thousand, and suffered even fewer casualties. This allowed for global disruption to be kept at a minimum. In the early fifth century, Greece became involved in a series of international wars that changed their traditional system. The Athenians, and later all of Greece, had to deal with the Persians. After the Athenians had initially helped the cities of Ionia in their revolt in 499 against Darius, king of Persia, they returned home. When the Persians put down the revolt in 494, they decided to punish the Greeks, particularly Athens. In 490, Darius sent a force of about 25,000 men to take Athens. The Persians landed at the bay of Marathon, some twenty miles from the city. After several days of inaction, the Athenians launched a surprise attack while the Persian cavalry was foraging. Running downhill, the Athenians were able to avoid the ­Persian bowmen and crashed into the poorly defended Persian infantry, defeating them. The victorious army then marched back to Athens, and when the Persian forces arrived later by ship, the Persians avoided battle and sailed home. The Battle of Marathon showed the superiority of the Greek hoplite infantry to the Persian infantry. Ten years later, in 480, Darius’s son Xerxes decided to avenge his father’s defeat and assembled a large army. The Persians were held back for three days by the superior Spartan army at Thermopylae, but they successfully defeated it by outflanking its soldiers. The Persians then destroyed Athens, but they were defeated at Salamis by a Greek fleet. Xerxes and much of his fleet and army retreated, but a sizable force remained under the Persian general Mardonius. The following year, the Spartan army, together with the other Greek forces, again showed the superiority of the heavy hoplite by defeating the Persians at the Battle of Plataea. This superiority of the heavy Greek infantry would again show itself in later battles with the Persians. The Greeks would return to their internecine fighting in the late fifth century, during the Peloponnesian War. In this war, there were some developments in the army, mainly with the increased use of cavalry and auxiliaries. The use of light infantry or peltasts and archers increased during this time. The Peloponnesian War was characterized by continual harassment rather than set battles. After the war, the Thebans were the most innovative, using cavalry and

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their shock troops, the Sacred Band, composed of 300 hand-picked men who could attack a small area and drive a wedge in the enemy. This tactic was used effectively in their victory over the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra. In addition, the Thebans massed their cavalry and joined it with a fifty-deep column of infantry on their left wing to smash the Spartan right side, its weakest spot. The Thebans were able to attack the Peloponnese and break the Spartan hold on the region. The next major innovations occurred outside of Greece proper, in Macedon. Philip II, who once was held as a political hostage in Thebes, developed the Macedonian army in new directions based on what he learned there. He made his infantry less armored, but more mobile; soldiers now had the eighteen-foot sarissa and a smaller shield hanging on their left by a cord and held in place with the left hand. The Macedonian phalanx was less of a wall of shields with spikes and more like a deep set of spikes on the move—a hedgehog. The infantry, although not as heavily armored, was more of a defensive entity due to its long spears. The infantry now pinned down the enemy infantry while the Macedonian cavalry, enlarged and enhanced, could strike at the enemy, outflanking them and forcing the infantry to flee. In addition, Philip began to enhance his army with siege weapons. With more resources and the creation of a larger army, Philip was able to use these weapons to take cities, while at the same time keeping the enemy occupied with his army. The end result was the creation of a new type of army, where infantry, cavalry, and siege craft could operate together. The Greek army developed during the period from the Archaic Age, with the introduction of the hoplite-heavy infantry, to the Macedonian period, with the creation of combined forces. The hoplite, although now replaced, nevertheless kept the Persians at bay. Greek superiority in the military field would remain until the Romans destroyed the Macedonian army in the second century. See also: Defenses; Hoplite; Phalanx; Social Status; Weapons

Further Reading

Adcock, F. E. 1957. The Greek and Macedonian Art of War. Berkeley: University of ­California Press. Cartledge, Paul. 2004. The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece, from Utopia to Crisis and Collapse. New York: Vintage Books. Hanson, Victor Davis. 1990. The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece. New York: Oxford University Press. Pritchett, W. Kendrick. 1971. The Greek State at War. Berkeley: University of California Press. For an overview of the Greek military, see “The Athenian Army,” American School of Classical Studies, http://www.agathe.gr/democracy/the_athenian_army.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Art The history of Greek art can be conveniently divided into the general periods of Bronze, Dark, Geometric, Archaic, and Classical ages. These broad periods show distinct differences and changes that evolved over the course of centuries in

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Greece, the Aegean, Asia Minor, and southern Italy. The dates align themselves with historical and political events of the time and should be seen as general rather than specific. In addition, some of the trends continued from one era to another. The Bronze Age is divided into the Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean periods. The Cycladic and Early Bronze Age from 3000–2000 witnessed trade in obsidian and marble. The Cycladic region became known for its marble statues. Stone was shaped with chisels and then smoothed and polished with emery. The invention of the drill allowed the removal of material in the interior of a vase. The marble figurines were schematic though represented human forms. Most of them were standing, with long, oval, and backward-sloping heads. In pottery, there was the development of burnishing and incised patterns. During the Middle Bronze Age, from 2000–1600, Crete became the center of Aegean culture. The rise of the Minoan palaces allowed the development of art. The remains of pottery show more complex and naturalistic motifs, which later became stylized. In Crete, a red-and-black effect was achieved through a new, special firing technique. During this period, there was a light-on-dark style featuring more complex patterns. This developed into eggshell art decorations, the most sophisticated of which was the Kamares style, which showed polychrome on a black background and was named for the village of Kamares in Crete, where it was discovered. The mainland had a different style with the Gray Minyan ware, which was smooth and soapy to the touch and uniformly dark gray. In the Cyclades at this time, the type of pottery was matte-painted, with dark matte paint against a light background. On Crete, frescoes in palaces became common. Since the palaces included large, open-walled spaces, frescoes allowed decorative motifs to be presented. The early period witnessed plain colors and linear patterns, while later frescoes had naturalistic and figured scenes. There were frescoes on the Cyclades, but none have been found on the mainland from this early period. This period also saw the rise of the potter’s wheel. The Late Bronze Age I occurred on Crete and Mycenae from 1600–1450. The Cycladic period still had its own development of style and continued to be traded abroad. On the mainland at Mycenae, there was the grave circle, with its rich burials continuing into the Late Bronze Age II period (1450–1100). On the mainland, the rise of weaponry can be witnessed in the grave goods, representing the rise of a warrior caste. In pottery on Crete, there was a change to new shapes and the introduction of a different decorative technique. There was now dark paint on a light background, as opposed to the earlier dark-on-light pattern. The Cyclades now copied the Minoan style. The Minoan styles first portrayed plants, flowers, and other floral designs, while the second period featured marine life such as octopuses and urchins. As time went on, the designs became more stylized. In the Late Bronze Age II, Mycenaean pottery became the norm. The forms were based on the earlier types, but now stylized. One of the most typical was the kylix, or stemmed goblet. Frescoes continued on Crete and the Cyclades, as well on the mainland at the Palace of Nestor at Pylos. The end of the Bronze Age led to the decline of the Mycenaean period and the beginning of the Archaic Age. This period lasted from the twelfth century to 479,

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with the Persian Wars. The Dark Ages from 1200 to 1050 produced the SubMycenaean and Protogeometric styles. With the destruction of the Mycenaean and Minoan palaces, no great cities existed, but the previous styles continued. The forms, however, became more slack and ill organized. After this period, the previous shapes and forms continued, but they were now developed in a new way with increased technical improvements using a fast potter wheel. The shapes and decorations became more exact and precise. The designs, lines and circles, were placed and incised on the vases while on the potter’s wheel before being fired. These in turn would lead to the Geometric period, which began around 900 and included continuing motifs such as zigzags and triangles, as well as new elements such as meanders and straight lines. This process then progressed to figures being introduced such as horses, lions, birds, and ultimately humans around 800. The figures were schematic and certain features became pronounced, such as broad chests and heads in profile. The figures were abstract and portrayed stiffly, but by 700, they became more rounded and lifelike, showing individual movements. This is best seen in Attica, where Geometric consistency became clear. Around 750 in the potter’s region of Athens, various workshops begin to show individualistic designs and styles. Large amphorae (storage jars), kraters (mixing bowls), and cups became the most popular creations. This period also witnessed small terra-cotta and cast bronze figures. At the same time, foreign elements such as nonnative wildlife and abstract designs from Asia Minor and Egypt were introduced. After this period, the Near-Eastern style from 725 to 590 made its appearance. This was evidenced by the importation of eastern and Egyptian influences on a more prominent scope. The Greek centaur was now joined by eastern monsters, Gorgons, griffins, chimeras, and harpies, which were now Hellenized. Two major trends developed, one in Corinth and the Peloponnese and the other in Athens and the Ionian cities of Asia Minor. The Corinthian assimilation occurred during various periods, including the Early Protocorinthian (725–700), where alongside traditional geometric patterns new motifs such as animals, rosettes, and Near Eastern plants appeared. During the Middle Protocorinthian (700–650), the Corinthians adapted techniques from the east where incised details on the black-figure silhouette allowed the pale features to show through. In the Late Protocorinthian (650– 640) and Transitional/Ripe Corinthian (640–550) periods, the animals became larger and more crowded together. The process was slower than it had been in Athens with the Protoattic style (710–600). The Early Protoattic (710–680) began with the Analatos Painter, who moved from the Late Geometric style from a silhouette to an outline style. In the next period, the Middle Protoattic (680–650), the Black and White style appeared. It was common to have motifs such as the Trojan War. The Late Protoattic (650–620) continued with consolidation until the Athenians adopted the Corinthian blackfigure technique. Also, from Egypt, came monumental statues that developed into the kouros (a standing nude young male figure that did not represent an individual person, but rather the idea of youth) beginning about 610. This style came from Egypt, with its two-millennium period of colossal figures. The ­Egyptians also influenced the Greeks in their monumental architecture with the peripteral temple of external rows of columns.

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Beginning about 590 to 530 was the High Archaic period, which corresponded to the age of tyrants. These individuals rose to power as champions of the poor and merchant middle class against the aristocracy (oligarchy), who were mainly landowners. These included figures such as Pisistratus of Athens, Polycrates of Samos, and Periander of Corinth, all of whom promoted the arts in their cities. During this period, myths became central in the arts and more natural. The kouroi moved from the square type to a more natural pose. Male figures were portrayed nude, while women were clothed. Dedications to the gods took on more representations, as seen on temple pediments. It was also at this point that the two major orders, Doric and Ionic, became fully developed. In Marble statue of kouros. (The Metropolitan addition to sculptures on pediMuseum of Art/Fletcher Fund, 1932) ments, terra-cotta figures were used on buildings. This period also witnessed the further development of coins, which had begun earlier and now spread throughout the Aegean. Individual cities put their own mark on metal flans. The Late Archaic Period from 530–480 witnessed the full development of the kouroi (male) and the complete domination of the Athenian market in pottery. The korai (female) developed into a graceful figure, usually enhanced by fashion, including wearing a cleaved tunic or dress, the chiton, which shows the influence from Ionia. The nude kouroi had a fully realistic anatomy in which the body’s movement could be seen in the twisting and shifting weight of the figure. Pottery showed an evolution from the Archaic period into the Classical Age. The Archaic Age witnessed the development of the Black Style or Figure pottery, which was developed in the seventh century and continually used until the second century. The names of some of the artists of this time are well known from their signatures. The style first appeared in Corinth around 700. This earlier technique of the black figure now continued with a reverse technique in which the vase’s body was covered with a black glaze, while the decorated parts were left unworked in natural clay with the details shown with a painted relief line. The painter or potter would paint the figure on the vase with a slurry or slip, which would turn black

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Black figure painting. (Tanya Borozenets/Dreamstime.com)

during the firing process. This involved a three-phase firing system. First, the vessel was fired in a kiln at a temperature about 800°C, which turned the vase reddish-orange. The second firing phase had the temperature raised to 950°C, with the vents closed to remove oxygen, which turned the vessel black. The final phase saw the vents reopened and the kiln cooled, which returned the vase to red while the painted figures from the second phase remained black. The scenes were often from mythology, often featuring Heracles and the Trojan War. Interestingly, gods are not usually depicted, and Dionysus was never presented. Action scenes were very popular, with fights and hunts, while some examples presented passive banquet scenes. The figures of the early red-figure painters produced more realistic scenes. These changes now led to the Classical Age. The Classical Age (480–450) is perhaps best evidenced in sculpture, where the full use of the realistic body first seen in the Archaic Age came to fruition. This evolution can be shown at the temple of Zeus at Olympia, where the fight among the Centaurs and Lapiths in their frenzied and savage fight occurred, but in specific groups. The opposite of this was the depiction of the chariot race of Pelops, which showed more emotion despite being static. The depiction of events that show feeling and individuality became the hallmark of the Classical Age. Often the easygoing stance was on one leg, as opposed to the stiff forms of the kouroi. The twelve labors of Heracles are also displayed at Olympia in the metopes, showing confident and sensitive poses in great detail, even if they could not be seen from the ground. These types and styles were found throughout the Greek world, but not in such grandeur and detail. Several sculptors from this period are known, such as Nesiotes, Calamis, Pythagoras, Kritios, and Myron. These artists experimented with new styles. The bronze Zeus poised to throw his thunderbolt, an artwork discovered in the sea off Artemisium, showed a powerful musculature in a self-contained instance. These transitional pieces before 450 led to the great Classical artists, particularly

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Classical statue of Poseidon. (Corel)

Phidias, the best known. He developed a style seen in the Parthenon on the Acropolis, where he was the general contractor. Most of his other pieces are seen in later copies, but those on the Parthenon are his originals. The style of Phidias is quiet and idealized, with self-contained and inwardlooking compositions. The Parthenon used many types of new styles and innovations. Typically, Doric temples did not have a frieze, but here, examples of Athena and other gods are on the pediments, frieze, and metopes. All the elements show a new confidence with proper perspectives. The details are fine and exact, showing different styles. For example, two types of drapery exist—a plain contrast with heavy cloth barely showing a body, and an ornate one, with fine material and flesh showing through. This latter fine style became common in the late fifth century, showing the detail of clothing and flesh. During this same period, other buildings were constructed in Athens as part of the Periclean program, such as the Temple of Hephaestus. With the increase in wealth in Athens, sculptured gravestones reappeared, meeting high artistic standards. During the period when Athens dominated the north using island carvers, Argos maintained its own program, with broader and heavier figures. Polycleitos, a contemporary of Phidias, was the best exponent. He aimed at full depth of body and naturalism to produce a harmonious design. The first part of the fourth century witnessed another transitional period that led to the clear, relaxed figures, which were limper and more realistic or lifelike. In this period, the flesh and bones are best seen in the work of the sculptor Praxiteles. Work in terra-cotta, clay figures, continued but was not as pronounced. Further, creations in bronze continued with large works hollow-cast with glass eyes added. An example of the latter was the Delphi Charioteer. Common decorated bronze work was mirrors became



Asklepios and the Healing Arts 63

more common. The older Archaic type, with elaborate and often complicated figures, was replaced with simple designs. Vase painting did not suffer after the Persian Wars. The redfigure pottery or painting that developed around 530 during the time of Pisistratus in Athens continued, eventually replacing black-figure pottery Red figure painting. (The Cleveland Museum of as the predominant type. The Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1976.89) figures were now created in the original red clay, allowing more detailed depictions since the lines could be drawn, rather than scraped out as previously done. In so doing, the depictions became sharper and clearer and had greater perspective. In addition, unlike black-figure pottery where the figures were shown in profile, red-figure paintings allowed the whole gamut of poses: front, back, and three-quarters. This in turn produced a three-dimensional effect of the image. While Athens was the main producer of red-figure pottery, it did spread throughout the Greek world, especially to southern Italy. The development of art during the Greek period shows the evolution from mere two-dimensional stick figures to complex, three-dimensional works portraying the human body as it really looked. This progression of art allowed the continual growth of Greek culture, and during the Classical Age, the idealistic forms clearly were displayed. See also: Architecture; Bronze Age; Cnossos; Cyclades; Minoan; Mycenae; Parthenon; Temples

Further Reading

Groenewegen-Frankfort, H. A. 1971. Art of the Ancient World; Painting, Pottery, Sculpture, Architecture from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Crete, Greece, and Rome. New York: H. N. Abrams. Pollitt, J. J. 1974. The Ancient View of Greek Art: Criticism, History, and Terminology. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Stewart, Andrew F. 2008. Classical Greece and the Birth of Western Art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For a discussion of Greek art, see Hemingway, Colette, and Seán Hemingway, “The Art of Classical Greece (ca. 480–323 B.C.),” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2008), https://www .metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tacg/hd_tacg.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Asklepios and the Healing Arts In Greek mythology and folklore, Asklepios (also given as Asclepius) was the god of healing. His place of birth is hotly disputed, with some saying that he was born at Tricca in Thessaly, while others believe it was at Mount Titthion, near

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Epidaurus; from the fifth century onward, the latter became his preferred place of origin. There is a gold and ivory statue of the manly god sitting on a throne with one hand on a dragon or serpent, while the other held a staff. Epidaurus, in the eastern Peloponnese, had multiple springs and had been inhabited since the Neolithic period. The city had been founded by Epidauros, the son of Apollo, who was also known for healing. His mother was Coronis, a Thessalian princess and lover of Apollo, or Arsinoe, the daughter of Leucippus, a prince in Messenia. In the version of the story with Coronis, she was killed by Apollo’s sister, Artemis, for being unfaithful during her pregnancy, and Apollo rescued the child from her womb. Apollo raised Asklepios at first, teaching him some of the arts of healing, but then he entrusted his upbringing to the centaur Chiron, who taught him both medicine and hunting. Asklepios continued to excel in medicine, with some legends indicating that a snake, a symbol of wisdom in Greece, imparted the knowledge of medicine to him. In another story, Asklepios was comBronze sculpture of Asklepios. (Asklepios, bronze manded to bring Glaucus, a figure. Original at Berlin. Wellcome Collection. Cretan prince, back to life and Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)) was kept a prisoner in his tomb until he had done so. While there, a snake entered the prison and wrapped itself around Asklepios’s staff without his knowledge. As he was contemplating what to do, he kept hitting his staff against the wall with the snake on it, killing it. Another snake entered with an herb and placed it in the dead snake’s mouth, bringing it back to life. With this knowledge, Asklepios revived Glaucus and other



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individuals as well. The symbol of Asklepios and his healing power became a staff with a snake wrapped around it, which is still used by the medical profession. Asklepios married Epione, the goddess of soothing pain, and together, they had three sons: Telesphoros, Machaon, and Podaleirios. Asklepios and Epione also had five daughters: Hygieia, goddess of health and cleanliness or hygiene; Panacea, goddess of universal health, who delivered a potion for curing (hence the term panacea, meaning “curing all things”); Aceso, goddess of the curing process; Iaso, the goddess of recuperation; and Aegle, the goddess of radiant good health, whose name means “brightness” or “one associated with good health.” Machaon and Podaleirios both served as doctors for the Greek fleet at Troy; Machaon died, but Podaleirios survived, living in Caria after the war. Telesphoros, a dwarf, helped his sister Hygieia in curing the sick. As everyone in the family was associated with healing, they were worshipped communally and independently as gods and goddesses of healing. The daughters in particular were closely associated with Asklepios in his temples and sacred places. His knowledge of the medical arts surpassed even his father, Apollo, and his tutor, Chiron. Asklepios’s fame soon spread, and he was sought for his ability to restore life. This soon brought him into conflict with the other gods, though, most notably Hades, god of the underworld. Hades argued that Asklepios’s ability to help people evade death would create an imbalance in the world. He in fact charged Asklepios with stealing his subjects from the underworld. In response, Zeus decided to kill Asklepios with a thunderbolt. According to Apollodorus, a writer in the Roman imperial period, Apollo then killed the Cyclops, maker of the thunderbolts, and was punished by having to serve the king of Thessaly for a year. In later mythology as recounted by the Romans, Apollo asked Zeus to restore Asklepios to life, and since Asklepios was the son of a god, Zeus, as king of the gods, made him a god and allowed him to be at Olympus with the other gods. Asklepios’s fame led to many areas being proclaimed as his sacred locations. He was worshipped all over Greece, with shrines to him built in favorable places, usually near springs, which many believed had curative powers. In addition to Epidaurus, famous shrines were located in Athens, on the western slope just below the Acropolis, and at Messina (or Zancle) in Italy, which had an important shrine that was especially known during the Hellenistic period. The Peloponnese city of Tegea had a temple to Asklepios, as did the island of Kos, which became famous for producing many physicians. In the fourth century, the cult spread to Asia Minor to Pergamon, said to have been brought by a patient cured at Epidaurus. The Romans even took a sacred snake from Epidaurus to Tiber Island in 293 to cure a plague affecting Rome. Many of these temples and shrines were frequented by sick people hoping to be cured. The priests were often trained in helping the ill, and many of these locales came to be seen as convalescence homes or even hospitals. The sick would usually spend time in the temple and observe the rules laid down by the priests. Originally, illness was seen as divine punishment, and healing as divine salvation. Priests were often tasked with tending to the ill, and that often occurred

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What Does a Plague Look Like? War is fickle, and nothing shows this better than the plague that hit Athens in 430, the second year of the Peloponnesian War. It arrived at the overcrowded Athens via its port, the Piraeus, and according to Thucydides, it also came from Africa. Thucydides was in Athens and witnessed the plague firsthand. The exact nature of the disease is unknown, but it may have been typhus, hemorrhagic fever (like Ebola), measles, or smallpox. Interestingly, Sparta and its allies seem not to have suffered from the plague. The following extract describes the symptoms: They had not been many days in Attica, when the plague first began amongst the Athenians, said also to have seized formerly on divers other parts, as about Lemnos and elsewhere; but so great a plague and mortality of men was never remembered to have happened in any place before. For at first neither were the physicians able to cure it, through ignorance of what it was, but died fastest themselves, as being the men that most approached the sick; nor any other art of man availed whatsoever. All supplications to the gods, and enquiries of oracles, and whatsoever other means they used of that kind, proved all unprofitable; insomuch as subdued with the greatness of the evil, they gave them all over . . . (a man) being in perfect health, they were taken first with an extreme ache in their heads, redness and inflammation of the eyes; and then inwardly, their throats and tongues grew presently bloody, and their breath noisome and unsavoury. Upon this followed a sneezing and hoarseness, and not long after the pain, together with a mighty cough, came down into the breast. And when once it was settled in the stomach, it caused vomit, and with great torment came up all manner of bilious purgation that physicians ever named. Most of them had also the hickyexe, which brought with it a strong convulsion, and in some ceased quickly, but in others was long before it gave over. Their bodies outwardly to the touch were neither very hot nor pale; but reddish, livid, and beflowered with little pimples and whelks; but so burned inwardly, as not to endure any the lightest clothes or linen garment to be upon them, nor anything but mere nakedness; but rather most willingly to have cast themselves into the cold water. Source: Hobbes, Thomas, William Molesworth, Thucydides, and Homer. 1843. The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. London: J. Bohn, Volume 8, pp. 201–204.

through incantations and sacrifices. During the Classical Age, there was an attempt to apply logic and science to medical issues. Treatments often centered on one’s diet, and being proactive could have beneficial results. But the religious nature of curing was never removed. Where the priests could provide cures and healing methods, they would receive the information in dreams from Asklepios. The most famous doctor was Hippocrates, from the island of Kos, who established a medical school there. Although many works were attributed to him, most of the literary pieces were written by his pupils in his name. These works all mention a number of main themes: diagnosis, biology, treatment, and practical advice for doctors. The famed Hippocratic Oath centered on doing no harm to the patient, either physically or emotionally. The oath is still viewed today as the central pillar of modern medicine. See also: Epidaurus; Olympian Religion; Religion

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Further Reading

Edelstein, Emma Jeannette (Levy), and Ludwig Edelstein. 1945. Asclepius: A Collection and Interpretation of the Testimonies. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Mitchell-Boyask, Robin. 2008. Plague and the Athenian Imagination: Drama, History, and the Cult of Asclepius. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For a general discussion of Asklepios and other good historical sources, see Atsma, Aaron J., “Askleptios,” Theoi Project, https://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Asklepios.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Astronomy In the early days of ancient Greece, astronomy, mythology, and astrology were all connected. Priests would interpret signs in the skies as messages from the gods. Early myths about heroes and gods were often translated into constellations in the night sky. This was a common phenomenon throughout early civilizations. Some peoples, like the Babylonians, would study planets, stars, and constellations in order to create extensive charts for predicting the future, or astrology. Others, like the Egyptians, learned that the arrival or departure of certain planets or stars led to the rise and fall of the Nile River, which was so crucial to their agriculture. The Greeks not only learned from these civilizations, but also developed their own concept of astronomy—based in part on philosophy and in part on observations by the naked eye (since the invention of the telescope would not come for many years). Based on such observations, the early Greek poet Homer wrote of celestial objects and events, indicating solar eclipses and noting constellations such as Orion, Bootes, and Ursa Major. The poet Hesiod mentioned the star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes. The Greeks viewed astronomy as a part of mathematics in which parts of the world were associated with each other in a geometrical model. Pythagoras placed astronomy, arithmetic, geometry, and music as subdivisions of math. Most of the Greek astronomy that has come down to us is based upon the work of Aristotle. He often described earlier ideas, usually to argue against them, but in doing so he gave us representations of the earlier concepts. Pythagoras (571–497), a Greek philosopher from Samos, argued that the Earth was spherical. His teachings were never written down, though, and he appears to have been a mystic. He argued that math was the key to enlightenment, and one of his lasting contributions in this realm was the Pythagorean theorem, which postulated that the square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. His students furthered his ideas of applying math by showing that based on how the shadow of the Earth appeared on the Moon during eclipses, the Earth had to be a sphere. Other Greek philosophers did not share this view. Some argued that the Earth was floating in water, while others believed that it was flat like a lid covering the world below it. But all of these ideas argued that the Earth was center of the universe, a geocentric view. The philosophy behind this came from observations of

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the cosmos, and in particular the solar system, which supposedly showed that everything revolved around a stationary Earth. The philosophers Plato and Aristotle believed that the other planets and stars revolved around the Earth in concentric circles; again, Plato continued the idea of a mystical approach to the cosmos not governed by laws. For example, Mars did not move in any discernable pattern, so it must not subscribe to any form of natural law. Aristotle discussed the different positions of the polar star based upon one’s position in Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece, and when one moved north, it changed; hence the idea of latitude and a spherical Earth. Some of Plato’s students argued against their teacher by trying to apply mathematics to understanding and predicting the motions of the heavens. Nevertheless, the idea of concentric, circular patterns of planetary movement was appealing and continued to be espoused. With the assumption that the Earth was spherical being accepted, attempts were made to determine its circumference. Aristotle gave it at about 64,000 kilometers by comparing the position of the polar star in Egypt and Greece. Eratosthenes (276–195) used geometry and shadows cast at two different latitude sites (Alexandria and Syene) at the same time to come up with 44,000 kilometers, a figure not rivaled until the modern age (and within 10 percent of the actual distance, 40,074 kilometers). The idea of a geocentric view of the cosmos was not universally accepted, although it was the predominant one. It did not explain changes in brightness or motion of other planets seen in the sky. Aristarchus of Samos (310–230) postulated that the Sun was the center of the universe, a heliocentric view. Although his work is now lost, another ancient mathematician, Archimedes, quoted him saying that the Sun did not move and that the Earth revolved around it in a circle. His view did not catch on for a long time, however. Furthermore, his idea assumed that planets revolved around the Sun in a circular fashion, which they do not; they move elliptically, which again went against the ideas of concentric circles of early philosophers. Opposed to Aristarchus’s view was Hipparchus of Nicea (190–120), who became a respected astronomer and outshined his predecessors by calculating the lengths of the lunar month and solar year accurately. He produced a precise latitudinal and longitudinal star chart and compared it to an earlier star chart, discovering the Equinoctial Precession, where the stars shifted about 1 degree per century, rotating as if they were cones. The Earth’s precession takes about 26,000 years, shifting 1 degree every seventy-two years, where the positions of the stars change in their equatorial coordinates and ecliptic longitudes so they appear in different places over time. For instance, since the time of Hipparchus, the change has been 30 degrees. The completion of the mathematical model was done by Apollonius of Perga in 200, and it was perfected later by Hipparchus, who argued that the circles of the planetary movement were based on eccentric circles, but Earth was not in the exact center. In this way, the planets and stars moved faster as they were near the Earth and slower when farther away, hence the observation of the changes in brightness and speed. The ultimate conclusion of Greek astronomy occurred under Ptolemy and his Almagest in the second century CE, which contained ideas from Greek and

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Babylonian philosophies. He included a catalog of more than 1,000 known stars, as well as tables to show how their movements could be calculated. Although Ptolemy produced this astronomical work, he probably did it in line and in conjunction with astrology, for he also produced the Tetrabiblos, a work on astrology using astronomical materials. While the Earth-centered philosophy was dominant, it required extensive explanations of all the seen phenomena, such as the Moon, the stars, and the seasons. Ptolemy, building upon the work of other Greek astronomers, had to derive complicated mathematical ideas and formulas to account for the Sun revolving around the Earth and other planets moving in similar ways. While the study of astronomy and celestial objects was often described in mathematical terms, astronomy was also linked to astrology. In fact, the two terms were used interchangeably. Like other societies, the Greeks believed that celestial objects could influence an individual’s life and they also thought that stars, planets, and other phenomena had special powers. These objects, especially planets, exerted influences such as destinies, auspicious moments, and divine intentions. The Greeks viewed these forces as having a direct influence on their lives, and they believed that the gods controlled these forces through the heavens. Astrology was explained through the religious nature of Greek society. This aspect involved both public cults and private beliefs. Ancient authors described peculiarities involving individuals and their superstitions. The philosopher Theophrastus, writing during the time of Alexander the Great, included in his work Characters a passage on the Superstitious Man, who would wash his hands in a fountain, put a bit of laurel leaf in his mouth, and sprinkle himself with temple water. He would not continue his walk until another traveler passed him, or if a weasel ran across his path, or if none came, he would throw three stones across the path before continuing. He would not walk on a tombstone or come near a dead body. These acts and beliefs were common in the Greek world and showed how forces outside one’s control interacted with people, for good and ill. Astrology and astronomy sought to explain how celestial objects and phenomena influenced society. This influence could be at the level of the state—for example, an eclipse could foretell a bad or good event (such as what Thucydides experienced during the Sicilian Campaign)—or it could occur at the individual level, when a person’s day and time could be compared with the stars and planets and allow for future planning. Science and religion were connected with each other and allowed for an explanation of events and the heavens. See also: Cosmology; Ionian League; Mathematics; Religion

Further Reading

Evans, James. 1998. The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy. New York: Oxford University Press. Heath, Thomas Little, and Aristarchus. 1979. Aristarchus of Samos, the Ancient Copernicus: A History of Greek Astronomy to Aristarchus, Together with Aristarchus’s Treatise on the Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.

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For a discussion on Greek astronomy, see Campion, Nicholas, 2019, “Astrology in Ancient Greek and Roman Culture,” Planetary Science, May 23, https://oxfordre.com /planetaryscience/planetaryscience/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190647926.001 .0001/acrefore-9780190647926-e-46 (accessed May 18, 2021).

Athenian Empire After the Persian Wars, the Greek states, especially the islands and coastal cities of Asia Minor, formed the Delian League in 478 to avenge the attacks by Persia and free the Greek states under Persian rule. The Athenian general Cimon (died ca. 450), the son of Miltiades, the hero of Marathon, achieved a great victory over the Persians in 468 at the Eurymedon River in Asia Minor, freeing the Greek cities in Asia Minor from Persian threat. With this success, the Delian League began to morph into the Athenian Empire. Cimon and Athens argued that city-states that received benefits from the league but were not members should be forced into the organization since it was unfair that they were receiving all of the benefits without paying anything. Cimon and the Athenians forced the city Carystus into the league in 472 on those grounds. When Naxos, a member of the league, seceded, the Athenians reduced Naxos, taking away its autonomy on grounds that the city did not abide by its sacred oath. In 465, Athens under Cimon attacked the island of Thasos, a league member with a large fleet on the Thracian coast, because it desired the gold mines on the island. After a long siege, Thasos was forced to surrender in 463. These incidents show how the league was transformed by Athens into an empire. There were now three classes of cities: those that contributed ships, which ultimately comprised only three members, Lesbos, Chios, and Samos; those who were free but paid money or tribute instead of supplying ships; and those who were tributary allies but remained subject to Athens. For Athens, the more cities that paid money instead of supplying ships the better, since this put even more control and power in the hands of Athens, which controlled the fleet. All cities were required to furnish troops to Athens (i.e., the league) in time of war. In the end, all but Lesbos, Chios, and Samos furnished troops to the league. When new cities joined, they never maintained complete autonomy, and those that revolted lost their autonomy completely. The Athenians, moreover, made independent arrangements with these cities that were always in the best interest of Athens, and not necessarily of the league. Many of the cities had Athenian garrisons, and Athens often determined how their governments were organized. By the middle of the fifth century, the Athenian Empire included most of the islands in the Aegean except Crete, Melos, and Thera, as well as most of the coastal cities, from Chalcidice in Thrace to Phaselis on the southern coast of Asia Minor. The league originally was centered on the sacred island of Delos. While Athens was always looked upon as the leading member, the league at least had the semblance of a confederation in which each city had an equal vote. When Athens assumed the supreme leadership, in both war and policy, the meetings at Delos became less important. Athens discontinued the regular meetings and could decide on policies without even going through the pretense of consultation.



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When the Athenian fleet was finally destroyed in Egypt in 454, the Athenians moved it permanently to Athens on the pretense of safeguarding the league’s treasury. From then on, the allies paid their tribute to Athens and the goddess Athena, not to Delos and the god Apollo. The goddess received one-sixtieth of the tribute for her own treasury, meaning that Athens could do whatever it wanted with this revenue. The Athenians divided their empire at first into five geographical zones: Thrace, Hellespont, Ionia, Caria, and the Islands, although ultimately Ionia and Caria were merged into one. Every four years during the Great Panathenaea, the tribute was reassessed, with some cities’ contributions increasing and others decreasing. As a further example of Athenian control, allies could appeal their assessment, but only in front of an Athenian court. The surviving evidence shows that the general trends of the assessments did not alter dramatically until the Peloponnesian War. This jurisdiction of control in Athens even extended to legal issues. While the Athenians could justify disputes between Athens and an allied city-state taking place in Athenian courts, and that anyone accused of treason also be tried in Athens, the city now began to exert itself in other legal issues. After the city of Chalcis, which tried to rebel, was reduced, Athens added that for sentences of execution, exile, or loss of rights, the accused could appeal to Athenian courts. Athens was now moving beyond just the military protection of the empire to wielding intrusive political and legal control over its allies. The political history and philosophy of Greece led to a constant conflict between the ideas of an empire, which Athens pursued, and the concepts of freedom for the city-states. Greek cities and their residents always viewed the concept of political freedom as being tied to self-governance. When a danger arose, cities could join themselves into a confederation or league, but once that danger ended, they saw it as their right to return to self-control or autonomy. This was in opposition to the idea of the Athenian Empire. Athens, however, could not separate itself from the Greek philosophy of the polis, or city-state. So it did not take the next step needed in the evolution to bring the smaller cities and those defeated into their own political system (i.e., make the cities Athenian). By not doing this, the Athenians continually created disunity by having the residents of other cities not be Athenian (i.e., full citizens) and not independent. This in turn led to continual disaffection, and ultimately rebellion. Athens attempted to remain on friendly terms with Sparta during the first half of the fifth century. Cimon viewed relations with Sparta to be in the best interests of both. Athens would not interfere in the Peloponnese so long as Sparta did not interfere in the Aegean. The Athenian leaders Themistocles and Aristides had watched over Athens during and immediately after the Persian Wars. With Themistocles’s ostracism, Cimon was brought in by Aristides, and the two ran the political machinery in Athens with the guiding principle of keeping Athens safe from Persia and keeping the peace with Sparta. Cimon was continually reelected as general and was able to protect Athens from Persia, while Aristides held the moral ground needed to maintain control over the Athenian Assembly and peace with Sparta. When Aristides died, Cimon was the most important and powerful Athenian statesman. He continued his friendly relations with Sparta. Younger politicians, especially Ephialtes and Pericles, resented Cimon and his policies of peace with

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Sparta. When a revolt of the helots, state-owned serfs who worked the land and could not be sold, occurred in Sparta, Sparta asked Athens for help, and Cimon led an Athenian force to help Sparta in 462. The Spartans then dismissed Cimon without giving a reason, and he returned to Athens, humiliated. Ephialtes and Pericles saw their chance to end the pro-Sparta party in Athens and Cimon. At the same time that Cimon was absent, the two were able to enact popular reforms which achieved a full democracy, giving more power to the lower classes, which Cimon had opposed. When Cimon returned, Ephialtes and Pericles were able to have him ostracized. Ephialtes was murdered soon after by unknown assassins who may have come from his own faction, and Pericles controlled the political situation in Athens. Upon Cimon’s banishment, Athens moved away from Sparta and began to court its enemies. In 458, Athens made an alliance with Argos, Sparta’s chief enemy in the Peloponnese. This alliance, along with their receiving Megara, a member of the Peloponnesian League that had seceded, led to Athens being involved in 459 in a war with Corinth and their ally Aegina. The Athenians successfully defeated the two and built a series of defensive walls at Megara to keep Attica safe. With half the fleet in the Saronic Gulf, the other half was at the far ends of the Athenian Empire. Athens now launched an expedition to Egypt with 200 warships to help in the Egyptian rebellion against the Persians. Unlike the previous battles and campaigns, which were fought in Greek territories, this expedition now had the Greeks as invaders in unfamiliar lands. The Athenians arrived and sailed up the Nile to Memphis, which the rebels captured. The Athenians now were fighting two wars—one at Aegina, which finally fell in 456 and was enrolled in the empire and became one of the richest tribute states; and the other in Egypt, which went on for the next two years without any details recorded about it. During this same period, the Athenians won a victory over Spartan allies in Boeotia and, with the exception of Thebes, made the cities there allies of Athens. Although they were not enrolled in the empire, the cities would support Athens if needed. The Athenians were able to complete their long walls from the harbor to the city without fear of attack. Disaster now struck Athens, however, as the fleet in Egypt was destroyed and a relief fleet of fifty ships was defeated as well in 454. Nevertheless, the Athenian Empire was at its height now, with both naval and land-based cities controlling most of central Greece. The major threat to Athens now lay with Corinth, and Pericles planned to make the Corinthian Gulf an Athenian lake. Athens under Pericles successfully took over Achaean cities. Cimon was recalled early, and he negotiated a five-year peace treaty with Sparta in 452, probably at the same time and in conjunction with Sparta and Argos concluding a thirty-year truce. The Athenian Empire was supreme. Cimon and Pericles were now free to make war on Persia after the disastrous Egyptian campaign. Cimon sailed to Cyprus and besieged the city of Cition, where he was killed during the attack. The fleet abandoned the siege but then successfully defeated the enemy on both land and sea, with victory over the Phoenician and Cilician ships. With Cimon’s death, the policy of Athens against Persia now changed. Pericles successfully negotiated the Peace of Callias in 449. The Greek cities of Asia were in the hands of the Athenians while they gave up their claim to Cyprus.



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Pericles was determined to hold on to the recent gains in Greece, so he was willing to abandon Cyprus so as not to face a two-front war. Shortly afterward, the Athenians lost control of Boeotia, which was probably not seen as a great loss because it had added little to their empire but took up a lot of resources. Worse, however, was the loss of Megara, with the Athenian garrison massacred. Pericles reduced Euboea, but there were rumblings of discontent in the empire. This may be reflected in a general reduction of tribute in the year 446. At this point, Athens and Sparta agreed to a thirty-year peace, in which Athens gave up its gains in the Corinthian Gulf and Aegina would still be in the league, but with its autonomy guaranteed. With the negotiated Peace of Callias between Persia and Athens granting freedom to the Greek cities of Asia Minor, the stated purpose of the Delian League ended and the confederation should be dissolved. Pericles decided that the league, now the Athenian Empire, would continue, and Athens would ensure the protection of the Aegean and the safety of the allied cities with the fleet. At the same time, he indicated that the temples on the Acropolis, which had been destroyed by Persia during the Great War, should be rebuilt from the league’s treasury, now held at Athens. Many Athenians, who viewed that the tribute should be reserved for the protection of the allies, opposed this plan. Pericles, however, countered that Athens should be able to use the money as it saw fit so long as the ideas of the league were upheld; in addition, the restoration of the temples allowed Athens to provide an employment program and beautify the city. In the allied states, discontent in the 440s was evident, with tribute dropping due to some paying late, others paying only the minimum, and still others not paying at all. The Athenians tightened up their collections, and payments, including back tribute, increased in the mid-440s. At the same time, Pericles sent out more cleruchies, this time to Thrace to safeguard the important grain trade coming from what is now southern Russia. The citizens sent out were from the lowest classes, which gave them land and the prospect of more resources. This in turn allowed these new settlers to be enrolled in the hoplite class. Unlike colonists, these citizens in the Cleruchies remained Athenians, with all the rights and responsibilities that came with that status, and the lands they settled were now extensions of Athens. Pericles also introduced another act that made the Athenian Empire more prominent in all of the cities by requiring the use of Athenian coinage and weights. In addition, allied cities were forbidden to mint their own silver coins. While the act allowed a more cohesive policy of trade in the Aegean, it also meant that Athens controlled trade. Pericles put into action his plan to rebuild the city, and the Acropolis was adorned with new temples paid for by allied tribute. By 435, Athens was in control of an empire, making it the most important city in the Greek world. Although there had been an indecisive war that brought home the realities of an empire and its problems, Athens was still ambitious and wanted to increase its power over all of Greece. This in turn led to a new conflict between Athens and Sparta, which began far from Athens on the other side of Greece with Corinth and its colonies, which in turn led to the great Peloponnesian War. See also: Athens; Delian League; Peace of Callias; Peloponnesian War; Samos; Sparta; Taxation; Taxation; Thasos; Thebes; Tribute

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Further Reading

Hale, John R. 2009. Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy. New York: Viking. Low, P. 2008. The Athenian Empire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Meiggs, Russell. 1972. The Athenian Empire. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Mills, S. 2020. Drama, Oratory and Thucydides in Fifth-Century Athens: Teaching Imperial Lessons. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. Rhodes, P. J. 2018. Periclean Athens. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

Athens Athens was the chief city in classical Greece, rivaling all others for political and cultural control. The city of Athens was in the region of Attica, three miles from the sea, and protected on three sides by the mountains, with the open sea to the south. To the northwest lay Mount Parnes, to the northeast Mount Pentelicus, to the southeast Mount Hymettus, and to the west, Mount Aegaleus. These mountains ringed Athens and provided a natural defense. Closer to Athens to the northeast was Mount Lycabettus, and the rivers Illissus and Cephissus lay to the east and west, respectively. A further defense was Athens’s citadel, the Acropolis, a rocky hilltop that rose out of the Attica plain and formed a natural citadel. Two other smaller hills in Athens were the Areopagus, to the west of the Acropolis, and the Pynx, to the southwest.

Restored version of ancient Athens. (From The New York Public Library, https://digitalcollections.nypl.org)

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Themistocles after the Persian War of 479 constructed the defensive walls with twelve gates; and from 461–456, the great Long Walls were built, connecting the city to Athens’s harbors the Piraeus and Phalerum. These walls were about four miles long, and when a third wall was built parallel to the Phaleric Wall (which now fell into disrepair), the area between the two walls was sufficient to protect all of Athens and allow the safe transport of goods to and from the harbors. This made Athens a virtual island, safe from any land attack. The walls were dismantled after the Peloponnesian War in 404 but were soon rebuilt in 394; by 200, they had become ruins. The two main gates in the city wall were the Dipylon, in the northwest, and the Sacred Gate to Eleusis, on the Sacred Way to the west. The Dipylon ran to the agora and Academy, and outside the wall were the principal tombs where Pericles gave his famous funeral oration. Although the city and its environs were one of the most important in the Greek world, Attica did not ultimately control the political world of Greece. The city, however, did dominate and control its culture. Inside the city lay several important regions that fostered commercial, political, and cultural developments. The old agora, constructed by the mythical king Theseus, was on the northern slope of the Acropolis. It contained the Eleusion, a temple to Demeter and Persephone that housed the sacred objects of the Eleusinian Mysteries once they were removed from Eleusis; and the Prytaneum, which housed the sacred hearth and the offices of the state where ambassadors were received. During the seventh century, this agora became too small, so a second and larger one was built, bounded by the Areopagus to the west and the Acropolis to the east. Archaeological evidence shows that the Acropolis has been inhabited since 5000. During the Mycenaean period, a palace was constructed on the hilltop and walls were constructed by the late thirteenth century, supposedly during the time of Theseus. This synoecism, or amalgamation, of Attica into Athens was probably gradual, not a spontaneous or instantaneous event as recounted in the myth. While Athens did become the capital of Attica (Thucydides 2.15), it probably took at least a century to accomplish. Nevertheless, Athens was strong enough to withstand the Dorian invasion, and it probably became a refuge for many of the surrounding Ionian states so they could help colonize the coast of western Asia Minor, or Ionia. During this period, they continued their unbroken line with the Mycenaean period during the Dark Ages. During the Archaic Age, Athens became an important city. The Mycenaean wall was no longer important and fell into disuse. The Peisistratids would build their palace on the Acropolis, but with their expulsion, it ceased to become the city’s fort. The history of Athens was one of continual development and change. Like other Greek cities, it was originally ruled by kings, with the last one being the mythical Codrus, who fled Messenia during the Dorian invasion and went to Athens to become king. The Dorians invaded Attica, and according to legend, the city would be taken if the Dorians spared its king. Codrus, upon hearing this, entered the Dorian camp, picked a fight, and was killed; thereafter, the Dorians withdrew.

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After Codrus, his son, Medon, became the first archon or chief magistrate and Athens’s government became representative. During the next few centuries, the powerful aristocratic families controlled the political, military, and religious offices of the city. Over this time, there were several attempts by individuals to break the power of the aristocrats, or oligarchs. One was Cylon in 632, who attempted to become a tyrant. He had married the daughter of the tyrant of nearby Megara and seized the Acropolis. The Athenian archon Megacles besieged the citadel, forcing Cylon to flee. His supporters took refuge in the temple of Athena, but Megacles killed them, incurring a sacrilege or pollution on his family, the Alcmaeonidae, which was used as a political weapon against his descendants. A decade later, in 621, the lawgiver Draco attempted to break the power of the oligarchs. During a time of civil unrest, he was given the power to organize and write the laws, and lower-class citizens complained of this since they did not know what the laws were and they were constantly changing and hence hard to follow. The laws he wrote were viewed as harsh (hence the name Draconian), with even the most trivial offenses supposedly resulting in death. His laws were later repealed by Solon, except those concerning homicide. A generation after Draco, the aristocrats still controlled the political system, and more hardships fell on the common Athenian. In 594, Solon was tasked with setting up a new system. He apparently got rid of debt servitude, an institution in which individuals were required to give one-sixth of their produce to the wealthy in return for seed and use of the ox or plow, but they could not leave their farms, becoming slaves to their creditors. It also appears that trade at this time potentially could hurt the Athenians, in particular the selling of grain outside Attica. This would have reduced the amount of grain available for the city and forced it to import even more. Solon prohibited the selling of agricultural goods, except olives and oil, outside Attica. These goods were already important exports and would remain so. Rather, his plan was to prevent the sale of grain to Aegina and Megara, Athens’s enemies. The grain grown on the fields of Eleusis, although easier to sell in Aegina, was needed in Athens to feed its growing population. Solon’s most important law was the cancelling of debts, and all those who had been enslaved due to their debt were freed. Those who could not feed themselves and their families often sold themselves into slavery or became bond servants, but Solon forbade them from doing this anymore as a condition of their freedom. Solon realized the need for trade and promoted citizenship for those who settled in Athens. In addition to these economic changes, Solon realized that the city’s government had to change as well. He changed the requirements to stand for office from birth to wealth. He changed the class systems so that there were four classes based upon annual income. Classes that harvested more than 500 bushels per year were called pentacosiomedimni; those that produced 300 to 500 bushels were known as hippeis; those between 200 and 300 bushels were called zeugitae; and those who produced less than that amount were called thetes . Of the original three classes, the lowest had already existed and now the top class was added to them and but all were based on economics. In addition, he made the chief offices, archons, available through wealth rather than being limited to the original aristocratic family as

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had been the case for generations. The office was made available to those of the first class, and possibly the second since the zeugitae (third class) did not become eligible until 457. In addition, Solon allowed the thetes to be full members of the Assembly. He also instituted the Heliaea, or people’s court, to try abuses of the magistrates’ power. Solon appears to have created the council of 400, where 100 members from each class or tribe were selected. This appears to have been the precursor to Cleisthenes’s council of 500. Solon had accomplished his changes through the current system of laws and politics, not as a tyrant. He had been elected archon and had been asked to solve the problems, which he did. He required everyone to swear that they would not change the laws until after ten years, and then he left office. His reforms did not achieve the success he had hoped; soon party strife began again. After thirty years, the city fell under the rule of Pisistratus, who took advantage of the dissension between the old aristocratic party of the plains and the new group that supported Solon, mainly on the coast and in the mountains. The Athenians seized the island of Salamis and the port of Nisaea from Megara; the latter by Pisistratus, who supported and was supported by the extreme democrats. He became tyrant in 561, only to be pushed out about 556; around 550, he made himself tyrant again for a few months until he was exiled for the second time. Finally, in 540, he became tyrant for a third time and ruled until his death in 527. Pisistratus confiscated some of the land of the aristocrats, his enemies, and used the land to redistribute to the poor, something Solon had refused to do. He instituted a land tax, equaling one-tenth of the produce, on these landowners and this became a source of revenue for his power. Pisistratus continued a policy of being friendly with the major states. He continued to have peaceful relations with Thebes and Thessaly, as well as Sparta and Argos, each the enemy of the other. He sent out colonies to the Propontis and worked to establish colonies and trading partners in the Black Sea region. An individual who led the capture of the Thracian Chersonese was Miltiades, a political rival, but he probably worked under Pisistratus’ authority. Pisistratus also pushed the idea that Athena was the patron goddess or mother of the Ionian Greeks. This led him to assert control over Delos, and he purified the island by digging up the tombs in the sanctuary and moving them elsewhere. Most important, he reconstituted the Great Panathenaic festival, which was held every four years. In addition, he began the process of creating public works in Athens, which continued throughout its history. With his death in 527, his eldest son, Hippias, took over. Helped by his younger brother, Hipparchus, Hippias continued his father’s work and even offered political reconciliation with the leading families. In 514, Hipparchus was assassinated, and Hippias began to rule harshly in retaliation for that, instilling fear in his subjects. In 510, Sparta advanced into Attica, and Hippias agreed to go into exile. The people elected Cleisthenes in 509 to reform the constitution of Athens. His desire was to create a unified city where competition thrived but did not destroy the city due to regional differences and competing agendas. The first test of the

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How to Unify a Divided Nation Cleisthenes recognized that the problem in Athens lay with the political differences connected with the three geographical regions: the plain, the coast, and the mountains. To combat this disunion, he created a system where the three had to operate together. He achieved this by taking all of the demes, or small regional entities probably connected with clans, and putting them into thirty larger units called trittyes, in which ten where in the plains, ten in the coast, and ten in the mountains. He then took one tritty from each district and made it a tribe, so that in the end there were ten tribes. Nearly all of the offices were now set at ten, with one from each tribe, which involved increasing the number of magistrates. Candidates therefore competed with one another from within their own tribe and therefore would need help from all of the three districts. He then increased the council of 400 to 500, with 50 from each tribe. The council’s job was to set the agenda for the Assembly meetings. The Assembly was composed of all citizens. This change led to military reorganization, where each tribe sent a regiment of infantry and cavalry with ten generals elected by the people.

new democracy was the war with Persia. In 499, Athens aided the Ionian cities in their rebellion against Persia. In 490, the Persians, led by the former tyrant Hippias, returned to Athens to punish the city for its interference. During the previous several years, the Athenian democracy, aided by exiles who returned after the tyrant’s exile, especially Miltiades, had continued to build up the military. When the Persians arrived at Marathon, the Athenians with some allies from Plataea totaling about 10,000 defeated the larger Persian force. The Persians retreated, and Greece prepared for the next wave. Ten years later, under Xerxes, king of Persia, the Athenians were faced with a more serious threat. Instead of a small expeditionary force, Persia came with a large army and navy. During the ten-year interval, the Athenians had fortunately found a new vein of silver in one of their mines, which provided the city with considerable money. Under their leader, Themistocles, the Athenians built a new fleet. After Xerxes stormed the Acropolis and burned the city, the Athenians and other Greek states rallied their fleet at Salamis, a small island off the coast of Attica. Here, the numerous Persian ships were defeated in the narrows by the faster and more maneuverable Greek trireme. With Xerxes watching the battle, the Greeks defeated the Persians, who fled, leaving behind an army at Thebes. The following year, the Athenians joined the Spartans and other Greeks and defeated the Persians for good. Supposedly on the same day, the Athenian fleet defeated the Persian fleet at Mycale in Asia Minor, ending the Persian threat altogether. After the Persian Wars, the Athenians embarked on several new initiatives. First, they accomplished their conception of democracy. During the fifth century, Athens filled most offices by lot, so all Athenians were capable of participating in the running of the city-state. This fulfillment did create potential problems, such as the rise of the demagogue who could sway the crowd with flattery, but the Athenians proudly held that their form of government ensured that all of the decisions of the state were made by the people.

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The second initiative was the rise of Athenian culture, seen in the rebuilding of the Acropolis with new temples, especially the Parthenon. In addition, the cultural activities of the playwrights came into fullest flower with Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus. These were joined by the comic writers, especially Aristophanes. The playwrights produced a level of literary highlights that would not be seen again until the Renaissance. The final initiative was the creation of the Athenian Empire, a naval empire built from the Delian League. During its eighty-year existence, the empire allowed Athens to finance its democracy and cultural activities. So long as Athens remained concentrated on the sea, it did not run afoul of Sparta, the landbased empire; but when Athens began to interfere in land-based activities, the two came to literal blows. The Peloponnesian War from 432–404 ultimately led to the destruction of the Athenian Empire. Throughout this time, the Athenian leader Pericles led Athens in its development of the empire, democracy, and culture. After the destruction of the Athenian Empire, Athens continued to play a major role as a counterweight to the other major cities. Ultimately, like the rest of the Greek city-states, Athens could not move away from its individual concept of city power and unite to save Greece from the rise of Macedon. Under the leadership of Demosthenes, the Athenians fought with Thebes; they were defeated at Chaeronea, losing both their power and their independence. See also: Acropolis; Aegospotami, Battle of; Attica; Colonization; Democracy; Gardens; Law Courts; Metic; Peace of Callias; Persian Wars; Polis; Prytaneis; Salamis; Sicilian Expedition; Theater; Tragedy; Tribes; Troy; Tyrants

Further Reading

Blok, Josine. 2017. Citizenship in Classical Athens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cartledge, P. 2009. Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Thallon-Hill, Ida. 1969. The Ancient City of Athens: Its Topography and Monuments. Chicago: Argonaut. For a discussion on the Athenian state and its legacy and influence on American politics, see “Ancient Athens and Decentralization of the Greek States,” The Impact of the Classics: Founding the American Constitution, http://projects.leadr.msu.edu /uniontodisunion/exhibits/show/the-classical-world-and-the-fo/-athens- (accessed May 18, 2021).

Athletes Games, most of which were established as religious festivals to honor the gods, heroes, or events, allowed athletes from across the Greek world to compete, with the winners receiving prizes ranging from wreaths to statues to money. In the ancient Greek world, athletes held a favored position in their home city-state. These athletes not only competed for their own prestige and livelihood, but they also brought their city-state praise and honor for their victories. Many athletes

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Greek athletes with discus, javelins, and hand weights. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Rogers Fund, 1906)

were associated with the Olympic Games and other Panhellenic Games, giving rise to questions about their status as amateurs or professionals. This question is often associated with the modern Olympic Games, which were revived in 1896 CE. Unlike modern Olympic athletes, ancient athletes were not constrained by regulations concerning their status as amateurs or professionals. In fact, most athletes would receive prizes for competing in games, and the word athlete is derived from the Greek athlon, meaning “prize.” In addition to the athlete winning a prize, a sculptor was usually commissioned to create a rendition of the athlete to erect in their hometown. At Olympia, there were statues to honor the victors as well. Those put up at Olympia, in the Sanctuary of Zeus, were only idealized unless the individual won three victories, in which case he was allowed a realistic likeness. These statues would show the history for the competitor. For example, the athlete Dikon’s statue indicated that he won five boys’ races at Delphi, three at Isthmia, four at Nemea, and one at Olympia, as well as two men’s races. He had statues in Olympia for all of his

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No Amateurs Greek competition is recorded as early as Homer’s Iliad (the twenty-third book), in which after Patroklos’s death, his friend Achilles put on funeral games totaling eight events, with the participants receiving prizes such as oxen, gold, silver, tripods, and female slaves or concubines. In the later games, prizes were often in the form of money, usually paid by the home city. For instance, Athens would pay a cash award of 500 drachmas for a victor in the Olympic Games and 100 for a winner in the Isthmian Games, with a drachma being equivalent to a laborer’s daily wage. Olympic victors in Athens would also receive a free daily meal in the City Hall for the rest of their lives. At the games themselves, the prizes varied. Some of the festivals gave gifts of value, but at the great Pan-Hellenic Festivals, the victors only received wreaths: olive at Olympia, parsley at Nemea, pine at Isthmia, and laurel at Delphi. Of course, when these victors returned home, they received monetary gifts from their cities too.

races and was from Caulonia, but later he was bribed to say that he was from Syracuse. It appears that these games were not always honest, with decrees often released that described those who had been caught cheating and receiving bribes. These decrees were usually on the main roads that athletes took to travel to the games, and they may have been erected to shame those who had been caught or as a warning to others. The typical events that athletes competed in were running, wrestling, and later boxing, the pentathlon, and horse racing. Running was the most common event and, in many ways, the easiest to put on and compete. The races ranged from short sprints to longer races. Wrestling and boxing were introduced to allow combat displays. For wrestling, one competitor had to win three throws comprised of having the other individual’s hip, back, or shoulder touching the ground; if both competitors hit the ground, it was not a throw. For boxing, it appears that punches were aimed only at the head. Another sport, the pankration, was a combination of boxing and wrestling, and only biting and gouging the eyes were prohibited. An all-around sporting event, the pentathlon, included a running event (probably a sprint), the long jump (which may have been from the standing position or running), the discus and javelin throw, and wrestling. It is not clear how the events were scored; for example, it is not known if in the wrestling competition, it was through elimination by points or by outright defeat. Although horse racing was the most prestigious event, the chariot driver or horse rider was not honored, but rather the owner. The athletes who competed in these events were often hailed as great men and provided with numerous benefits, similar to modern athletes. See also: Games; Gymnasium; Horse Racing; Olympic Festival; Panhellenic Games; Stadium

Further Reading

Christesen, Paul. 2007. Olympic Victor Lists and Ancient Greek History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Golden, Mark. 1998. Sport and Society in Ancient Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

82 Attica For an examination of the ancient Olympics, see “The Athletes: Amateurs or Pros?” The Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games, the Penn Museum, 2020, https:// www.penn.museum/sites/olympics/olympicathletes.shtml (accessed May 18, 2021).

Attica The region of central Greece where Athens was located was called Attica. It was probably named for its projecting peninsula, coming from the Greek word acte, meaning “promontory.” It took the form of a triangle, with water on two sides, the Aegean Sea on the east and the Saronic Gulf on the west, and Boeotia in the north on its landward side, separated by mountains with few passes. This allowed the region to be protected from the rest of Greece. It was a mountainous and dry area of about 700 square miles. There were two rivers, the Cephissus and the Ilissus, which were usually dry except after heavy rainfall and occasionally in the winter. These two rivers watered the Athenian Plain during the rainy season. The Cephissus was the more important, flowing south from Mount Parnes on the western side of the city and crossing the Long Walls, built in the fifth century, and emptying into the Phaleric Bay. The Athenian plain also had the stream Cycloborus from Mount Parnes, which was described in antiquity as water rushing down, making a great noise, and flowing into olive groves. These were little more than streams, which would overflow during the rainy season. There were four plains, the Eleusinian and Thriasian in the west, with its chief town Eleusis; the central region, called the Athenian plain; and Mesogeia in the east. Often the Eleusinian and Athenian Plains were simply called “the plains.” The ­Eleusinian Plain had two small streams watering it, the more important one also being called the Cephissus from Mount Cithaeron. Other districts existed, so there were five general natural divisions, the Eleusinian Plain, the Athenian Plain, the Highlands (which included the Plain of Marathon), the Midland District, and the Paralia or Seacoast district, which contained the mines of Laurum. These five regions provided Athens with the three major geographical divisions that would influence its political-geographical government—the plains, the mountains (or hills), and the seacoast comprising the city proper. The region also featured the island of Salamis. The Sacred Way led from Athens to Eleusis. This road was used for the solemn procession for the Eleusinian festival celebrated each year. This was one of the chief roads of Athens, and it was lined with monuments on both sides. There were two branches leaving Athens—one at the Dipylum Gate and the other at the Sacred Gate—and both united to form the Sacred Way. From the Dipylum Gate, the first monument commemorated the herald Anthemocritus. The road then crossed the Cephissus River via a bridge, and farther along was the temple of Apollo on Mount Poecilum, which formed the dividing line between the Eleusinian and Thriasian plains. Farther still was a temple to Aphrodite. The road then went past the Rheiti, or salt-springs, which was the boundary region between ­Athens and Eleusis during the early period. The road then went into Eleusis. The four major mountains, Aegaleus, Hymettus, Pentelicus and Laurium, divided the region. Hymettus was known for its honey, while Pentelicus had

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marble quarries and Laurium had rich silver mines. In addition to the famous white Pentelic marble, Hymettus had marble of black, blue, and gray. The silver mines of Laurium had been well known since the Mycenaean period, but in the early fifth century, a rich vein was discovered, and the Athenians under Themistocles agreed to use the profits from that for the building of the Athenian fleet before the Persian Wars of 480–479. The Athenians sold the rights for the working of the mines to private contractors in return for a share of the profits. These mines were exploited until the end of the Peloponnesian War, when Sparta took over the nearby area and blocked Athenian access. Once the war ended, the Athenians restarted their mining and continued until the first century CE. Most of the mining operations, as well as marble quarries, were worked by slaves. In addition, Attica was known for its pottery, and its potters’ clay was famous. The soil of Attica is light and dry and was not the best for growing wheat, but it was better suited to the olive. These arid conditions made the growing of grain difficult, which ultimately pushed the Athenians who controlled the region to abandon grain products and begin to cultivate olive groves and vineyards, although it was not known for any especially good wines. The olive tree was viewed as a gift from the patron goddess Athena, who ensured productivity and protection. The sacred olive tree on the Acropolis in her temple precinct provided the Moriae, or sacred olive-trees, in the Academy, and the other olive trees of Attica were said to be descended from in this region. There were also fig trees under the protection of Demeter. There was a sacred fig tree at Eleusis, which the goddess Demeter was said to produce. Both olives and figs were exported from Athens, especially after the time of Solon, who had forbidden the exportation of grain. Vineyards provided another source of income through the production of wine. Wine from Attica was pleasant and sweet, but not viewed as the best. Dionysus was said to have planted the grove at Icaria, where he was welcomed. Unlike other regions of Greece, especially in the north, the breeding of horses was not common due to the hilly and rocky districts and the absence of extensive foodstuffs due to the soil. As such, they were kept only by the wealthy. Likewise, cattle were not extensive either. There was, however, enough pasture for sheep and goats, especially on the mountainsides, with goats probably being more important. The seas provided Athens with fish, most likely the anchovy or sardine. Although Athens was the primary city in the region of Attica, there were other significant cities as well. Originally said to have been twelve in number, the cities merged together gradually over a period of time, eventually becoming the city of Athens under Theseus. While Athens was always viewed as the chief city, many of the local towns retained their autonomy until the reforms of Cleisthenes. Many of the villages in the countryside still retained powerful holdings of the aristocratic families. These regions lost their power when Pisistratus and Cleisthenes moved to break the power of the aristocrats. Cleisthenes created a system wherein those in the countryside needed the political support of those in the hills and city, and vice versa. This development effectively ended the local autonomy of the small villages. One of the most important divisions of Athens was the creation of the original four tribes. Their names often varied over time. For example, during the early

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period, they were known as Cecropis, Autochthon, Actaea, and Paralia, with the first two names derived from mythical figures and the latter two from physical entities (the city and the beach, respectively). Later, during the reign of Cranaus, they were changed to Cranais, Athis, Mesogaea, and Diacris, again named for mythical figures and physical areas. Finally, they were named for the four Ionic tribes of Geleontes, Hopletes, Argades, and Aegicores, and those names would continue until the time of Cleisthenes, when he created ten new tribes. These tribes were named after Attic heroes (listed in order of precedence): Erechtheis, Aegeis, Pandionis, Leontis, Acamantis, Oeneis, Cecropis, Hippothoontis, Aeantis, and Antiochis. These tribes were then divided into smaller districts, called demes or townships. Although the exact number of demes is unknown, it probably approached 150 for all of Attica during the Classical period. The demes assigned to each tribe, however, were not adjacent territories since the tribes were not viewed as physical entities, but rather political divisions to incorporate all of Attica into a system allowing different regions to come together in a single political unity. Hence, demes from the three major physical areas, the coast (city), plains, and hills, where each represented a particular piece of land, were brought together such that each tribe had members from all three districts. For example, five of the city demes belonged to five different tribes. Once enrolled in a deme, a man’s descendants would remain in that deme regardless where he physically resided. Athens successfully created a system of union throughout the region so that Attica became synonymous with the city. Unlike in the region of Boeotia, where Thebes never completed the union and therefore failed to dominate the district, Athens successfully merged all of the entities into one political system and city. This gave Athens a large population, which allowed it to emerge after the Persian Wars as the leading city of the Greek world. It could establish a navy, and hence an empire. With so many residents, the city required a large food supply, which the district could not provide. Thus, Athens had to import its food. The city ultimately became the most important site in classical Greece. See also: Athens; Eleusis; Geography; Panathenea; Tribes

Further Reading

Anderson, Greg. 2003. The Athenian Experiment: Building an Imagined Political ­Community in Ancient Attica, 508–490 B.C. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Camp, John M. 2003. The Archaeology of Athens. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Lawton, Carol L. 1995. Attic Document Reliefs: Art and Politics in Ancient Athens. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. For photographs of the memorials and archaeology of Attica, see Glowacki, Kevin T., 2004, “The Ancient City of Athens,” The Soa: A Consortium for Electronic ­Publication in the Humanities, https://www.stoa.org/athens/index.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

B Barbarian To the Hellenes, anyone not speaking Greek was considered a barbarian. The term came from the word barbarous, meaning “foreign” or “unintelligible,” which was the opposite of polites, meaning “citizen.” The Greeks used the term regardless of other groups’ culture or civilization. The classical Greeks used barbaros to describe Egyptians, Persians, and Phoenicians, societies known for their cultural advancement, as well as for Thracians, Scythians, and other tribes, which had neither cities nor written records. In all of these instances, barbaros referred to groups speaking a language they could not understand, which they said sounded like “bar-bar.” The word appears in the Iliad once to refer to something incomprehensible spoken by the Carians. Ultimately, the term was used to describe the Persians after the Persian Wars. The Greeks did not confine the term to non-Greek states or cultures, but also to other Greek states that were not as advanced politically, such as those in Epirus or Macedon. The Athenians in particular even used it to refer to Greeks of the classical region, such as those in Boeotia and Thessaly. The non-Greek groups that the Greeks came into contact with, moving from the west to the northwest to the northeast to the east and then to the south, represented a variety of tribes and cultures. To the west were the Epirotes, who were Greeks even if the Athenians did not view them as such, perhaps because the Dorians originated from this region. The major tribe in Epirus that became important was the Molossians and their dynasty, the Aeacidae, from which came the princess Olympias, who married Philip II of Macedon. The Macedonians viewed the Epirotes as semi-Greeks, even as the classical Greeks, especially the Athenians, viewed the Macedonians as semi-Greek as well. To the north of Epirus was Illyria, with a variety of tribes. One of the major dynasties of this region was founded in the mid-fifth century by Bardylis, born around 450 and ruling until 358. His reign witnessed the union of many of the Illyrian tribes, and he successfully attacked and took over parts of Epirus and Macedon before being defeated and killed by Philip II in 358. He successfully developed the kingdom into a military and economic power in the region. He was able to exploit the rich silver mines, minting silver coins and promoting trade throughout the region. Farther north and east was the region of Thrace. The various tribes there never were able to come together to form a unified tribe or nation. The Thracians inhabited most of the Balkans, including north of the Danube to the Bug River and along the Black Sea coastline extending into Asia Minor. Thrace had been taken over by the Persians in 516, and again in 492. The most important was the Odrysian Kingdom from the fifth to first centuries, its king, Teres I, ruled from 460–445 and unified a variety of tribes. He appeared to have begun the process during the

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470s after the Persians were defeated at Plataea, and then he helped oust the ­Persians from Thrace. His son, Sitalces, continued to enlarge the kingdom and fought the Macedonians in 429 after aligning himself with the Athenians, although he was forced to give up the fight short of victory. In 424, he was killed fighting the Triballi, another Thracian tribe. It was during this time that the Odrysian Kingdom reached its heights, stretching from the Danube to the area just north of the Aegean coast. Although it would lose a lot of its power after the Peloponnesian War, it continued to control a reduced area until the Roman period. To the northeast of the Thracians lived the Scythians, nomads who moved across the steppes of Russia. Although they had strongholds and cities, they were known for their ability to vanish when an enemy attacked. Across the Hellespont was Anatolia, which witnessed a variety of tribes moving in and out of the region. To the Greeks of Asia Minor, the major barbarian groups included the Phrygians and Lydians. The Phrygians were known to exist around the region of the city of Gordium during the eighth century. They had arisen after the fall of the Hittite Kingdom and may have been remnants of the “Sea Peoples,” a group mentioned by the ancient Egyptians around 1200. They descended upon the eastern Mediterranean and are now viewed as part of a general migration that probably included the Dorians. It was during this era that the mythology of King Midas (Mita) arose. The Phrygians continued to expand and engaged in active trade with the Greeks of Asia Minor, as well as kingdoms to the east. The Cimmerians destroyed the power of the Phrygians when they sacked their capital, Gordium. After the Mycenaean period, the Cimmerians, an Indo-European tribe, moved into a region on the southern Black Sea after being displaced by the Scythians. Although culturally similar to the Scythians, they were viewed as a distinct and different group, originating in the Pontus region to the east of the Black Sea. Around 700, the Cimmerians attacked the Neo-Assyrians and were defeated by Sargon II in 705. The remainder of the tribe moved west and took over Phrygia, and then they attacked Lydia, which defeated them, effectively ending their power. The other major barbarian power was Lydia, which likewise developed after the collapse of the Hittite Empire. The capital was located at Sardis. The Lydians expanded their power against the Greeks of Asia Minor and became known for their creation of coinage, probably under the rule of King Alyattes and his son, Croesus. Although the Lydians were wealthy and powerful, the Greeks still considered them barbarians due to their non-Greek culture and language. To the south of Lydia and Phrygia were the regions of Media and Persia. To the Greeks, these residents were the viewed as barbarians, especially after the Greeks defeated the Persians at Marathon and Plataea, even though they had “culture,” as opposed to the northern tribes. The Greeks viewed the Persians and Medians as purely eastern and subservient. The Medes arrived in the Iranian Plateau, west of the Zagros Mountains, during the late ninth century, with its capital at Ecbatana. These people were originally vassals under the Neo-Assyrians. In the late seventh century, their king, Cyaxares, joined the Babylonians to defeat the Assyrians. The Medes then conquered the region of Armenia and fought the Lydians, making the River Halys the boundary. His son, Astyages, was defeated by Cyrus, king of

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Persia, who now created the Persian Kingdom. As the Persians advanced, they conquered the Babylonians, extending their power. The Greeks knew of the ­Babylonians and lumped them in with other Semitic peoples. The other major group that the Greeks knew was the Phoenicians. They lived along the Levant coast, and they successfully spread throughout the Mediterranean, establishing colonies as far west as Spain. The Phoenicians were centered on independent city-states, each creating their own power and colonies. They were controlled by the Hittites during the Bronze Age, and after the Hittites’ demise in about 1200, they became independent. They began to control the mercantile and maritime region in the Aegean, a reign that lasted for several centuries. The first major cities were Byblos and Sidon, although other cities such as Tyre and Berytus would increase in power. The Phoenicians established an alphabet that would spread to the Greek world. Tyre created the most famous colony to the west, at Carthage. Although their seamanship was well known, the Phoenician cities came under the control of the Assyrians from about 850 to 600, followed by the Babylonians until 540 before being conquered by the Persians. The Greeks came into contact with the Phoenicians early on and developed trade relations with them, especially on Cyprus. Farther south and west was Egypt. The Greeks knew of the Egyptians during their New Kingdom since the Minoan and Mycenaean periods. The Greeks established trading colonies in Egypt at Naucratis and supported the Egyptians in their continual struggle against their Persian masters. The Athenians would send several expeditions against the Persians in Egypt, most notably in 460; when that one failed, the Athenians pulled back from their expansion. The Egyptians, like the Lydians and Phoenicians, sent contingents for the Persian forces when they invaded Greece. In the west, the Greeks also came into contact with barbarian tribes in Africa, Spain, France, Italy, and Sicily. These interactions existed between the Greek colonies and the local cities and tribes. In Africa, the most important barbarian group was Carthage, a city and colony established by Tyre. The city had a cordial relationship with Greek cities on Sicily until its residents came into conflict with these Greek colonies when they all tried to control the island. The Carthaginians attempted to control Sicily and engaged in a series of wars, which ultimately led to the western part of Sicily being under Carthage and the east, especially Syracuse, under the Greeks. The Greeks on Sicily came into contact with local Sicel tribes and pushed them into the interior mountains. The Greek cities on Sicily never united; they engaged in continuous, internecine warfare with each other, the Sicilian tribes, and Carthage until ultimately being conquered by Rome. On the Italian mainland, the Greek cities came into contact with Italian tribes and cities. In the southern part, the Greeks came into contact with several tribes, such as the Samnites, all of whom spoke the Oscan language. They were probably related to another tribe, the Sabines. The Greeks also came into contact with the Etruscans in northern Italy, who controlled the region as far south as Naples during the fifth and fourth centuries. The Greeks would come into conflict with the Etruscans and their allies, the Carthaginians, at the naval battle of Alalia against the Phocaeans from Asia Minor, who had established a colony at Massalia in

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southern France. The city of Phocaea had been taken by the Persians in 546, and the residents moved to a colony at Alalia, on Corsica. Although the Phocaean fleet was victorious, it lost over half its ships. The Phocaeans now evacuated Corsica, which had been taken over by the Etruscans. On the southern coast of France was the colony of Massalia. The Greeks here faced two major barbarian threats, the Carthaginians and the local tribes. The Massalians defeated the Carthaginians in two major battles, but they were kept out of Spain. The city also came into contact with the local Gallic tribes. Massalia was able to keep control of the region by expanding commercially by sea instead of expanding into the interior. Throughout the Mediterranean, the Greeks came into conflict with local tribes and cultures. They classified all of these non-Greeks as barbarians, regardless of their local history and culture. This elitism would spill over into their later views of the Romans as being uncultured and inferior. See also: Epirus; Persia; Persian Wars; Scythians; Slavery

Further Reading

Braund, David, and S. D. Kryzhitskiy. 2007. Classical Olbia and the Scythian World: From the Sixth Century BC to the Second Century AD. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Valeva, Julia, Emil Nankov, and Denver Graninger. 2015. A Companion to Ancient Thrace. Chichester, UK: Wiley Blackwell. For an examination of the Scythians, see “Scythians/Sacae,” Livius.org, https://www .­livius.org/articles/people/scythians-sacae/ (accessed May 18, 2021). For a discussion on the Scythians, see “The Scythians: Discovering the Nomad-Warriors of Siberia,” World Archaeology, July 25, 2017, https://www.world-archaeology .com/features/the-scythians-discovering-the-nomad-war riors-of-siberia /(accessed May 18, 2021)

Basileus Basileus is a term that means “king,” “chieftain,” “ruler,” or “sovereign.” It dates back to the Mycenaean period. The term first appears in Linear B script from the fifteenth century on clay tablets from destroyed Mycenaean palaces. It is not confined to political leadership, as shown by one example where the term referred to the leader of the guild of bronzesmiths. Basileus, therefore, should be seen as indicative of someone who has leadership over a group. In most cases, the examples are drawn from political situations. The term appears in the Iliad to describe the numerous leaders fighting for the Greeks, usually those below the supreme leader, Agamemnon. It is possible that the term does not mean an absolute ruler; in later periods, especially in religion, it referred to someone constrained by laws and morals, as opposed to a tyrant, an absolute ruler without these restraints. However, it appears that the terms basileus and tyrannos (tyrant) were used interchangeably until the late Classical Age. In this context, the basileus was seen as the continuation of a monarchy, whereas tyranny evolved from an aristocratic ­oligarchy ruled by one man, where power typically was not passed to another member of his family.

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In the Iliad, the chief leader, Agamemnon is described not as basileus, but wanax, a term also represented in Linear B tablets. In the Iliad, wanax refers to not only Agamemnon, but also Priam, as these two men exercised control over many basileus subordinates, who themselves were in charge of territories or contingents of soldiers. The terminology showed how the system worked, similar to the later feudal system, wherein a king was not absolute, but ruled a group of subordinate rulers by consensus and authority rather than power or coercion. This can be seen when the wanax Agamemnon attempted to order the basileus Achilles and others to do his bidding. These other kings did not have to follow his orders, as witnessed by Achilles defying a command to fight the Trojans. Agamemnon needed to prove that he was worthy of the other kings’ respect. The wanax usually ruled from a position of inheritance established by either his or his ancestor’s ability, position, and record. The position of both terms clearly shows the hierarchy within Mycenaean society, with the wanax at the top and the basileus as his subordinate; however, socially they were equal. Their usage in the Iliad probably shows them more as chieftains or princes than as kings. Many of the Trojan princes, also termed as basileus, are relatives of the great king (wanax), Priam, and are bound to him by respect. The term wanax had almost become anachronistic and referred to gods and legendary heroes; it was not used beyond the Mycenaean Age to refer to political leadership in Greece. The term is seen in mythology, where Zeus takes the name Zeus Wanax as the high king or overlord of all the gods, even though his power was not absolute, and he was challenged by his brothers, Poseidon and Hades. During the post-Mycenaean period, also called the archaic period, the term basileus continued, while wanax virtually disappeared. Here, the term basileus did not always mean “king.” It appears to have different connotations depending upon the area. For some places, the individual could be a hereditary leader, as in the past, and seen as leader of a tribe or region, implying that he was the primary leader. The term could also be applied to an individual selected from a group or board, often called a college of Basileis, which governed for a set period, often a few years, with the term basileus implying an office. This can be seen in classical Athens, where one of the archons was called archon basileus, or “king archon,” and oversaw the religious rites of the city. This office was one of the three chief archons, and in the early period, it helped oversee the running of the city. When the reforms of Cleisthenes occurred, the archons lost most of their power. The Greeks used the term basileus during the Classical Age, after most cities had abolished their kings. They often used the term to describe rulers outside of Greece proper, including Macedon, where the king was called basileus, including under Alexander the Great and his Hellenistic successors. The use of basileus was extended to barbarian kings, including the Great King of Persia, referred to as Megas Basileus or Basileus Basileon, meaning “King of Kings.” The term basileus originally meant a tribal leader under the authority (though not absolute) of a more powerful leader, the wanax, during the Mycenaean period. The term continued to be used for someone who was a chief magistrate, either as a hereditary leader or chosen by his peers, often for a set period of time. U ­ ltimately, the term was used to describe a king, often with absolute power such as in Persia,

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but not always as with barbarian tribes, outside Greece proper. The term could also mean a leader of an organization, such as a guild. See also: Bronze Age; Democracy; Monarchy; Mycenae; Officials; Oligarchy; Tyrants

Further Reading

Andrewes, Antony. 1963. The Greek Tyrants. New York: Harper & Row. Atack, C. 2020. The Discourse of Kingship in Classical Greece. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. Catanzaro, A. 2019. Politics Through the Iliad and the Odyssey: Hobbes Writes Homer. New York: Routledge. Drews, Robert. 1983. Basileus: The Evidence for Kingship in Geometric Greece. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. For information on the religious officials in Athens, see “State Religion: The Archon Basileus,” American School of Classical Studies, http://www.agathe.gr/d­emocracy /state_religion.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Boeotia Boeotia, in central Greece, was bounded on the southeast by Attica and on the north by Thessaly. It became a major passageway between these two regions, both of which would constantly come into play in Boeotian politics. The major city of Thebes constantly struggled against Athens for control of the strategic region in the south, and against constant raids from Thessaly to the north. Boeotia was known for its rich plains, good for growing wheat and raising horses. It had two great mountains, Cithaeron and Helicon. Cithaeron separated Attica from Boeotia, and its summit was sacred to Zeus and the rest of the mountain was sacred to Dionysus. It was on this mountain that Oedipus, the mythical king who killed his father and married his mother, was supposedly exposed, or left to die as a baby. Helicon, the largest mountain in Boeotia, was one of the two homes for the muses. The village of Ascra, home of the poet Hesiod, was also here. The northern region of Boeotia possessed the shallow Lake Copais, whose eels were a famous source of food. The Cephisus River drained into the lake and occasionally flooded, which was one of the reasons why the nearby city of Orchomenus declined. This region had been inhabited since the Neolithic period, and during the Mycenaean Age, it was an important site. Homer, in his Catalogue of Achaean Ships in the Iliad, mentioned thirty-one contingents from Boeotia and probably represented the major villages of the region during the Bronze Age. This area produced many of the myths that represented Greece in the prehistoric period. Many concerned, and probably originated at, Orchomenus, which controlled Boeotia, including Thebes, and had impressive buildings built by the legendary architects Trophonius and Agamede, who had built Apollo’s temple at Delphi. This city became the major rival for Thebes and was located in the Cephisus valley. Nevertheless, the city of Thebes would ultimately surpass Orchomenus. While Thebes was the most important city in Boeotia, it was never able to control the entire region, unlike Athens, which controlled all of Attica. In addition, the cities of Thespiae and Plataea consistently refused to accept the Theban

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overlord, with Plataea even aligning itself with Athens. Orchomenus was known for its magnificent tholos (a beehive tomb), known as the Treasury of Minyas, from Pausanias in the second century CE. Orchomenus became synonymous with wealth due to the Minyas, who were said to be the race from which most of the Argonauts were descended. The region’s wealth came largely from Lake Copais, which made the plain fertile. Its decline was related to when Heracles, who favored Thebes, destroyed the drainage system, which flooded the plain and city. The city was ultimately destroyed in 364 by a confederacy of Boeotian cities. Plataea had earned a significant history as the site of the great battle of 479 during the Persian Wars between the allied Greeks, led by Sparta, against Persia, with Thebes as its local supporter. Plataea, although Boeotian, had been more allied with Athens, and at Marathon in 490, he sent troops to help defeat the Persians. Like Athens, Plataea had been sacked in 480 by Xerxes, and after Persia was defeated in 479, Plataea was made independent. Athens under its general, Myronides, attacked and defeated the Boeotian forces at the Battle of Oenophyta in 457, forcing all but Thebes to become part of its empire. In 447, the Athenians under Tolmides lost control of Boeotia after the Battle of Coronea, although Plataea remained loyal. This loyalty to Athens continually caused Thebes to despise and threaten it, and in 431, Thebes attacked Plataea, resulting in the first battle of the Peloponnesian War. In 427, Plataea was besieged by the Peloponnesian forces, and after its residents were nearly starved, it surrendered, and the garrison was massacred and the city destroyed. In 424, Athens again lost at Delium, which put an end to its attempt to control Boeotia. With Athens defeated at the end of the fifth century by Sparta and its allies, including Thebes, the region of Boeotia became a battleground for Sparta’s ambition. Thebes soon resented the power of Sparta and its arrogance, and in 371 under Epaminondas, it defeated Sparta at Leuctra. Thebes now gained dominance of Boeotia, which lasted until Philip II defeated Thebes and Athens at Chaeronea in 338 and Alexander in 335 destroyed Thebes. Boeotia’s greatest literary figure was Hesiod, who wrote Greek epic poetry. His father gave up a profitable naval mercantile career from Cyme in Aeolis on the coast of Asia Minor and settled at Ascra to become a farmer. Hesiod, who was born there, grew up as a farmer and shepherd. According to Hesiod in his Theogony, while he tended sheep on Mount Helicon, he heard the Muses command him to be a poet and sing the praises of the gods. He became a poet and entered competitions, even winning a tripod (trophy) at Chalcis in Euboea. When his father died, his estate was divided between Hesiod and his brother, Perses, who took more than half and supposedly bribed the judges in his favor. Hesiod supposedly died in Locris in southern Italy, but his tomb was in Orchomenos. His two surviving poems are Theogony and Works and Days. Theogony is a poem of about 1,000 hexameter lines describing the gods and their genealogy. After describing how the Muses ordered him to write about them, he set out the early history of the gods: Chaos of the world Gaia (Earth) produced Uranus (Heaven)

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Gaia and Uranus created the Titans, such as Cyclops and Cronus Gaia convinces Cronus to castrate his father Uranus whose genitalia created Aphrodite Cronus and his sister Rhea produced the Olympian gods Cronus ate his children except Zeus Zeus ultimately overthrew his father and forced him to restore his siblings Hesiod then moves toward the stories concerning Zeus’s interactions with the gods, Titans, and humans: The Titan Prometheus stole fire from Zeus for man Zeus punished Prometheus by being bound to a rock and having his liver eaten out by an eagle and restored each night Zeus punished man by creating woman Civil war waged between the Titans and the Olympians Zeus and the Olympians defeated the Titans and imprisoned them in Tartarus Zeus was made king of the gods and married his sister Hera Hesiod then ends with the offspring of gods and goddesses and mortals. This work provided the literary myths of the gods and their relationship with humans. Hesiod’s second piece was Works and Days, a poem of 828 hexameters. The first 765 lines deal with farming activities, while the remainder is an almanac of days that are either favorable or unfavorable for society. The poem centers on the needs of society and the value of hard work. It is at the beginning of this work that the quarrel of Hesiod and his brother, Perses, is discussed. Hesiod uses mythology to explain why man must work hard. In the first third of the poem, Hesiod describes a variety of instances concerning divine anger, justice, and morality. In the next two-thirds, Hesiod gives his brother instructions on how to be a farmer. These are divided into seasonal activities and practical advice, such as how to build a plow. The poem’s unity is forged through the force of Hesiod’s giving advice and ideas, but within the confines of a life lived by hard work, tied to the soil and guided by the divine. In many ways, the two poems were clearly identified with Boeotia. The region was home to the gods, and many of the stories that sprang up concerning the interaction of the gods and mortals centered on Thebes. The story of Oedipus was rooted in his position as the son of the king of Thebes, and the tragedy of his life hinged on the peculiarities of the gods. The region was also mainly a farming area, often without commercial sea trade. Boeotia was known for its great plains, producing wheat and other cereals and encouraging the raising of horses. The poems of Hesiod encapsulated the local histories and economies of Boeotia. Since Thebes could not control all of Boeotia, the region moved toward federalism. In this instance, each city-state had a say in political development, allowing them to work together when needed. Federalism was not always popular or successful; long-standing rivalries had plagued the Boeotia since the Bronze Age. In addition, the close proximity of city-states and their desire to remain fiercely ­ independent often dominated. A push for federalism lies in their geographical

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position between Thessaly and Athens and the prevention of their interference in Boeotia. To this end, there was a need to make sure that agricultural resources were potentially shared. This may have been the origins of the religious festival of the Pamboeotia, held at Coronea for Athena Itonia. This federal league can be seen in the development of coinage. Around 550, some of the cities used the same emblem on their coins—a round or oval shield with semicircular openings on either side. The cities of Tanagra, Haliartus, and Thebes have been identified as issuing coins at this early date. A bit later, a second series saw more cities release coins, although Orchomenus did not use the same design and was probably not in the league. It appears from their absence and predominance of Thebes that the latter desired to be the senior partner in an unequal league. This federal league was an attempt to ensure the cooperation of its cities under the mutual protection of Boeotia. When Epaminondas and Pelopidas achieved their victory over Sparta after the Battle of Leuctra in 371, the region of Boeotia was dominated by Thebes for the next fifty years. It was only when Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great, defeated and ultimately destroyed Thebes that Boeotia once again reverted to individual city-states, with no city dominating. See also: Athenian Empire; Athens; Chaeronea; Macedon; Peloponnesian War; Persian Wars; Plataea, Battle of; Thebes

Further Reading

Buckler, John. 1980. The Theban Hegemony, 371–362 BC. Cambridge: Harvard ­University Press. Cartledge, P. 2020. Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece. New York: Abrams Press. Rockwell, N. 2017. Thebes: A History. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. Schachter, A. 2016. Boiotia in Antiquity: Selected Papers. Cambridge: Cambridge ­University Press. To learn more about a Mycenaean tomb in Boeotia, see “Monumental Mycenaean Tomb Discovered Near Orchomenos in Boeotia, Central Greece,” British School at ­ Athens, September 11, 2017, https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot .com/2017/09/monumental-mycenaean-tomb-discovered.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Boule The boule was the executive council for Greek city-states. Most cities had some type of boule, which was often quite large, to run the day-to-day operations of the city. In Mycenaean times, it probably consisted of nobles who advised the king on important matters. During the Archaic Age, when a small group of elites or an oligarch might rule, the boule was often composed of other elites in a hereditary system to advise the leading council. It was in democracies where the boule fully developed into a system of a governing body that served for one year so that individual members would not become too powerful. Although little is known of the boule in most cities, for Athens a considerable amount of detail and workings are known from literary and epigraphic

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(inscriptions) sources. In Athens, the original boule was the Areopagus, a council staffed by 400 ex-archons or magistrates. These individuals came from the upper classes and held exclusive power. This council would hear court appeals on the most important decisions. Under Cleisthenes’s reforms, the boule was increased to 500, where 50 members were selected by lot from each tribe. They were selected at the local or deme level (with 139 demes), with more coming from the larger, more populated demes. At this time, boule membership was restricted to citizens over thirty years old from the top three (out of four) property classes. The property restriction was probably dropped in the fourth century (although perhaps not legally or formally) so that the lowest class could serve due to the decline in population. Under Cleisthenes’s reforms, an individual could serve on the boule only once in his lifetime. This appears to have been altered sometime in the fourth century so that one could serve twice, but no more than that, during his lifetime, but the second time had to occur after a considerable period of time, perhaps as much as a decade. Since the boule had 500 members, it meant that by twenty years, 10,000 citizens would have served. For each of the ten months of the boule’s term, one tribe would be in charge of the executive council or prytany. The determination of which tribe would be in charge was made by lot. The prytany would call to order the business of the boule and the general assembly, or ecclesia. During the month, on each day one of its members was chosen by lot to be in charge of the prytany, an office known as the epistates. He was given the state seal and keys to the treasuries. No one could be an epistates more than once, and this person was required to be in attendance in the boule for the twenty-four-hour period he was chairman. He presided over the boule, as well as the ecclesia if it was held during the day that he was serving. By 411, the boule members were paid at a rate of 5 obols per day (6 or 1 drachma for prytany), but presumably only for those who showed up at the meetings. From evidence, especially orators, it is clear that not all members of the boule showed up every day. Some members of the council lived away from the center of the city and had farms and businesses to run, so they may not have been able or willing to attend each day. The boule met in the bouleterion. Since the prytany was required to be present every day, the members were fed and housed next to the bouleterion in the tholos during their month of service. The prytany received the official delegations and messengers for the city and prepared the agenda. Matters could be debated by the boule, but anything requiring approval by the Athenians had to be sent to the ecclesia. The boule would draft the proposal or resolution, which was put before the ecclesia. The boule had immense power since it could determine what the agenda was. Officers of the state or any member of the boule could bring a matter before the ecclesia through the boule. With the rise of the Athenian Empire (i.e., the Delian League), the boule became involved in diplomatic and financial affairs more often. Since the ecclesia was too large to meet every day about every matter, it fell to the boule to handle many of the day-to-day functions of running an empire. It is clear that the boule became the agent of carrying out the ideas of the ecclesia. The boule also ensured that the state ran its affairs in an honest manner. It was in charge of overseeing the



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financial regulations and books of the various treasurers and officials. It would audit the account books both before and after an individual took office, and if a problem was found, it would investigate and even bring charges when appropriate. Since Athens did not have individuals in charge of these affairs who held office for more than a year, it was the boule as an institution that had the expertise and continuity to oversee the various complexities of Athenian finances. At first, it appears that individuals would come to the boule to request monies for any necessary expenditures. This was probably to ensure that the state could keep an eye on all expenses to prevent corruption. By the end of the fifth century, doing this became too cumbersome, and instead the boule would authorize expenses to a body as part of its regular fiscal operations. In addition, the boule selected a board of auditors from its own members by lot to examine the books of these bodies and treasurers to prevent corruption. This process was changed in the mid-fourth century, where officers were elected who oversaw the spending of accounts in an effort to create a more professional system. Even in this system, though, the boule retained control over oversight and auditing. Although this change took place in law, this situation had already existed in reality, as men such as Pericles had acquired a great amount of knowledge about the state and its functions in order to determine exactly how much could be spent on projects. The boule, then, was one of the key components of the Athenian democracy, ensuring that the people retained complete control of their destiny. As its members were selected by lot from the whole population, the boule ensured that it was by the people, from the people, and for the people. See also: Athens; Deme; Democracy; Ecclesia; Officials; Polis; Prytaneis

Further Reading

Jones, A. H. M. 1957. Athenian Democracy. Oxford, UK: B. Blackwell. Nawotka, K. 2014. Boule and Demos in Miletus and Its Pontic Colonies. Wiesbaden, ­Germany: Harrassowitz. Rhodes, P. J. 1972. The Athenian Boule. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. For a general history of the council, see “The Boule (Senate),” American School of ­Classical Studies, http://www.agathe.gr/democracy/the_boule.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Bronze Age The Bronze Age, or Early Helladic Age, began about 3000 and lasted until about 1000. On the mainland, the period can be divided into the Early (3200–2000), Middle (2000–1550), and Late Helladic (1550–1050) ages. On Crete, the period corresponds to the Early (3500–2100). Middle (2100–1600), and Late Minoan (1600–1100) ages, while on the Cycladic region or islands, it can be divided into Early (3000–2500), Middle (2500–2000), and Late (2000–1500) ages, which then merged into the Minoan period. The Early Helladic period continued the Neolithic agricultural settlement ­patterns in the importation of bronze and copper, which could be used to make tools and weapons. The settlements tended to be on the Aegean coastlines in

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Boeotia and the Argolid or on nearby islands just off the coast, like Aegina. The period further divided into three subperiods, corresponding to changes in society such as rapid expansion of metallurgy (subperiods 1 to 2) or a change in architecture and social status (subperiods 2 to 3), often accompanied by the destruction of some earlier sites. On Crete, the Early Minoan period saw the development of local areas of commerce and development of trades. This then allowed local leaders to begin to exert more control over society, concentrating political power into the hands of a few, leading to monarchies. The Early Cycladic period saw the formation of villages on the islands, which could support only a few thousand each. The Middle Helladic period often witnessed the move from Bust of Homer, author of the Iliad and the coastal plains to hilltops, with Odyssey. (Lefteris Papaulakis/Dreamstime.com) the establishment of larger communities such as at Lerna. The period is characterized by Minyan wares (represented by pottery at Ochomenos, home of the legendary king Minyas), which when originally discovered were believed to be brought by invaders since it was not as sophisticated as the Early Helladic pottery. Excavations at various sites, however, have shown that the development of this type of pottery occurred naturally, without disruption from the Early Helladic and not the result of foreign invasion. The pottery also seems to have been influenced by Cycladic and Minoan art. The site of Lerna shows a variety of grave types, including pits (merely holes in the ground), tholoi (which were more like chambers), cists (deep and rectangular, each with a mound or tumulus on top) and shafts (larger and deeper, rectangular graves about twelve feet deep, eighteen feet long, and twelve feet wide), where men and women were arranged on their sides (men on their right, women on their left) with their knees bent. These graves also had goods deposited in them. The villages had single-story houses packed together, probably due to family affiliations and for protection. On Crete, the Middle Minoan period saw the first construction of palaces, which led to a segregation of duties and power. Around 1700, the first palaces were destroyed, perhaps by an earthquake. The palaces



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were then rebuilt on a more grand scale, and more communities grew up across the island. This Neopalatial period, in the seventeenth and sixteenth centuries, witnessed the height of Minoan civilization. Minoan goods also began to be seen on the mainland at this time. It was then, in the Late Cycladic period, that the Minoan civilization overtook the Cycladic culture. The Late Helladic period corresponds to the Mycenaean Age and is dated based on the change of pottery that developed during this period from Minoan and Cycladic influences. Mycenaean pottery occurred in Egypt from the eighteenth dynasty of Hatshepsut to Thutmose III. During the end of the Late Helladic period, the rise of large palaces at Thebes, Mycenae, and Sparta came about, with Mycenaean influence seen throughout the Aegean as related in the Iliad. The Late Minoan period after 1600 and the eruption of Thera corresponded to the rise of the great palace at Cnossos. The Minoan centers continued for about two centuries before they were destroyed by an earthquake, from which they never fully recovered. Ultimately, the Mycenaean Greeks overran the Minoan palaces, which continued to be administrative centers until about 1200, when they finally fell. The Mycenaean period has the most numerous archaeological remains and contain text written in the pre-Greek script Linear B, which provides some details on the social, political, and economic life of the Late Bronze Age kingdoms. Through excavations of grave sites at Mycenae, the full extent of artistic development has been shown. Other archaeological finds of pottery and sculpture also attest to the development of Greece culture during this period. The excavation on Crete showed the independent evolution of Minoan culture during the Early and Middle Minoan (and Helladic) periods, with the creation of palaces, but after their destruction, the rise of large palaces such as at Cnossos in the Late Minoan showed further development. The Mycenaean takeover of Cnossos at the end of the Late Minoan and Helladic points to their continual expansion and influence.

Homer’s Catalogue of Ships The poet Homer (Iliad 2.686–714; 765–774) enumerated the cities supplying ships, and therefore troops, to the Greeks during their expedition to Troy during the Bronze Age. The benefit of the catalog lies with its geographical delineation of cities in each region, supposedly during the time of the Mycenaeans. The following extract describes the regions Mycenae and Sparta, and then Ithaca: The proud Mycenae arms her martial powers, Cleone, Corinth, with imperial towers, Fair Araethyrea, Ornia’s fruitful plain, And Aegion, and Adrastus’ ancient reign; And those who dwell along the sandy shore, And where Pellene yields her fleecy store, Where Helice and Hyperesia lie, And Gonoessa’s spires salute the sky.

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Great Agamemnon rules the numerous band, A hundred vessels in long order stand, And crowded nations wait his dread command. High on the deck the king of men appears, And his refulgent arms in triumph wears; Proud of his host, unrivalled in his reign, In silent pomp he moves along the main. His brother follows, and to vengeance warms The hardy Spartans, exercised in arms: Phares and Brysia’s valiant troops, and those Whom Lacedaemon’s lofty hills enclose: Or Messe’s towers for silver doves renowned, Amyclae, Laas, Augia’s happy ground, And those whom Oetylos’ low walls contain, And Helos, on the margin of the main: These o’er the bending ocean, Helen’s cause In sixty ships with Menelaus draws: Eager and loud, from man to man he flies, Revenge and fury flaming in his eyes; While, vainly fond, in fancy oft he hears The fair one’s grief, and sees her falling tears. ... Ulysses followed through the watery road, A chief, in wisdom equal to a god. With those whom Cephallenia’s isle enclosed, Or till their fields along the coast opposed; Or where fair Ithaca o’erlooks the floods, Where high Neritos shakes his waving woods, Where Aegilipa’s rugged sides are seen, Crocylia rocky, and Zacynthus green, These, in twelve galleys with vermilion prores, Beneath his conduct sought the Phrygian shores. Source: Homer, and Alexander Pope. 1903. The Iliad of Homer. London: Cassell and Company, LTD., pp. 64–66.

About 1000, the Helladic period came to an end with the arrival of northern tribes that swept through the east. The name given to them varies from the Dorians in Greece to the Sea Peoples in the Near East and Egypt. They appear to have been part of a mass migration that came from the north and armed with superior weapons, made of iron. The sites of Mycenae and Cnossos and others were

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conquered, and some, like Cnossos, were never rebuilt or reinhabited. The following period is one of chaos, out of which the Greek homeland saw an increase in population and a rise of local kingdoms centered on numerous small city-states rather than the great overlords of the Bronze Age. See also: Homeric Age; Literature; Minoan; Mycenae; Sparta; Thebes; Troy; Weapons

Further Reading

Archilochus, Sappho Alcman and Guy Davenport. 1980. Archilochos, Sappho, Alkman: Three Lyric Poets of the Late Greek Bronze Age. Berkeley: University of California Press. Higgins, Reynold Alleyne. 1977. The Greek Bronze Age. London: British Museum Publications. Kramer-Hajós, Margaretha Theodora. 2016. Mycenaean Central Greece and the Aegean World: Palace and Province in the Late Bronze Age. New York: Cambridge University Press. For more on Bronze Age pottery, see Trentin, Summer, and Debby Sneed, “Bronze Age Pottery on the Greek Mainland,” June 14, 2018, University of Colorado at Boulder, https://www.colorado.edu/classics/2018/06/14/bronze-age-pottery-greek-mainland (accessed May 18, 2021). For information on the Mycenaean period and archaeology, see Marchant, Jo, “This 3,500-Year-Old Greek Tomb Upended What We Thought We Knew About the Roots of Western Civilization,” January 2017, Smithsonian Magazine, https:// www.smithsonianmag.com/history/golden-warrior-greek-tomb-exposes-rootswestern-civilization-180961441/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Burials The Greeks practiced both inhumation (burial) and cremation throughout their history. In the Bronze Age, as seen at Mycenae and other sites, inhumation

Royal tombs of Mycenae, Greece. (Nikolai Sorokin/Dreamstime.com)

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featured four types of graves: pit, tholos, cist, and shaft, with varying degrees of sophistication. Pit graves were the simplest. A hole was dug and the body placed within deeply enough to prevent animals from disturbing it. The tholos, or beehive tombs, were vaulted circular structures dating perhaps to the Middle Bronze Age. They were fairly large (about thirty and forty-five feet in diameter and height, respectively), and could contain numerous grave sites filled with goods. It is probable that they were commissioned by the ruling elites, but since they could hold many graves, they may have been used more by a clan or family. The tombs were corbelled vaults, with the stone placed closer together as the vault narrowed at the top. Each tomb was built of ashlar stone and was covered with dirt to conceal the tomb and when completed and full, the entrance was closed with soil. The cist tomb was a small, rectangular grave covered with either a tumulus or a mound of dirt. The pit was lined with slabs or numerous small stones and then was covered with a slab. These sites were usually about three feet in all directions, but they could be larger. Often grave goods were placed in them as well. The shaft tomb was larger, ranging from three to twelve feet deep and eighteen by twelve feet long and wide. This type of tomb evolved from the earlier pit, tholos, and cist tombs and contained extensive grave goods. The grave would have a mound and stelae (stone slabs commemorating the dead) were erected. At Mycenae, shaft graves have been found that are now labeled Grave Circles A and B. The evidence shows both cremation and inhumation being used during this time. For the Mycenaean tholoi, the dead were often laid on the floor in a simple pit, but occasionally they were placed on a bier or raised platform, or even in a coffin

Beehive tomb; treasury of Atreus, Mycenae. (Coconutdreams/Dreamstime.com)

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made of clay or wood. It is also clear that the Mycenaeans, regardless of their view of the dead, reused tombs. The previous remains were pushed aside and new remains deposited. By the end of the twelfth century, the Mycenaean civilization had all but disappeared. While cist tombs were similar to the tholoi, it is clear that they were meant for single inhumation, while the tholoi were designed to hold multiple remains. With the end of the Mycenaean Age, the number of pit graves increased. In Athens, these pit graves, both lined and unlined, did not feature Mycenaean figures or ornaments. This type of non-Mycenaean burial suggests that such graves were creations of the invaders who arrived at the time of the Mycenaean destruction. Since the pit graves had already existed in the Mycenaean period, it is probable that their revival in popularity had to do more with economics and not being able to construct the large tholoi as in the past, rather than creating a different type of burial. Although inhumation was the most common type of treatment of the dead in the Mycenaean period, cremation did already exist. The Dorian arrival, probably from the east, allowed both types to coexist. In the immediate post-Mycenaean period, the eleventh century, the normal system saw the corpse burned first, and the ashes were collected and placed in an urn, which was then buried and a stone or earth mound placed over it. Cremation increased in popularity in Athens and other Greek cities, but not all of them. In Athens, the graves at this time were cut into the earth and were rectangular. The deposition of the corpse into the shaft was the same, while the methods of construction varied. The most detailed and careful type was the stone-lined and covered pit or cist. All four sides had stone slabs that supported the covering. Unlike the Mycenaean type, which was smaller and the bodies were bent, the Iron Age type had the corpse lying on its back and the pits were larger. For less ornate or detailed shafts, the long slabs supporting the covering were missing and sometimes were supported by small stones. The graves, however, were still the same size as the more ornate style. Another type did not have stone slabs at all and probably had a wooden covering, or even wooden coffins, which of course disintegrated over time. Cremation also existed and like before, the ashes were collected and placed in an urn, which was then deposited in a circular pit lined with stones and covered with a slab or stones. The urn was usually an amphora, as in the Mycenaean period. During the tenth century, cremation increased in popularity and ultimately dominated. Interestingly, for children, inhumation remained predominate, while for adults, cremation was more prevalent. During the Geometric period (ninth–eighth centuries), cremation began to become less popular. During the next five centuries, both inhumation and cremation existed side by side. The system chosen seems to have been a matter of family or clan preference, as related in the various cemeteries; at one, inhumation might continue to be stressed, while at another cemetery, cremation predominated. For cremation, the urn was placed in a small pit, while nearby in another pit were the grave goods, with the whole structure being covered with earth and small stones. For inhumation, the cists continued as before, but instead of slabs lining the walls,

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small stones were employed, and often no stones at all were used to support the covering. Earth was used to fill in the tomb, and grave goods sat either beside the body or on top of the grave. Markers were also placed to denote the grave. The Archaic Period (seventh–sixth centuries) witnessed an increase in cremation sites, but inhumation continued as well, with some graves quite elaborate and containing expensive goods. Many inhumation sites were simply a pit or shaft in the earth that was deep enough to contain the body of the dead person. There were occasionally wooden coffins, some traces of which have been found. The cist type, a stone-lined covered pit, was no longer used during this period, especially in the later Archaic Period. The bodies were laid on their backs and not bent, except for children. Beginning in the late Geometric and early Archaic periods, cremation underwent a change. Instead of being cremated at one site and the urn buried at another (known as secondary cremation), bodies were now cremated at the final grave (primary cremation), with the funeral pyre often evident. The fire material would be placed in the pit with adequate ventilation so the flames would burn hot enough to allow cremation to occur. The pyre would be placed over the mass of wood and burned. Remnants of cremation pits show the dark ash of the wood, with a thin layer of white ash from the corpse on top; this layer would then be covered with another dark ash layer on which the pyre collapsed. The area was then filled with earth, rubble, and stones to cover the remains. During the Archaic Period, mounds over both inhumation and cremation sites were common, and they were larger than before. Many of these mounds were now three feet or more in height compared with the previous height of one to one-and-a-half feet high. Many of them had stelae crowning the top of the mound. About 600, a new type of construction occurred, with the creation of rectangular mounds with walls built of brick, which replaced the sloping mounds of earth. These tombs allowed for more impressive structures to be placed in a small area. The earlier tombs tended to be grander and more impressive than in the latter part of the sixth century. The built tombs were placed over the cremation or inhumation sites and should not be seen as houses for the dead. Plaques showing the process of the funeral and burials have been found, but none in situ. Markers or gravestones exist normally, either the narrow slab or stele and the sculpture in the round. The Classical Age (fifth–fourth centuries) had both inhumation and cremation, although cremation showed a marked decrease in the fourth century. There were many simple inhumation graves that were simply cut into the ground as a shaft or pit. Some pits had walls and floors of stone, but most did not. As in previous centuries, burial gifts were present either in the grave or nearby, although unlike earlier times, the quality was not high. As in other cases, pit graves contained a single corpse apiece, although there were some mass graves, indicative of the chaos during the Peloponnesian War. Each grave would have fired clay tiles leaning against one another to create a tent over the body. Some of the cremation sites show incomplete burning with skeletal remains, probably due to improper ventilation for burning. In addition, sarcophagi (limestone coffins) exist and became more frequently used. In addition to cremation and inhumation sites, there was the rise of cenotaphs, which were empty graves used to commemorate a person whose

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body was lost or who died far from home. Some of these had a large stone inside to represent the body, and goods were placed around it. The practices of burial in the Greek world remained constant, but they did change over time. During some periods, inhumation dominated, while at other times, cremation was prevalent, but both were always practiced. The actual graves underwent changes from grandiose structures to smaller graves to the simplest form, a mere pit. All graves, however, had one common purpose—to honor the deceased and ensure that they would be remembered. See also: Afterlife; Funerals; Mystery Religion; Olympian Religion; Religion; Social Status

Further Reading

Agelarakis, A. P. 2016. A Dignified Passage Through the Gates of Hades: The Burial Custom of Cremation and the Warrior Order of Ancient Eleutherna. Oxford, UK: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. Kurtz, Donna C., H. H. Scullard, and John Boardman. 1971. Greek Burial Customs. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Murphy, J. M. A. 2020. Death in Late Bronze Age Greece: Variations on a Theme. New York: Oxford University Press. Renfrew, Colin, Michael J. Boyd, and Iain Morley (eds.). 2016. Death Rituals, Social Order and the Archaeology of Immortality in the Ancient World: “Death Shall Have No Dominion.” New York: Cambridge University Press. For art related to burials, see the Department of Greek and Roman Art, “Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2003), https://www.metmuseum.org /toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Byzantium The early colonies sent to Asia Minor in the seventh century had several goals in mind, but the main ones were to rid the home or mother city of excess population and find areas for trade. Byzantium was located on the eastern side of the Propontis, where the Bosporus Strait leaves the Black Sea and enters the Propontis. The site gave easy access to and control of the Black Sea. Directly across from the European Byzantium was the Asian Chalcedon, settled some fifteen years earlier. Like Chalcedon, Byzantium was colonized by the Dorian city of Megara either in 668, 659, or 657, although other individuals from central Greece and the Peloponnese were also involved. It was better defended than Chalcedon but was probably settled later due to the numerous Thracian tribes in and around the site. The immigrants subdued the region and made the local Thracian population serfs, similar to the helots in Sparta, who were called Prounikoi, which translates as “bearers of burdens.” Byzantium lay on a triangular piece of land, with the western part fronting the Propontis, the northern part fronting the Thracian lands, and the eastern part fronting the Golden Horn, called the Chrysokeras, a body of water fed by the Black Sea as it went through the straits, providing the city with a calm port that unlike river estuaries did not silt up. For centuries, the region was a stopping point before or after the Bosporus. The region was a natural area for fish and was well

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Where to Establish a Colony Tradition had it that Byzas of Megara founded Byzantium after consulting the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle had extensive knowledge of regions suitable for colonization, and it suggested that Byzas settle opposite the “Land of the Blind.” Byzas then arrived at the city of Chalcedon on the north coast of Asia Minor, and he immediately noticed that opposite it, on the north side of the straits of Bosporus, was a better-situated city that was easier to defend, had a good natural harbor (Golden Horn), and enjoyed control of the straits. He then assessed that Chalcedon was blind to Byzantium’s better location. In reality, the first settlers from Megara who colonized Chalcedon probably realized that they did not have the personnel to settle Byzantium due to the Thracian threat. It was only after they reported their own success and gave information about the land across the straits back to Megara that another group, stronger and more populated, could attempt to colonize the region.

known as one of the major fishing grounds in and around the Black Sea. Although the straits could be treacherous, there were natural rewards such as fish, as well as access to the Black Sea region and its grain-rich lands. Because of its location, Byzantium easily controlled the straits into and out of the Black Sea, such that all who wished to do trade had to pass it. The city was well defended by its walls, and for the most part, it could not be easily taken. Whereas Chalcedon had the symbol of wheat on a dolphin on its coins, ­Byzantium had a cow on the dolphin. Both cities, therefore, acknowledged the importance of the straits (symbolized by the dolphin), but Byzantium laid claim to Io and her wanderings. In mythology, Io was the daughter of Inachus, the first king of Argos. Zeus seduced her, as he did so many other mortal women, and he transformed her into a cow to prevent his wife, Hera, from punishing her out of jealousy. Bosporus means “cow’s ford,” and thus Byzantium at the point of the crossing took Io as its symbol. When Darius I, king of Persia, began an invasion in 513 to take over the ­Scythian lands, Byzantium fell under his control. It is probable that the city’s tyrant, Ariston, realized that the city could not have withstood a siege from the Persians and he decided to surrender. Like other cities under Persian control, Byzantium had a considerable amount of independence and could exert self-rule. The city did not rebel against Darius after his disastrous Scythian campaign. The Persians recognized that Byzantium to the East and Sestos to the West were the two most important harbors, which controlled access into and out of the Black and Aegean seas. Many of the city’s inhabitants fled to a colony called Mesembria, on the Black Sea, during the Ionian revolt of 494, when the Phoenician fleet arrived. They may have done this to escape the wrath of the Phonecians due to their support of the rebellion. After the Persian defeat at Salamis, the Athenians recognized the importance of the Hellespont and Bosporus straits, and they became early regions of combat with Persia for control. In 478, under the Spartan general Pausanias, the Greek league took the city, but Pausanias was recalled due to his arrogant behavior. Byzantium became part of the Delian (Athenian) League in the Hellespontine

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phoros (region) under Thrace, and the Greeks selected Athens to lead them in their new league. The city was known for having strong walls and being easy to defend. In addition, it was able to control the passage to and from the Black Sea so it could easily collect tolls and duties. During the Peloponnesian War, the Spartans realized the importance of taking Byzantium in order to cut off the grain supply. Sparta took the city in 411 but lost it to Athens in 408. Nevertheless, the city’s location and importance in the grain trade were noticed, and when the Athenian fleet was defeated at Aegospotami in 405, the grain trade was cut off for good. Sparta took over the city again in 404 after being asked for help defending against the local Thracians, and this lasted until Athens retook the city in 390. Philip attempted to take Byzantium but retreated when Persia threatened war. Alexander the Great took the city, making it a staging point for his campaign against Persia. See also: Megara; Persia

Further Reading

Balcer, J. M. 1988. “Persian Occupied Thrace (Skudra),” Historia 37: 1–21. Russell, Thomas James, and Dionysius. 2017. Byzantium and the Bosporus: A Historical Study, from the Seventh Century BC Until the Foundation of Constantinople. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

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C Calendar Several calendars were used in the ancient Greek city of Athens. There was the annual festival calendar, which was mainly used by the people to determine what day it was. There was also the Conciliar calendar, which was used for financial transactions by the Boule and Ecclesia (Assembly), such as tribute payments, assessments, and payments of wages. The Attic festival calendar was a lunisolar calendar based on both the lunar months and specific solar events. While other Greek cities had similar calendars, the Athenian or Attic calendar is best known due to inscriptions and a few literary sources. The Athenian calendar was closely related to the various seasons of the year when festivals were celebrated. The Athenian year started in relation to the summer solstice (June 21–22). This event was used as the starting point to determine the beginning of the Athenian year, not the beginning itself. The next event was after this date was when the first new Moon of the year occurred beginning with the first sliver of the Moon

The Antikythera mechanism, used to predict astronomical events and calendar in ancient Greece. (Sterphotography/Dreamstime.com)

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Reckoning Time the Ancient Way Unlike modern calendars, which have become standardized and universal, the Greek calendars varied according to each city. Most cities reckoned years by who held office. As shown in the following extract from Thucydides’s History of the Peloponnesian War, this could create problems: This peace shall take beginning from the 24th of the month Artemisium, Pleistolas being ephore at Sparta, and the 15th of Elaphebolium, after the account of Athens, Alcseus being archon. “They that took the oath and sacrificed, were these, Of the Lacedaemonians: Pleistolas, Damagetus, Chionis, Metagenes, Acanthus, Daidus, Isehagoras, Philocaridas, Zeuxidas, Anthippus, Tellis, Alcinidas, Empedias, Menas, Laphilus. Of the Athenians these: Lampon, Isthmionicus, Nicias, Laches, Euthydemus, Procles, Pythodorus, Hagnon, Myrtilus, Thrasycles, Theagenes, Aristocrates, Iolcius, Timocrates, Leon, Lamachus, Demosthenes.” This peace was made in the very end of winter, and the spring then beginning, presently after the City Bacchanals, and [full] ten years and some few days over, after the first invasion of Attica and the beginning of this war. But now for the certainty hereof, let a man consider the times themselves: and not trust to the account of the names of such as in the several places bare chief offices, or for some honour to themselves had their names ascribed for marks to the actions foregoing. For it is not exactly known who was in the beginning of his office, or who in the midst, or how he was, when anything fell out. But if one reckon the same by summers and winters, according as they are written, he shall find by the two half years which make the whole, that this first war was of ten summers and as many winters continuance. Source: Hobbes, Thomas, William Molesworth, Thucydides, and Homer. 1843. The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. London: J. Bohn, Volume 9, pp. 24–25.

appearing which now corresponded to the first day of the new year. This meant that the new year could begin up to a month after the summer solstice. The Athenians then began their year, which contained twelve lunar months. This meant that the year would be 354 days instead of the 365 days of a solar year. To correct for this variance, the Athenians would add an extra month, an intercalated or additional inserted month every third year, producing a leap year of 384 days. This extra month was typically added as a second sixth month so that the months were five, six, six (extra), and seven. The extra month, however, could be added to other months so that months 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8 all are known to have a repeated month. The months were known from festivals in the Athenian countryside, but most were seemingly not celebrated or commemorated. The sixth month, Poseidon, did take its name from the sea god Poseidon, but many of the great festivals, such as the Panathenaia (Dionysia), did not have months named for them. This is probably because many of the original months were already known when these later festivals were established. Many of the festivals occurred during the early part of each month. Since the months began at various times, it is difficult to give exact modern similarities, and only broad comparisons can be made. The first month was Hekatombaion, beginning in the summer corresponding to July/August. This was

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followed by Metageitnion, in August/September; and Boedromion, in September/ October, finished the season. Fall or autumn would begin with Pyanepsion, held in modern October/November; Maimakterion, in November/December; and the sixth month, Poseideon, in December/January. Winter began with the seventh month, Gamelion, corresponding to January/February, followed by Anthesterion, in February/March, and then Elaphebolion, in March/April, ended the winter. Spring began with Mounichion, in April/May, followed by Thargelion, in May/ June, and the last or twelfth month was Skirophorion, in June/July. Each month would have either full months of thirty days or hollow months of twenty-nine days. This allowed for the fact that for two lunar months, the total number of days actually equaled 59.06 days as opposed to 60. The hollow month occurred only from the omission of days during the last third of the lunar cycle. The actual days of the months were based on the waning and waxing of the Moon. The first day was noumenia, meaning the new Moon when the first sliver appeared. After that, the days were counted upward, with the next being the second waxing and the next third waxing up to the tenth waxing. The next day was the 11th, which went up to the 19th, with the 20th being called the “earlier tenth waning.” The final ten days were then counted downward, with the 21st being the “later tenth waning,” then the ninth waning down to the 29th day being the second waning, and the last day was known as the “old and new” Moon. When there was only twenty-nine days (a hollow month), the second waning day was called the “old and new” Moon. The Conciliar calendar also had ten months, which began in the midsummer, a week after the summer solstice. The months corresponded to the ten tribes and were called Erektheis, Aigeis, Pandionis, Leontis, Akamantis, Oineis, Kekropis, Hippothontis, Aiantis, and Antiokhis. Since this year only had ten months, each month lasted 35–38 days and was based on a solar year of 365 days. It was therefore close to the true solar calendar of modern times. These months, or Prytanies, were not in the order presented here, as the Athenians determined the actual order of the Prytanies serving each year by lot. In 404, the two calendars were aligned, with the beginning of the year at the same time. Once this occurred, the first four months of the Conciliar year had 36 days and the last six had 35, but this resulted in the Conciliar now being lunisolar, resulting in the need to add more days. These calendars, with the exception that the first day of each calendar was the same, were never truly aligned given the different number of months. Regardless of how one attempts to align and examine the calendar, it is only an approximate. The calendar is often off by several months due to the way the Athenians determined its first new Moon after the solstice and the additional confusion caused by the use of intercalary years. See also: Athens; Festivals; Polis; Theater

Further Reading

Meritt, Benjamin Dean. 1932. Athenian Financial Documents of the Fifth Century. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Meritt, Benjamin Dean. 1928. The Athenian Calendar in the Fifth Century, Based on a Study of the Detailed Accounts of Money Borrowed by the Athenian State, I.G.I, 324. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

110 Caria Meritt, Benjamin Dean. 1961. The Athenian Year. Berkeley: University of California. Pritchett, W. Kendrick. 2001. Athenian Calendars and Ekklesias. Amsterdam: J. C. Gieben. Pritchett, W. Kendrick and O. Neugebauer. 1947. The Calendars of Athens. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Caria Caria lay on the southwestern coast of Asia Minor, with Ionia to the north, Lycia to the south, and Phrygia to the east. The Ionian and Dorian populations colonized the region after the end of the Mycenaean Age. Greek inhabitants in the newly established cities joined with the indigenous Carian population. Homer indicated that the Carians were allies of the Trojans, and Herodotus stated that they were from the Minoans. The Carians spoke an Anatolian language similar to Hittite. Being located on the coastal region of southwestern Asia Minor, the Carians were known for their seafaring abilities and were probably related to the nearby Lydians. The coastal cities of Caria, which mainly were Greek colonies, ran south from Didyma, just south of Miletus, to Calynda on the coast, with non-Greek sites in the interior. The chief Greek cities and islands in Caria included Didyma, Halicarnassus, Myndos, Cos, Rhodes, Cnidus, Caunus, and Calynda. The Carians were said to have been the original inhabitants of later Greek islands such as Chios, Rhodes, and Delos and were pushed out at the beginning of the Greek migrations. The Carian and Greek populations appeared to have intermarried, judging by names found in local cities. For example, the father of Thales of Miletus Examyas was etymologically Carian, while his mother Cleobulina was of Greek origin; although many scholars believe he was not of mixed heritage but rather Greek and of noble birth. The Carians were not able to prevent their expulsion from the Ionian and Dorian sites of Asia Minor and were pushed inland along the Meander River and its tributaries. They later fell under the power of the Lydians, led by Croesus. When the Persians conquered Lydia, the Carians came under their control and were organized as a satrap, with Miletus as its administrative center. When the Ionian revolt broke out in 499, the Carians supported their Greek neighbors fighting the Persian troops. They successfully ambushed a Persian force, annihilating it and killing the Persian general. When Miletus fell, however, further resistance was futile, and the region was once again brought under Persian control. As in other regions, the Persians elevated a local ruler to preside over the inhabitants. The ruler of Caria, the tyrant Lygdamis whose daughter Artemisia served as admiral in Xerxes’s fleet, ruled over the city of Halicarnassus and the island of Cos. Halicarnassus had two harbors and a strong citadel, making it an ideal protected port for the eastern Aegean trade during the sixth to fourth centuries. When her rule of the city ended, Artemisia passed possession of Halicarnassus to her son, Lygdamis, named after his grandfather. The city was the birthplace of Herodotus, who then moved to Samos to complete his studies and write his Histories.

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A Mausoleum—A New Tomb In the fourth century, Mausolus embarked on a plan to drive the Second Athenian League out of the local region, including the islands of Rhodes and Chios. To achieve this plan, he helped factions on the islands raise a rebellion against the Athenians. The capable Athenian generals were defeated by nature and the local fleets, but more often by their own selfish, reckless attempts to win glory for themselves. The insurgents also drew into the rebellion the city of Byzantium, which forced the Athenians to split their fleets and fail to concentrate on one area sufficiently, producing more disasters. Mausolus did not live long enough to enjoy his newly won power. After his death, his widow, Artemisia, retook some of the regions, but she could not maintain the vigor needed to expand. She did complete his great sarcophagus, or as it is now known, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or the Tomb of Mausolus, which then became the generic term for mausoleum. This structure, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, measured 68 feet north to south and slightly smaller east to west, for a total circumference of 411 feet. Its foundation was square, and on top was the first level, which was encircled by thirty-six columns. On top of this level was a pyramid with twenty-five steps and a four-horse chariot by Pythis on top. The total height was 140 feet. Each cardinal point had a statue, including ones of Mausolus and Artemisia, done in the local style of dress and portraiture. The four sculptors were Scopas (east), Bryaxis (north), Timotheus (south), and Leochares (west).

In the mid-to-late fifth century, the coastal regions were taken over by Athens during its empire, but the interior remained under Persian control. The city of Halicarnassus was part of the Athenian Empire by the end of the fifth century, but with Sparta’s victory at that time, control of the city reverted to the Persians and came under the rule of a new local Carian dynasty, led by Hecatomnus. One of his sons, Mausolus, married his sister, Artemisia, and established a strong control over the region. Artemisia died without issue and was succeeded by Mausolus’s brother, Hidrieus, who also died childless and left the rule to his wife and sister, Ada. The youngest son of Hecatomnus, Pixodarus, raised a rebellion against his sister Ada, and with the help of his son-in-law, the Persian satrap, Orontobates, he drove her out. After his death, Orontobates seized control of the city. At this point, Alexander the Great arrived and besieged the city, destroying it and restoring Ada, who now ruled over all of Caria in Alexander’s name. The other chief cities of Caria that descended from the Dorian colonization were Cos and Cnidus. On the mainland, opposite the island of Cos, stood Cnidus, which held its assembly in the temple of Apollo on the Triopian promontory. At first, Cnidus sought to resist the Persians, but the local oracle urged them to abandon their efforts and surrender to the Persians. After the Battle of Mycale, the Athenians took over the city, making it part of their empire. Some of the chief interior cities that were Hellenized only after Alexander included Myus, Heracleia, Mylasa, and Aphrodisias. The region of Caria provided soldiers to the Persians and was known for its mercenaries, who often fought alongside the Greek mercenaries. See also: Persia; Rhodes; Sardis and Lydia

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Further Reading

Bean, George Ewart. 1971. Turkey Beyond the Maeander: An Archaeological Guide. ­London: Benn. LaBuff, Jeremy. 2016. Polis Expansion and Elite Power in Hellenistic Karia. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Ramsay, William Mitchell. 2010. The Historical Geography of Asia Minor. New York: Cambridge University Press. For an examination of Caria during the Late Bronze Age, see “Caria,” Luwian Studies, https://luwianstudies.org/caria/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Carthage Carthage, on the northern coast of Africa, was a Phoenician colony that interacted with the Greek cities of the Western Mediterranean, especially in Sicily. The city was founded by colonists from Tyre in 814 according to Roman authors, and this accords with radiocarbon dating of remains dating to the ninth century. Ancient mythology had Queen Dido, the daughter of the king of Tyre, ruled Tyre with her brother Pygmalion after their father’s death. Pygmalion then murdered Dido’s husband and Dido fled west where she established the city of Carthage. In actuality, Tyre continually controlled the city until about 650, when Carthage broke free and established control over the northern African region. As with other ancient cultures, Carthage was polytheistic. Similar to Tyre, the Carthaginian religion held Baal as its chief deity. The religion had a hierarchy of officials surrounding the temple. At the top were the priests, who were clean shaven, unlike the general public. Below them were minor officials who performed various religious roles. As in Phoenician culture, the religion included dancing. Debate has centered on whether the Carthaginians performed child sacrifice. One theory is that this practice existed from the beginning of Carthage’s foundation and was done in honor of Baal and his consort, Tanit, in what has been called the Tophet. This was a place where children were sacrificed; it owed its name to the location of the Valley of Hinnom in Jerusalem, where the Canaanites sacrificed children to Baal. In Carthage, several cemeteries have been found that contain the remains of children; but some believe that these are merely the final resting places of children who died naturally. It is possible that there were some forms of human sacrifice, but it was less pervasive than ancient detractors of Carthage indicated. The Phoenicians established their colonies as trading posts with a small number of citizens, roughly 1,000 at each city, although Carthage was an exception, with a larger contingent. The colonies were tied more closely to their homeland mother cities than Greek colonies were with their mother cities. They were established to grant commercial freedom to the mother cities from the successive empires that continually controlled the coast of Phoenicia—namely, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and finally the Persians. In addition, the Phoenicians wanted to make sure that they could compete with Greek cities for trade and prevent Greek monopoly rule of the western Mediterranean. The Phoenicians established colonies on the islands of Cyprus and Sicily, where they came into conflict with the Greek colonies.

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When Carthage gained its independence and established its own colonies in the west along the coast of Africa, Spain, Sardinia, and southern France, it too came into conflict with the Greek colonies. Ultimately, Sicily was the most important arena of struggle, and Carthage engaged in a series of wars for control of the island, even occasionally succeeding for a short time. The Phoenicians had already established trading posts on the coast of Sicily and were content to limit their activities to these regions and not try to conquer the inland native regions. Their main centers were on the western part of the island at Motya, Panormus, and Soluntum, when the Greeks had arrived around 700. These cities in Sicily would ultimately fall under Carthaginian control during the sixth century. Carthage did not seem to object to Greek colonies arriving in Sicily, but when they went to Spain, it began to exert pressure to stop further colonization. Carthage now began to expand its control and establish a maritime empire that lasted until the third century. The Carthaginians and the native Sicilian Elymians defeated the Greeks near Lilybaeum in a naval battle in 580, preventing further expansion by the Greeks for the next century. The Greek colonies on Sicily were controlled either by the Ionians or the Dorians. The Dorian colonies were more aggressive and began to expand inland. The Spartan prince Dorieus lost his bid for the throne about 519 then embarked on a plan to establish a new kingdom, first in Libya, where he was expelled by the Carthaginians in 511, and then in Sicily. Dorieus was defeated and killed in 510, and his comrades established Heraclea Minoa, on the southwestern coast. During the succeeding generation, the Dorians at Gela under the leadership of the tyrants Cleander and his brother, Hippocrates, took over many cities, including Syracuse, in 485, which then became its capital under Gelo. The Ionians who were supplanted called for help from Carthage, leading to the First Sicilian War in 480. It is possible that Carthage was allied with Persia at this time as part of the Persian campaign into Greece. The Carthaginian general Hamilcar led a large army from Carthage in an attempt to take over the island. His fleet was badly damaged, and in the Battle of Himera, he was defeated and either killed or committed suicide. Supposedly the battle was fought on the same day as the Battle of Salamis, with the Greeks winning twin battles for their independence in the east and west against two tyrannical foes, Persia and Carthage. The battle was important for Carthage, as it led the government to change from a monarchy to a republic. The Carthaginians derived most of their wealth from trade. They were known to have visited areas in the Atlantic along the western coast of Africa, past the Canary Islands, and traveled through the Sahara. Their chief trading areas were Spain and Sicily. Spain was clearly the most important trading area, receiving silver, copper, tin, and slaves. The tin trade in particular was crucial because it allowed the manufacturing of bronze. The silver trade and control of mines in Spain allowed Carthage to finance many of its commercial adventures. Carthage took over the trade routes established by Tyre after the latter lost its preeminence during the Persian period. The area around Carthage included extensive grain fields and viticulture. The trade industry and exploration allowed Carthage to extend its influence over the entire western Mediterranean.

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War Changes a Government The early kings of Carthage came from the Magonid clan, led by an executive with the title of Suffete (pl. Suffetes), which is often translated into “king” or “judge,” similar to the Hebrew Suffete or Shophet. The Suffetes ruled until Carthage’s defeat at Himera in 483 under King Hamilcar I. The government then underwent a revolution after Hamilcar’s death in 480, opening the executive branch to other aristocratic families where two Suffetes were elected from the aristocratic clans. They held judicial and executive power, but not military power. The executive branch also had a variety of other public officials who controlled taxes, public works, and treasuries. There was a supreme council, often termed a Senate or Gerousia, which also had wide powers similar to those in Rome or Sparta. This council controlled the state’s finances, financial policies, and foreign policy. It is possible that the Suffetes were elected by this Gerousia, or perhaps by the larger Assembly of the People. The membership of the council included representatives from aristocratic families. There was a further check on the council and the Suffets by the Tribunal of the Hundred and Four, or the Miat. This group oversaw the actions of the generals to determine if they had fulfilled their commission (i.e., were victorious). They were therefore independent of the Gerousia, which often picked the generals. Unlike the yearly Spartan Ephors, members of the Tribunal of the Hundred and Four in Carthage served for life until after the Second Punic War in 200. While the oligarchic families controlled the government, democratic elements also existed in the Popular Assembly. If the Suffetes and Gerousia did not have a unanimous vote, the assembly decided the issue. Writing after the destruction of Carthage in 146, Polybius indicated that the Popular Assembly had more power than the people of Rome, although this may have been due to later reforms.

During the next century, Carthage concentrated on North Africa, conquering the region of modern Tunisia and reinforcing their hold on northwest Africa. It was during this time that they began to explore the western coast of Africa. Hanno the Navigator, leading a fleet of sixty ships, planned to colonize the western coast. He sailed through the Gibraltar Straits and established a series of colonies along the Moroccan coast. It is possible that his expedition reached Gabon, although some believed that it went no farther than southern Morocco. Another Carthaginian explorer, Hamilco, sailed in the opposite direction, exploring the northwest coast of Europe. He sailed along the coast of Portugal, Spain, France, and England, again for the purpose of establishing trading partners with the various peoples. In 410, the Spanish colonies seceded from Carthage, which caused a loss of silver and copper for Carthage. It is probably for this reason that Hannibal Mago, grandson of Hamilcar, led a force in 409 to conquer Sicily. His first expedition successfully captured the cities of Selinus and Himera, allowing him to return triumphantly to Carthage. In 405, he led another expedition to take the whole island, concentrating on Syracuse. He attacked the city of Akragas in the west, but his forces were decimated by a plague, and Hannibal himself died. His successor captured the city of Gela and defeated the Syracuse army, but his forces were also wracked with the plague and sued for peace. Syracuse broke the peace treaty, and Carthage again returned in 398–396, taking over much of the island, but yet another plague decimated their forces during a siege at Syracuse. In



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387, the Carthaginians again attacked with 50,000 men and a great fleet, and they seemed unstoppable. But their forces were hit with another epidemic and weakened; their ships were destroyed while the crews were on shore, and their army was badly defeated. For the next forty years, the Carthaginians were pushed back to the southwestern part of the island. As a mercantile empire, Carthage relied on a military drawn from its conquered regions and mercenaries. Divided in their own independent units, mercenaries were extensively used in Sicily. Many of these fighters came from Numidia in Africa and Spain. The Carthaginians were known for their use of cavalry and elephants. During most of its time, the navy was the most important element of its military. Like most other ancient navies, the sailors were citizens, and stable professions were maintained in both peace and war. The Carthaginian fleet usually had around 300 to 400 warships at any one time, mass-produced to keep expenses down. The wealth of Carthage allowed the city to grow and establish control over the mercantile routes in the west. This growth led it to conflict, first with the Greeks in Sicily, as both expanded within the resource-rich island, and then with Rome, which ultimately led to its destruction. See also: Persian Wars; Phoenicia; Syracuse

Further Reading

Charles-Picard, Gilbert, and Colette Charles-Picard. 1969. The Life and Death of ­Carthage: A Survey of Punic History and Culture from Its Birth to the Final ­Tragedy. New York: Taplinger Pub. Co. Hoyos, B. D. 2019. Carthage’s Other Wars: Carthaginian Warfare Outside the “Punic Wars” Against Rome. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Military. Miles, Richard. 2011. Carthage Must Be Destroyed: the Rise and Fall of an Ancient ­Civilization. New York: Viking, Warmington, B. H. 1960. Carthage. New York: Praeger. For a description of the site and excavations, see “Archaeological Site of Carthage,” UNESCO: World Heritage Center, Tunisia, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/37/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Chaeronea, Battle of In August 338, the classical Greek world ended on the battlefield, near the small city of Chaeronea outside Thebes. Philip II, king of Macedon, defeated a Greek army composed of hoplites from Athens, Thebes, Corinth, Megara, Achaea, Chalcis, Epidaurus, and Troezen. The Athenians under Demosthenes broke its treaty with Philip, who now moved south into Boeotia to confront the alliance. Philip had been given command of the Amphitryonic Council to lead a sacred war against Amphissa, south of Delphi, for cultivating land sacred to Apollo; this gave him the religious right to enter Greece with his army, although he probably would have found some other pretext anyway. In November 339, he arrived at Phocis and successfully defeated the force protecting Amphissa, took over the town, expelled its citizens, and gave it to Delphi.

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With Philip’s arrival in Elatea, only three days by foot from Athens, the Athenians panicked at first, but they were calmed by Demosthenes, who suggested that they make an alliance with Thebes. Although Thebes was not yet at war, and Philip had asked them for permission to pass through their territory so he could march on Athens, the Thebans decided to ally with their traditional enemy, Athens, against Macedon. There may have been several small battles or skirmishes during the winter, as suggested by Demosthenes. Finally, after diplomatic avenues were exhausted, Philip marched into Boeotia with his army against the allied forces at The Lion of Chaeronea, commemorating the Chaeronea, which were blockbattle won by Philip II of Macedon. (Rijksmuseum, ing the road and holding the Gift of J. C. P. Bierens de Haan) stronger position. The Macedonian force, with its new phalanx-style infantry, numbered about 30,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry. Philip commanded the right wing, while his eighteen-year-old son, Alexander, commanded the left. The forces were probably about the same magnitude, but the allied hoplites, mainly troops from Thebes and Athens, may have had a slight numerical advantage. The Athenians were on the left wing, opposite Philip, while the Thebans were on the right, opposite Alexander, with the remaining allies in the center. The allied right line was next to the Kephisos River near Mount Aktion, while the left was on the foothills of Mount Thurion, which protected the allies on both flanks. In addition, since they occupied the high ground and had assembled their forces so that they slanted toward the northeast, the allies were ideally disposed on their two-anda-half-mile front. If Philip attacked the allied left wing, he would have to move uphill, while at the same time, the slanted allied front would have been able to attack Philip’s own left wing and potentially roll up the Macedonian line. The battle appears to have been drawn out, perhaps to tire the inexperienced Athenians. Philip may have engaged the Athenians on their left wing for a while and then retreated in an organized manner to draw them away from their defensive positions. Once the Athenians moved toward Philip and his right wing, the Macedonians were able to extend the Athenian line and then wheel about to counterattack. At this point, Alexander and his infantry on the left attacked the Theban Sacred Band, the elite infantry, and apparently punched a hole in the Greek line, probably where the Athenians had moved out to engage Philip.



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Regardless of how the battle unfolded, the new Macedonian phalanx showed its superiority and flexibility over the Greek hoplite. The 300 men of the Sacred Band were wiped out, while over 1,000 Athenians were killed and more than 2,000 captured; the Thebans and other Greeks were likewise destroyed. A monument, the Lion of Chaeronea, marks the spot where members of the Sacred Band were buried. The victory was complete for Philip and Macedon. Philip did not want to besiege cities or fight extensive campaigns since he needed them as his allies for his upcoming war against Persia. He then marched to Thebes, which surrendered, and he expelled the Theban leaders who had allied them with Athens; then he installed a Macedonian garrison for protection. Philip disbanded the Boeotian Confederacy, the Theban alliance, and punished Thebes by reestablishing the cities of Plataea and Thespiae, which Thebes had destroyed earlier, in order to keep an eye on them. By contrast, he treated Athens leniently, allowing prisoners to be ransomed, probably in hopes of winning Athens to his side so he could use its navy against Persia. He also made peace with Corinth, which received a garrison. Although Sparta did not help the allies, it was ravaged after refusing Philip’s negotiations; Philip, however, did not directly attack the city. Finally, in 337, he established the League of Corinth out of the members of the Greek cities (except Sparta) to declare war on Persia to help him in his conflict. The Battle of Chaeronea ended the Classical Age. See also: Athens; Corinthian League; Macedon; Thebes; Weapons

Further Reading

Brice, Lee L. 2012. Greek Warfare: From the Battle of Marathon to the Conquests of Alexander the Great. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Buckler, John. 1989. Philip II and the Sacred War. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill. Hammond, N. G. L. 1994. Philip of Macedon. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Chalcidian League The northern region of Greece included the Chalcidice peninsula. The Cholomontas Mountains lie in the north-central part, with the peninsula pushing three fingers into the Aegean Sea. It was colonized by settlers from Euboea, particularly Chalcis and Eretria, in the eighth century. Several colonies were established, and the area received more settlers in additional waves. The region’s three peninsulas, Pallene, Sithonia, and Acte, run west to east. Several cities in the region formed the Chalcidian League in 432, when they broke away from Athens and the Delian League. These cities moved their populations to Olynthus and created a single state. The Spartans, led by Brasidas, supported the league, while the Athenians, under Cleon, attempted to bring the region back under their control. Both Brasidas and Cleon died in the Battle of Amphipolis in 422 and Sparta was victorious, and according to the Peace of Nicias in 421, the league would be disbanded and the states restored to Athens. It appears that Athens did not or could not act upon this provision, and the league remained intact. After the Peace of Nicias, other states joined the league, and it continued to expand. The region increased in power, and the Macedonian king, Amyntas III,

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appealed to Sparta for help. After a long war, the Spartans broke the league into autonomous cities that would be subject to Sparta. It is possible that this action may have allowed Amyntas’s son, Philip II, the ability to take over the region because the league was now less powerful. Although the Chalcidian League reestablished itself and joined Athens, it could not stop Philip. The league was a federal state, in which the citizens of all of the smaller states enjoyed common laws, citizenship, military, and foreign policy. Some of the cities in the league had a long history. Mende, named after the minthe plant common in the area, had Eretrian colonists and possessed important natural resources, such as gold, silver, and timber, which fueled its growth. Controlling the trade routes on the coast of Thrace, it was incorporated into the Delian League. It rebelled in 423 briefly but was forced to rejoin the league. After the war, it attempted to resist joining the Chalcidian League but ultimately was forced into it. Another colony, Toroni, lay on the southwest edge of the Sithonia and Pallene peninsulas, which gave its name to the Toroneos Gulf. Named after the wife of Poseidon’s son, Proteus, it was founded in the eighth century, and with its rich resources, it became an important city. Although it joined Persia during the Persian Wars and was rewarded by it, it nevertheless joined the Delian League, paying a high tax indicative of its wealth, and perhaps its former allegiance to Persia. When the Peloponnesian War broke out, the Athenians feared that Toroni might rebel, so they placed a garrison in the city. The Spartan general Brasidas seized it in 423, but it was soon recaptured by Athens. At the end of the war, Toroni became part of the Chalcidian League. Another important city was Scione, in the Pallene, the westernmost part of Chalcidice. The city was a colony from Achaea that was founded about 700. Local legend had it that the ships with the Achaeans returning from Troy were blown off course and reached the lands there, and they established Scione. Established on a hill sloping toward the sea, the city was well defended and became critical during the Peloponnesian War. In 423, Brasidas induced it to rebel against Athens, and the Athenians sent a fleet to retake it. After a two-year siege, Scione was captured, and Athens in retribution executed all the males and enslaved the women and children. The destruction pointed to Athens’s ruthlessness and was meant to show its allies what would happen if they rebelled. Akanthos, on the Athos peninsula, the easternmost of the three peninsulas, was established by colonists from Andros, near the Xerxes Canal. The city was on a ridge composed of three hills, with a good harbor to the south. Akanthos had a wall and a citadel. The city was named for the Acanthus mollis, a plant found in the region. Like other cities in the region, Akanthos supported the Persians and even helped to dig the Xerxes Canal. After the Persian Wars, the city became part of the Athenian Empire and paid a smaller tribute level, about one-quarter of Scione’s assessment. Brasidas attacked the city and successfully took it in 424. After the Peloponnesian War, Akanthos did not join the Chalcidian League. Its avoidance of the league probably saved it when Philip of Macedon conquered the region. Stagira, founded by Andros in 655, also joined the Persians, and then later joined the Delian League. Like the other cities, it rebelled against the Athenians in 424 when the Spartan leader Brasidas arrived. The Athenians attempted to retake



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the city under Cleon in 422, but it failed. The city’s later claim to fame was as the birthplace of Aristotle, the tutor of Alexander the Great. Philip II destroyed Stagira in 348, although he later rebuilt it. Other cities existed as well, such as Acrothoum on the Athos peninsula, which also sided with Brasidas, meaning that it probably had an association with the Delian League, but it was not mentioned in the tribute list, probably due to insignificant resources. Also, on the Acte peninsula was the city of Cleonae, on the western coast of the peninsula. It had a population of Greeks and barbarians who seemingly intermixed. It was a member of the Delian League and appeared on its tribute list. Similarly, Olophyxus was located here; it also supported Brasidas and broke away from the Delian League. The town of Thyssus, also on Acte, had a mixed population as well and was a member of the Delian League until Brasidas arrived; later, it was retaken by Athens. Aege, on the Pallene peninsula, supported Xerxes, and troops were recruited from here. It was a member of the Delian League and was mentioned in the tribute list. Also on the Pallene was the city of Alapta, although its location is unknown. Another entity on the Pallene was Aphytis, which was colonized from Euboea in the mid-eighth century. A wealthy city from viticulture and farming, it was a member of the Delian League before it became part of the Chalcidian League. A crucial town was Apollonia, just north of Olynthus, which was a member of the Chalcidian League before it was destroyed by Philip in 348. Nearby was the town of Spartolus, also a member of the Delian League and paying a small amount of tribute. It rebelled against Athens, and the Chalcidians succeeded in routing an Athenian force in the Battle of Spartolos in 429, in which the lightly armed infantry of allies defeated the heavily armed Athenian hoplites. The city of Olynthus, established during the seventh century, paid a small tribute to Athens, only about 20 percent of Scione’s amount. Originally insignificant, the city grew so that in 432, the Macedonian king Perdiccas II encouraged neighboring towns to relocate to the site to increase the population and provide greater protection, a concept known as synoecism. Olynthus became head of the formal Chalcidonian League and supported Brasidas and other cities that were rebelling against Athens. The port of Olynthus was the city of Mecyberna, also a member of the Delian League, which was seized by the Thracians in 420 during the Peloponnesian War and surrendered to Philip before the siege of Olynthus in 349. The Chalcidian League ultimately had thirty-two cities, and it engaged in negotiations with Macedon and was able to expand even into Macedon, seizing Pella, the chief city. The league was favorable to Philip at first, but with his growth in power, they feared him and joined Athens. In 349, the city of Olynthus was besieged and captured and then destroyed, with all its residents killed or sold into slavery. The league then fell from power. See also: Macedon; Olynthus; Peloponnesian War; Thasos; Thessaly

Further Reading

Cartledge, Paul. 1987. Agesilaos and the Crisis of Sparta. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins ­University Press.

120 Chios Cawkwell, G. 1978. Philip of Macedon. London: Faber & Faber. Harris, E. M. 1995. Aeschines and Athenian Politics. New York: Oxford University Press. For a discussion on Olynthus’s battle with Sparta, see Rickard, J. “Olynthian-Spartan War, 382–379 BC,” April 27, 2016, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars _olynthian_spartan.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Chios The island of Chios lies in the northern Aegean, about four miles off the coast of Asia Minor, separated by the Chios Strait. The island runs north to south about thirty miles and east to west at its greatest width, eighteen miles. The kidneyshaped, mountainous island has an area of about 325,000 square miles, with a predominant ridge running its total length and the two largest peaks, Pelineon and Epos, in the north. The eastern part of the island held the majority of the population around the harbor of the ancient town of Chios. The site had been strategic since the Bronze Age. Just north of the town of Chios was the town of Vrontados, supposedly the birthplace of the epic poet Homer. Running south of there were several villages that included a substantial portion of the island’s population. While small villages lined the western region, it was mainly on the eastern side, facing Asia Minor or ancient Ionia, that the island relied on for its wealth. Evidence indicates that Chios has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age. Although excavations have been limited to the caves in the north and a settlement in the far south, it is probable that other areas were also witnessed inhabited. The area in the south around modern Emporeio shows nearly uniform-sized houses, probably indicating a lack of extensive social stratification. The eastern side of the island was particularly suitable for cattle and agriculture. Archaeological evidence for the Middle Bronze Age in the northern Aegean is scanty and seemingly totally lacking for Chios, which is probably due to lack of systematic excavation on the islands. But by the eleventh century, or during the time immediately after the Trojan War, evidence suggests that a vibrant society had emerged, ruled by a king (or at least by an oligarchy), and then later by a tyrant. The archaeological excavations that have been done, revealing remains from Euboea, Cyprus, and Phoenicia, show that the island was a commercial site for the eastern Aegean. Crossroads of Cultures Ancient sources indicate that the original inhabitants of Chios were the Leleges, who did not leave behind any written accounts. Ancient Greek authors, therefore, invented stories about the Leleges. The ancients linked them to the Carians of southwest Asia Minor. Homer then related that they were allies of the Trojans, and although he said that they were distinct from the Carians, other writers linked the two. Ultimately, the Ionians invaded the region and expelled the original inhabitants from the island, taking it over. During the Geometric period, colonies from the Greek mainland that were sent by Ionians (notably from the region around Athens) established a group of colonies that shared a common heritage and formed a union known as the Ionian League. The island of Chios became the crossroads of groups moving both east and west.

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Chios rose in stature as it became part of the Ionian League. As one of the original twelve member-cities, it retained a significant amount of prestige and honor. They began to strike coins in the seventh century, using the sphinx as its symbol. Kin to the Athenians and the Ionians, the island’s residents shared the Athenian form of government, similar to Solon at Athens, a democracy based upon wealth. They had a voting assembly similar to the Ecclesia at Athens and magistrates similar to the archons, called damarchoi. They were subdued by Croesus of Lydia about 560, and when Persia attacked Lydia, the cities of Ionia were asked to rebel against Croesus and support Persia. When the Ionians refused, King Cyrus of Persia punished them by not allowing them as much freedom as they had under Croesus, and they were conquered by the Persian general Harpagus. Since the cities were divided into feuding factions of aristocrats, the Persians did not find a ready-made group who could rule in their stead. In 546, Persia conquered the region and annexed Chios. For the next fifty years, the Persians allowed the city a significant level of self-government through local tyrants, who had to walk a fine line between promoting Chios (and other islands) while satisfying Persia. In 499, the cities of Ionia rebelled in the so-called Ionian Revolt. Until 493, the rebellion centered on Persian control through the appointed tyrants. Chios, along with Samos, supplied the bulk of the rebel’s fleet, with Chios contributing 100 warships at the Battle of Lade in 494. Chios continued to fight the Persians even after Samos defected, but ultimately it was defeated and taken over by Persia. After the Greek victories at Salamis and Plataea, the Spartans went on the offensive. When the Spartan commanders displayed arrogance toward many of the Greek cities, some of them, led by Chios and Samos, requested that Athens take over the command. With Athens in charge, the new organization, the League of Delos or Delian League, indicated that its mission was to free the Greek cities from Persian rule. Chios now joined the league, and for the next seventy years, it was part of the Athenian Empire. During this time, Chios was one of the few cities supplied tribute instead of ships, which gave it some autonomy. Growing tired of Athens’s bullying, Chios rebelled in 412, along with others such as Byzantium and Miletus. Athens besieged the city, but the Spartans in 411 arrived, relieving the city and bringing it under Spartan control. After the war, the island was free and independent. Persia continually recaptured many of the cities it formerly possessed. The city of Chios realized that its independence from Persia relied on its ability to defend itself—a difficult job—so it joined the Second Athenian League in 378. As with the first league, Athens became dominant, and Chios rebelled in 357 while Athens was involved in the Social War. Chios remained independent for the next twenty-five years until the  rise of Macedon, and it came under the control of Alexander the Great when he invaded Persia. See also: Athenian Empire; Delian League; Ionian League; Ionian Revolt; Sardis and Lydia

Further Reading

De Ste. Croix, G. E. M. 1972. The Origins of the Peloponnesian War. London: Duckworth. Kagan, Donald. 1987. The Fall of the Athenian Empire. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

122 Chronology Mac Sweeney, N. 2013. Foundation Myths and Politics in Ancient Ionia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Robinson, E. W. 1997. The First Democracies: Early Popular Government Outside Athens. Stuttgart: F. Steiner.

Chronology The chronology of ancient Greece can be divided into several periods, often known under different names. These periods can be seen as general guides at some times, while at other times they are very precise. Each area had its own type of dating, which has led to confusion. What follows is a general and rough outline of dating and chronology of terms that was common in the Greek world. The earliest period was the Neolithic, a time when humanoids consistently moved and settled throughout the region. Many of these inhabitants crossed into the area from Asia and spread throughout the Danube basin into Greece and the islands from the area north of the Black Sea. The more datable period arrives with the Bronze Age, roughly dating from 2800 to 1050. The Bronze Age dating mainly has been done through archaeological sites and observing how pottery changed in style and fineness from one period to the next. The general period of the Bronze Age can be viewed by comparing the periods on Crete (Minoan), Greece (Helladic), and Aegean Islands (Cycladic), which roughly correspond to one another. These periods are broken into subgroups, which are often further divided as illustrated in the following table. Chronological Periods across the Greek World Date 2800–2500 2500–2200 2200–2000 Date 2000–1900 1900–1700 1700–1550 Date 1550–1500 1500–1450 1450–1400 1400–1300 1300–1200 1200–1050

Early Bronze Age

Early Minoan

Early Helladic

Early Cycladic

I II III Middle Bronze Age

I II III Middle Minoan

I II III Middle Helladic

I II III Middle Cycladic

I II III Late Bronze Age

I II III Late Minoan

I II III Late Helladic (Mycenaean)

I II III Late Cycladic

IA IB II IIIA IIIB IIIC

IA IB II IIIA IIIB IIIC

IA IB II IIIA IIIB IIIC

IA IB II IIIA IIIB IIIC

Chronology 123

The Late Bronze Age on Crete is comparable to, but not exactly corresponding with, the Mycenaean period. However, it is within the same general time frame. It is also close to the time of the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt and the creation of the New Kingdom. The close connection of Crete with the mainland and the islands is very clear in the Late Bronze Age as seen with the development of Linear B on Crete and the mainland, which occurred in this period. This later period is what the Greeks also called their Heroic Age. During this period, there is also evidence for the destruction of Troy and Mycenaean palaces on the mainland. The histories in these Heroic stories, especially in the Iliad and the Odyssey, often produced a compression of time. The period following the Bronze Age, dating from 1050 to 850, has been called the Iron Age and is also known as the Dark Ages. The period began with the invasions of the Dorians, who destroyed Mycenae, and it ended when Athens emerged as a new cultural force as shown via the influential Geometric style of pottery. It is also called the Proto-Geometric period based on the geometric patterns on this pottery. This period witnessed the destruction of the old fabric of the Mycenaean period and a population influx. The Geometric period lasted from 875 to 750, sometimes extending from 900 to 700. It was during this time that the population of Greece increased, bringing conflict and changes, especially an increase in colonization. This age also witnessed the development of writing, shown in the Semitic script from the Phoenicians. The period also saw the creation of the Homeric poems. The Archaic Age was from 750 to 480 and is often further delineated into the Near Easter period from 750 to 620 and the Archaic period from 620 to 480. The Near Eastern period witnessed the influence of Near Eastern art, especially from Assyria to the Greek world. This often led to the importation not only of physical remains such as pottery, which had changed styles and art patterns, but also Asian philosophy, most notably the gods and goddesses from the mythology of the east. The Archaic Age was a period of expansion of the Greek colonies and settlements on the Greek mainland. Sparta in the Peloponnese created a league, while Athens won supremacy of the Saronic Gulf. It was during this period, after the period of the tyrants, that the great constitutional reforms of Solon and Cleisthenes occurred in Athens. The Archaic Age also witnessed the rise of the hoplite warriors and the age of tyrants in southern Greece. This period ended with the first Persian invasion of Greece, the Battle of Marathon, and the second Persian invasion. The period following the Archaic Age was the Classical Age (480–336). It began with the second Persian invasion and the battles at Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea, and it ended with Alexander the Great’s accession to the throne and his invasion of Persia. It was during this time that the Greek cultural achievement reached its height. With the Battle of Chaeronea and the rise of Alexander, the Classical Age came to an end, to be replaced by the Hellenistic Age. See also: Bronze Age; Dorian Invasion; Minoan; Persian Wars; Troy

Further Reading

Coldstream, J. N. 2003. Geometric Greece: 900–700 BC. 2nd ed. London: Routledge. Grant, Michael. 1989. The Rise of the Greeks. New York: Collier Books.

124 Cleruchy For more on the Geometric period and its art, see the Department of Greek and Roman Art, “Geometric Art in Ancient Greece,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004), https://www .metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grge/hd_grge.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Cleruchy In Greece, a colony was independent from its mother city. These new cities were often populated by the lower class, but not all the time because they could be populated by political refugees, as in the case of Corcyra. These new cities were politically independent, with their own types of government, and were not required to provide services to their mother cities. While most colonies remained on favorable terms with their mother cities, they were not required to be. Cleruchies were different. The cleruchs (settlers) were sent out by the Athenians as extensions of Athens itself. Coming from the words kleros, meaning “plot” (of land), and echein, meaning “holding,” a cleruchy can be seen as a group of individuals “holding plots of land” who were dependent upon Athens militarily, politically, and economically. The settlers retained their Athenian citizenship and had the same rights and responsibilities as the Athenians at home. The new colony would have the same type of institutions as those at Athens. The stated idea behind the cleruchy was that poor citizens in Athens would be granted land overseas in exchange for helping Athens by contributing money from their enterprises and being liable for military service. Many of the settlers were enrolled in the hoplite class and served as soldiers for Athens. The Athenians made sure that the best lands were given to the Athenian settlers, and these new lands not only provided Athens with new sources of money, but took away resources from the local indigenous community. In addition, many cleruchies were established to garrison regions that Athens wanted to control. Salamis was probably the first cleruchy established after Athens took it over from Megara in the sixth century. The growth of cleruchies began during the time of the Delian League, when Athens began to exert its power overseas and wanted to control allies such as Chalcis on Euboea after they had rebelled. In the Thracian Chersonese, the Athenians established cleruchies to protect the valuable grain trade coming out of the Black Sea region. When Samos rebelled, the Athenians established a cleruchy there to control the island. The cleruchs were allowed to vote back in Athens, and they never lost their political rights. The system allowed Athens to relieve its overpopulation problem and provided an outlet for the Athenians to grow. The cleruchies allowed the Athenians to control a region with troops, who also farmed the land to produce income. Therefore, cleruchies were not only self-sufficient, but also could return funds to the city. The cleruchy was akin to the Roman colony, sent out with former soldiers for the purpose of controlling a newly conquered region. See also: Athenian Empire; Athens; Euboea

Further Reading

Graham, A. J. 2001. Collected Papers on Greek Colonization. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill.

Clothing 125 Ma, John, Nikolaos Papazarkadas, and Robert Parker. 2009. Interpreting the Athenian Empire. London: Duckworth. For a sample of the inscriptions with information on a typical cleruchy, see “Decree About the Athenian [Cleruchy] on Salamis,” Attic Inscriptions Online, https://www .atticinscriptions.com/inscription/AIO/1672 (accessed May 18, 2021).

Clothing The clothing of the ancient Greeks was simpler than in modern times. Greek clothing tended to be loose-fitting due to the hot weather. Although adapted and adaptable throughout the Mediterranean, Greek clothing consisted of underwear (which was not necessarily hidden) and outer garments, both informal and formal. There were different types of clothing for each sex, and often the clothes denoted social status. Undergarments were meant to protect the body and provide comfort. A bosom band (kestos) was worn next to the skin. The perizoma, a triangular loincloth worn by both sexes, could be worn next to the skin as underwear. An inner garment worn exclusively by women was the peplos, a tunic that was not put on over the head, but rather was wrapped around the body and attached by brooches. It appears to have covered the left shoulder, with one part behind the person and the other wrapped across the front on the right side and joined and connected with brooches. For women, there was the strophium, which in its simplest form was a sash or scarf twisted or rolled into a long, even form and fastened about the bust. It served to support the bosoms of ladies. It was not worn next to the skin, but rather over a tunic. A perizoma or cinctus was a waistband worn over a tunic. A cingulum was a girdle worn by a woman over the tunic and near the bosom so that the dress could cling to the body. That term could also refer to a sash worn by a woman (especially young women) below and above the hips. These terms also meant a garment worn close to the skin, also called a tunic intima. The tunic could then be an inner or outer garment, and the peplos was not a shawl, as that was a separate garment called an amictus, which was worn over the peplos. The Greeks also used the word peplos to mean a close-fitting robe with sleeves down to the wrist. The peplos could be unclasped at the shoulder, and often it was unclasped on the left side, exposing the shoulder and side. The shawl would allow the person to be clothed but still remain comfortable. Both sexes would wear a chiton or tunic, another undergarment akin to a shirt, chemise, or blouse in the modern world. It was made of linen and often pleated and could hang to the knees for men and the ankles for women. There were various types of tunics, depending upon the situation or gender. The colobium was the common tunic, often made of wool, short sleeved, and tied around the waist and hanging just above the knees. This was a common dress worn by itself, without any other kind of outer garment. The exomis, worn just by women, was attached on both shoulders at the collarbone and had open arms. It was also fastened by a girdle worn on the outside. The Dorians were said to have introduced these tunics. Spartan maidens would wear a slit tunic sewed on the bottom left, allowing a long, open slit on the right

126 Clothing

that gave free movement. There was the carpatos, a tunic with long sleeves reaching the wrists, which again was worn first only by women, but later men adopted it as well. Ionian men and women would wear a long tunic that fell to the ankles, called a talaris. One outer garment worn by upper-class Greek women was the palla, a state robe made of oblong rectangular cloth folded in an elaborate fashion. It formed a loose piece of drapery and could be adjusted as needed. It could be a loosely fitted wrap or a close-fitting dress and was put on over the head. The palla reached to the feet. Another tunic put on over the Jason of the Argonauts, dressed in traditional head was the indutus, a closeclothing. (From The New York Public Library, fitting garment. This was differhttps://digitalcollections.nypl.org) ent from the himation, made of a piece of cloth wrapped around the body. Indutus became a common term for any kind of undergarment for both men and women. The himation was viewed as any kind of outer garment that was wrapped around the body. The cloth would go behind and over the left shoulder and behind the body, and under the right arm and across the chest, fastened on the left shoulder. A more formal male outer garment was the pallium, made of wool; like the Roman toga, it was worn as an outer garment, although it could also be worn by itself. In its simplest manner, the pallium was thrown over the back and shoulders and fastened at the neck, in that form it was called an epiblema. The anabola, another formal garment, was put on around the body and thrown over the left shoulder. The periblema, seen as the most external or outer garment, was wrapped completely around the body so as to cover the wearer from head to toe. Another outer garment was the chlamys, which was a light and short mantle probably related to a riding cloak, originally from the north in Thessaly and Macedon. It was a seamless rectangular garment, with a variety of ways to wear it depending upon the comfort and need. It could be worn covering the back and attached or tied under the neck like a cape. It was often worn by soldiers during the Classical Age. The chlamys could also be worn as a cloak fastened on the right shoulder. A cucullus was a hood attached to a rustic garment and pulled over the head, which was commonly worn by slaves and farm workers to protect them from the elements. A diplois was a double cloak with part of it as a shawl over a tunic, all in one piece. The himation was often worn as an outer cloak during

Cnossos 127

winter. Made of wool, it could keep the person warm. It was a heavy piece of wool twisted around a strap under the left arm, across the chest, and over the right shoulder. The himation could also be pulled over the head as a hood and could even be put over the face to hide a person’s identity. The most common type of footwear was the sandal, which allowed more ease of movement and comfort without being too constricting. Most individuals did not need anything that covered the entire foot. Soldiers would wear more protective clothing and shoes for protection. See also: House; Social Status

Further Reading

Brøns, Cecilie. 2017. Gods and Garments: Textiles in Greek Sanctuaries in the 7th to the 1st Centuries BC. Oxford, UK: Oxbow Books. Houston, Mary G. 2003. Ancient Greek, Roman & Byzantine Costume. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. Johnson, Marie, Ethel Beatrice Abrahams, and Maria Millington Evans. 1964. Ancient Greek Dress. Chicago: Argonaut. Greek statue of a woman dressed in traditional For an overview and representa- formal clothing. (Kmiragaya/Dreamstime.com) tions of ancient Greek dress, see the Department of Greek and Roman Art, “Ancient Greek Dress,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2003), https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grdr/hd_grdr.htmm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Cnossos Cnossos (also known as Knossos), inhabited continuously from the Neolithic period from 7000, is located on the northern shore of the island of Crete. It is best known for its Minoan-Mycenaean Palace, which was discovered, excavated, and

128 Cnossos

North entrance of Cnossus Palace, with a bull fresco on Crete. (Ruslan Salikhov/ Dreamstime.com)

partially reconstructed during the early twentieth century. The city comprised the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan civilization, and later the Mycenaean power on the island. The earliest settlers arrived by boat and built simple villages near the sea. In this early period, the site probably had a population of about 500 people, connected through extended families living in similar-style homes made of mud-brick comprising one or two rooms. Although a typical Neolithic settlement, the village did have one house that was larger, with eight rooms, and which may have been a central storage facility. The village shows a close living arrangement among the houses, with little privacy. During the Middle Neolithic period, the population probably approached 1,000, and the homes evolved more toward private rather than communal edifices, with more features. A great house with two stories again suggests a community place, perhaps an early religious or government center. During the Minoan period, around 2000, palaces were beginning to be constructed throughout Crete, which were completely different than the earlier buildings. These palaces may have been influenced by designs from the mainland of Asia Minor and showed a concentration of power and money. These early palaces lasted from 2000–1700 before being destroyed or damaged by earthquakes. In addition to Cnossos, other palaces existed on Crete at Mallia farther to the east, Zakros on the eastern shore, and Phaistos on the southern shore. These early palaces were then rebuilt during the next century on a larger scale, and this period (1650–1450) marks a time of Minoan prosperity and cultural height. Although Cnossos’s palace was larger than the others, all of them took a similar form. There was a central courtyard, and around it was a variety of structures

Cnossos 129

The Minotaur The Minoan civilization that was centered on Cnossos has evoked the famous legend of the Minotaur; underneath the Minoan palace, interlocking storage rooms evoke the fabled labyrinth where the mythological beast resided. The half bull–half-man came from the union of King Minos’s wife, Pasiphae, and a white bull sent by the god Poseidon. Minos was supposed to sacrifice the bull to Poseidon, but he kept it instead due to its great beauty. Pasiphae grew enamored with it and had the craftsman Daedalus make a hollow wooden cow, which she climbed into, allowing the bull to mate with her. The result was the Minotaur, which ate human flesh. Minos could not kill the Minotaur, so he built the labyrinth under the palace to keep it. Minos and Pasiphae’s daughter, Ariadne, was put in charge of the labyrinth and made sacrifices to appease Poseidon. In this context, the story went that Minos, who controlled Athens and other Greek cities, demanded that seven boys and seven maidens be sent every seven years as a meal for the Minotaur. One of those sent was the son of King Aegeus, Theseus, who volunteered to slay the beast. If successful, he would return with a white sail, but if not, the crew would put up a black sail so that Aegeus would know. After arriving at Cnossos, Ariadne fell in love with Theseus, so she gave him a ball of yarn to unravel so he could trace his path through the labyrinth and successfully exit, as well as a sword to kill the Minotaur. He slew the Minotaur, rescued the other Athenians, and escaped the labyrinth. He fled with Ariadne, but he left her on Naxos to return home to Athens. He forgot to put up the white sail, however, and his father, seeing the black sail and assuming Theseus had been killed, committed suicide by jumping into the sea named for him. Theseus then assumed the throne.

such as storage facilities, shops and working centers, living quarters, and of course administrative areas. The courtyard probably had multiple functions—religious, entertainment, and political. The palace at Cnossos covered over three acres in itself and was multistoried. The storerooms held large earthen jars (pithoi), some reaching five feet in height, which were used to store grain, oil, wine, and other commodities. The palace also had bathrooms featuring an extensive drainage/sewage system. At Phaistos and later Cnossos, theaters existed, probably used for religious and entertainment purposes. These palaces came to an end at around 1450, with only Cnossos surviving until about 1370, when it too was destroyed. The destruction appears humanmade, and the last century of the palaces demonstrates Mycenaean rule as shown by archaeological remains. Most likely, after conquering the island and destroying the smaller palaces, the mainland Mycenaeans ruled from Cnossos until their rule ended around 1200 and the palace was destroyed. The latter period had Mycenaean Linear B script tablets similar to those found on the mainland. The palace at Cnossos was more than just a residence; it was also the heart of the city and the surrounding region. It was located on the Kephala, a hill outside Cnossos, and had been the original site of the Neolithic inhabitants. The palace included three acres for the main building and a total of five acres for all the other buildings. The state or official rooms were in the western courtyard, and the more important and larger rooms were on the upper floor. The ground floor had rooms associated with the ritual cult, and a monumental staircase connected the two

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floors. Farther west were at least nineteen storerooms, which contained the large pithoi. Opposite the official receiving rooms were a number of private residences. The palace here could take advantage of the hill and had terraced floors, with two below ground. This residential area went down to the Keiretos River. As with the official rooms, the main living quarters were on the upper floor, also approached by a monumental staircase. The private rooms also had bathrooms with toilets. One of the most important places to survive was the so-called Throne Room. To get there from the courtyard, one walked up four steps and through four doors into an anteroom with benches made of gypsum lining the walls. From here, going through a set of double doors, was the Throne Room. The northern wall had an alabaster seat embedded into the wall, which the archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans identified as a throne. On the remaining three sides were benches, and on the opposite wall of the throne behind the benches was a basin. The throne room was richly decorated with frescoes. The throne was flanked by two griffins, mythological beings, which seem to have been a special symbol of the Minoans. The purpose of the room and throne is not clear. Evans argued that it had religious purposes, with the chief priest or priestess sitting there. According to him, the Mycenaeans would have used this room as their political symbol of power. Another theory holds that the room was for religious purposes, and it was reserved for the arrival of the goddess, who would sit on the throne. The symbolism would have been stronger had an effigy being used as in other Greek temples and cult statues, but without such representation it is unknown. In this scenario, the basin would have been used for ritual cleaning. The foundations of the palaces were built of stone, while the upper layers were made of unbaked bricks on wooden supports sometimes several stories high. The roof was flat, with clay over the rafters. There were well lights to provide natural light to the inner rooms, and wooden, fluted columns provided support for the upper stories. The rooms were also decorated with frescoes. Unlike other Greek art from this time, which had militaristic scenes, the Minoan art of the palaces often portrayed scenes of sea life, musical events, and town life. In addition, both men and women were presented, with women having elaborate hairstyles, idling around the town, and wearing varying types of fashions. Near the north entrance of the palace, the late Minoans constructed a theater that could house 400 spectators. Unlike later theaters, which had circular orchestra areas, the Minoans’ theater was rectangular. It apparently was primarily used for religious ceremonies, including dancing. These theaters existed at other places, such as at Phaestus. Unlike other Greek cities, and even the Palace at Phaistos, the hill was not an acropolis; it was not high or steep enough for that. In addition, it was never fortified and was never like the Mycenaean citadels, even when ruled by Mycenae. This has given indications of how Cnossos survived for so long without walls or citadels. An early theory put forward by Sir Arthur Evans, the original excavator, proposes that Cnossos was the center of the great Minoan sea empire as espoused by the Greek historian Herodotus. The idea here was that the Minoans did not have need for fortifications due to their naval power. The legends indicated that the

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Minoans controlled the Aegean Sea and were able to extend their power across Greece. The theory said that Minoan power was destroyed by the earthquake at Santorini, which caused a tsunami destroying the Minoan naval power. The evidence for this is not significant because other sites on Crete show that they were not destroyed since the tsunami could not have reached them, but Minoan power still declined. These findings then leave open the whole story of Minoan power and control. Most likely, Cnossos controlled a feudal system in Crete that had extensive sea trade throughout the Aegean, but it was not a great naval power. Instead, as an island, it did not face a constant threat of invasion as other sites did. This in turn meant that the region did not have to develop the sophisticated defensive works that other areas needed. Tied with the growth of power at Cnossos was the legend of Minos, which presented him as a great king who oversaw the entire Greek world. This legend was intermixed with the story of Theseus, the son of King Aegeus of Athens, who slew the Minotaur Cnossos then had a rich history, as shown in both its archaeological remains and mythology. Clearly, to the Greeks on the mainland, Cnossos showed great antiquity even before their own history. While they viewed Cnossos as a great civilization, the Greeks also saw that it was conquered by the Mycenaeans, and then the Dorians. See also: Architecture; Bronze Age; Chronology; Cyclades; Minoan; Troy

Further Reading

Cartledge, P. 2009. Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities. Oxford: Oxford ­University Press. Castleden, Rodney. 1990. The Knossos Labyrinth: A New View of the “Palace of Minos” at Knosos. London: Routledge. Marinatos, N. 2015. Sir Arthur Evans and Minoan Crete: Creating the Vision of Knossos. London: I. B. Tauris. Olsen, B. A. 2014. Women in Mycenaean Greece: The Linear B tablets from Pylos and Knossos. Milton Park, UK: Routledge. Scarre, C. and R. Stefoff. 2003. The Palace of Minos at Knossos. New York: Oxford ­University Press. For an overview of the excavations and the history of the Minoan-Mycenaean Palace, see “Knossos—A History of the Palace,” Minona Crete Bronze Age Civilisation, http://www.minoancrete.com/knossos.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Coinage In antiquity, like today, trade was crucial for the survival of cities, and the earliest system used was barter. Each group placed a value upon its goods and negotiated with the other party to reach an agreement. In its simplest form, one would merely exchange one good for another (e.g., a pig for a bushel of wheat). This system worked well for simple transactions, but difficulties could arise if there was disagreement. For example, if one vendor said that his pig was larger than the rest, did he deserve more wheat? The system of barter also made it cumbersome for small exchanges.

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It was soon recognized that some goods could be exchanged for an intermediary item, which could then be exchanged (in whole or in part) for another item. This intermediary was metal bars such as copper, bronze, or iron, which could be formed, shaped, and created in different sizes. The parties could then agree upon their worth. In this example, a pig weighing ten pounds would be valued at one bar, another at fifteen pounds at one-and-a-half bars, and so forth. These bars were often Tetradrachm coin from Athens, 475–465. (The rolled into rods (obelos in J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, Greek) which were one-and-aCalifornia) half meters. The Greek coin called the obol was derived from this term. The Greeks believed that an individual could hold six rods per handful. The Greek word drattomai, meaning “to grasp,” became the root for the word drachma, signifying a handful, and later a coin worth six obols. The next step was to turn these bars and rods, typically made of a base metal, into a smaller and more portable form. Since smaller amounts of gold and silver equaled larger amounts of base metals, coins were often made from gold and silver for the sake of convenience. Determining the relative value of coins probably occurred by examining the natural content of metals in nature. In other words, 1 pound of gold existed where 12 pounds of silver and 1,000 pounds of copper were found naturally. By knowing the relative percentages in nature, one could then determine a rough formula for gold, silver, copper, or bronze. The system of coinage then developed according to how people valued the metals. For example, if copper or bronze was rare and gold or silver common, the bars would be made out of gold and silver and the coins bronze or copper. Problems could arise with this system. Were the bars pure copper or bronze? Were the lengths standard? Who guaranteed these items? The creation of coinage attempted to address these questions. Alyattes, king of Lydia in Asia Minor, was credited with inventing coinage in electrum in the early sixth century. Naturally occurring electrum in the same region contained 70 to 90 percent gold, but these electrum coins only had 50 percent gold. The debased electrum coins may have been created in order to reduce the amount of gold in payments or increase the profit margins. Legend had it that the Lydian king Croesus (595–546) invented the first gold coin, which was known for purity and standardized. While Croesus probably did not invent gold coinage, his status in legend made him the inventor of gold and even all coinage Whoever it was who created coinage made the decision to guarantee the value and purity of

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the coins by putting a mark on the metal. This mark allowed individuals to know that the king authorized its production, guaranteed its value, and accepted it for trade, and by extension for taxation. Typically, the coins were not exactly equal to the weight of the metal since there was overhead in its production, but if one accepted the value of a coin, its popularity would grow. A further problem existed if someone or some state decided to manipulate the weight and purity of a coin. If the coin had its metal content altered so that more base metals were used instead of gold or silver, then individuals might not accept it. Some states would attempt to reduce the size of coins so as to produce more coins than before with the same amount of metal. All of these cost-saving plans, however, came at a price. If people did not accept the change in question, they might do business elsewhere, or merchants might adjust their prices in response to the change, producing inflation. If the coinage system were to work, the state would have to ensure that people trusted it. Aegina is credited with creating the earliest Greek coinage in the west, around 600, by using silver and putting the mark of a turtle on coins as its symbol, as it was a maritime city. The turtle was easily recognized, and coins from Aegina became popular. Athens and Corinth soon followed, with Athens using the symbol of the owl of Athena and Corinth using a figure of Pegasus. Coinage spread due to trade, but mainly through the military. Soldiers, especially mercenaries, needed to be paid in a form of currency that they could carry easily. This then translated into a form of pay whereas all workers in the state received the same type of commodity (now coins). One of the problems with using coins in trade was that each city had its own system of weights and purity, and as such, barter continued for most trade transactions in the early period of coinage. But for transactions in and around a city, coinage became the most convenient way to do business. A common occurrence was that in Athens, the jurors on the law courts received their small amount of pay, and they would carry the coins in their mouths for convenience, as their clothes had no pockets. Production of coins was usually controlled by the state, which had a vested interest in ensuring their purity and consistency. Coins were issued in gold, silver, electrum, bronze, and copper. The ore was melted using a forge, and the molten metal was poured into standardized molds to create blank coins (known as flans). An engraver would create the design of the coin in relief on a metal die, usually iron or bronze. The earliest coins had a design on only one side. The obverse die was put into an anvil for holding a warm blank, which the moneyer (the individual who ran the mint) placed on top of the die, and with the other die in his hand, the minter would strike it, leaving an impression on the coin. Later, the die held by the minter was also inscribed on the reverse, so both sides had an impression. To create different values, the weights and sizes would be altered. In Athens, the smallest coin was the obol, and six of these made a drachma. A day’s wage in Athens for a common laborer was two obols. Typically, the obverse of the coin had the most ornate design, such as the owl or turtle, while the reverse was a simple geometric design. Later, the reverse designs were elaborated to not only extol the virtues of the city, but also the moneyer; often he would sign the design, similar to an artist signing his painting. The owl on the Athenian tetradrachm, or

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four-drachma coin, was the most famous obverse, and on the reverse side was Athena. Cnossos portrayed the labyrinth, while Thebes had the Boeotian shield. Cities that had a strong maritime influence often had symbols of the sea, like Aegina and its turtle, dolphins for Syracuse, and Poseidon for Poseidonia. Other cities often used plants, such as an ear of wheat for Metapontum or a rose for Rhodes. Some featured the symbols of their patron god, like Delos and the lyre of Apollo. Individuals also tried to manufacture counterfeit coins. Typically, these coins were not pure; they often were only plated in gold and silver over a lead core. In some cases, a clay coin was baked and then plated with metal. The early coins, which lacked intricate designs, were easier to counterfeit. Two of the reasons why cities began to put designs on their coins were to make counterfeiting more difficult and to symbolize their authority to mint coins. Merchants could test the purity of coins by striking them against something called a strike plate and seeing what color was left behind. Coins provide the modern scholar with valuable information. In addition to the weight and purity, which can give signs about the health of the economy, coins provide visual clues about a society. The images can point to a change in political policy or ideas and even help identify monuments. Also, since coins are valuable, their safety was important. Individuals would often gather their coins together and hide them. Sometimes these hidden troves would not be recovered, and as a hoard they provide information about events such as wars or other disasters. Coins, then, open a window to the past and how society functioned both economically and politically. See also: Aegina; Athens; Corinth; Measurements and Accounting; Sardis and Lydia; Sparta

Further Reading

Carradice, Ian, and Martin Price. 1988. Coinage in the Greek World. London: Seaby. Eaglen, Robin J. 2017. In Celebration of Greek Coinage. London: Spink & Son Ltd. Seltman, Charles Theodore. 1949. Masterpieces of Greek Coinage: Essay and Commentary. Oxford, UK: Bruno Cassirer. For a catalog of Greek coins, see “Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum-Project”, British Academy, Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Department of Coins and Medals, The Fitzwilliam Museum, http://www.sylloge-nummorum-graecorum.org/ (accessed May 18, 2021). For a discussion and catalog of coins, see Head, Barclay, “Historia Numorum: A Manual of Greek Numismatics,” http://snible.org/coins/hn/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Colonization Greek colonization existed for nearly a millennium and was undertaken for a variety of reasons. In the early period, colonies were established due to newcomers or invaders into Greece pushing out the indigenous population, who then fled overseas. This occurred with the Dorian invasion at the end of the Bronze Age. During the Archaic period (the seventh century), conditions in Greece reached a point

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where it was necessary in some regions for the population to be relocated. Political conditions had created peace, which allowed the local areas to expand. This population increase soon exerted deleterious pressures, the most crucial being the limitation of arable land. The Greek countryside was not conducive to having large fields that could produce the surpluses needed to feed the numerous inhabitants of the Greek city-states, especially those whose populations had increased dramatically, like Athens, Corinth, and Thebes. This lack of productive land led to shortages, which often caused famines. Population expansion created its own problems due to the continual increase in family size. The practice of dividing land among sons often led many families to have only one; but given the high rates of infant mortality at the time, families were not content to risk their future on one child. In addition, having girls was often discouraged since the family had to pay a dowry at their marriages. On the other hand, girls could be more available for working on the family farm and a useful source of labor until they became of age for marriage. Those families that had more girls than they wanted often left infants on the mountainside to be exposed to the elements. This was not seen as murder since the gods would decide if the child died or lived; often, other families would take the infant as a slave. An additional reason for colonization was the opening of new avenues for trading and profit. As in all eras, there were adventurers, men who did not fit into the settled life of their city and yearned to make their own mark on society. One such individual was Archilochos of Paros, who left behind some fragments of poetry. He was from the upper class and helped in Paros’ colonization of Thasos, in the northern Aegean near Thrace, a land viewed as flowing with gold treasures that were ripe for the taking. He arrived in the region and took part in several campaigns, even losing his shield and joking about it, but he discovered that the Thracians were not so easily cowed. These adventurers also looked to the east to Anatolia for riches, and several colonies were established in hopes of controlling this wealth. There were also individuals who saw no hope in their own cities and were willing to accept a new political life in the hope of rising in stature. These men could be the losers in the struggles between aristocratic families after replacing the earlier kings. The ruling party often became more selective and narrow, excluding other families and stoking discontent. These now-reduced social families often looked outward to reestablish their political fortunes. Accompanying them were many of the lower classes, who were aligned with them. With stories constantly given out that these far-off lands could support all the colonists, and with nothing to hold them in their home cities, they eagerly and willingly left, and the ruling families were only too glad to get rid of these malcontents . The first era of colonization occurred at the end of the Bronze Age, when colonists left the Greek mainland to Asia Minor. In the north of Asia Minor, the Aeolis region was colonized by inhabitants from Boeotia and Thessaly, particularly on the island of Lesbos. From there, colonists spread north to the Hellespont into the region south of the River Hermus. In the south, there were eleven cities, led by Cyme. Five main cities sprang up in on Lesbos—Mytilene, Methymna, Eresus, Antissa, and Pyrrha—all of which became prosperous.

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South of Aeolis lay Ionia, which was colonized by inhabitants leaving central Greece, including but not exclusively Athens and its surrounding area, and by the late eighth century, twelve city-sates were created. These were the islands of Chios and Samos and on the mainland Phocaea, Clazomenae, Erythrae, Teos, Lebedus, Colophon, Epesus, Priene, Myus, and Miletus (listed from north to south). They would unite in a religious and later political league. Finally, the Dorians from the Peloponnese settled the region in the south, Doris, which included Cos, Cnidus, and the island of Rhodes. When this phase was complete after about three centuries, most of Asia Minor on the coast south of the Hellespont was populated with Greek cities, leaving little room for more colonization. The Greeks began their next phase of colonization in the late eighth and seventh centuries, heading west. Notably, they did not go north to Macedon or Thrace or east to the Black Sea; these areas would be colonized later even though they had many natural resources. It is possible that they were avoided because there were numerous locals capable of defending their lands; it is also possible that since the wind and wave patterns of the Aegean blow westward, many of the early sailors were driven in that direction. Sicily became one of the most popular centers for colonization. The tradition arose that it was colonized by Euboeans, mainly from Chalchiis and Eretria, and by the Dorians. It is clear that although these two regions had the most colonists, colonies were also established at Ischia and Cumae on the Italian mainland. On Sicily, Naxos was said to have been settled first in 757, while Corinth sent colonists to Syracuse around 735. These dates put Greek colonies in the west contemporary with the Phoenicians, not later as some in antiquity asserted. The tiny state of Megara, a competitor to Corinth, was involved early in westward colonization done to counter the influence of Corinth. Megara may have been helped by citizens from Argos and Aegina, who did not want to see Corinth dominate, but Argos and Aegina did not send out colonies of their own. The Megarans established Hyblaea in 750 in Sicily. The Chalkidians settled Rhegion, situated on the boot of Italy, after establishing Zankle across the straits in Sicily. Controlling these two sites allowed them to limit passage through the western straits to travelers toward whom they were well disposed. Although Sparta did establish a colony at Taras (modern Taranto), it mostly did not colonize; instead, it decided to solve its population expansion at home by conquering the Peloponnese. More Greek colonies were established by different Greek city-states at Lokroi, Kroton, and Sybaris. The colonies prospered due to the fertility of their soil and their ability to grow surplus wheat, as well as raising cattle and taking timber. The colonies became economic centers, and throughout the region of southern Italy and Sicily, the Greek world expanded. These cities were not just extensions of Greece, nor were they only minor components. It is clear that Syracuse and Akragas were even larger and wealthier than most Greek mainland cities. The Greek cities of southern Italy became known as Magna Graecia. Other Greek cities from Asia Minor, once colonies of the Greek mainland, as well as colonies from Sicily, sent out their own colonies. The Greeks also established colonies on the coast of France at Massilia ­(Marseilles), founded by the Phokaia in Ionia Asia Minor about 600. Massilia

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The Foundation of Zancle in Sicily Colonies were established throughout the Mediterranean. The following extract from Thucydides’s History of the Peloponnesian War shows the history of the establishment of Zancle (Messina) from the Cumae (Cume). Like many Greek colonies, it also received newcomers from its grandmother city Chalchis and other regions: Zancle was first built by pirates that came from Cume, a Chalcidean city in Opicia: but afterwards there came a multitude, and helped to people it, out of Chalcis and the rest of Eubcea; and their conductors were Perieres and Crataemenes; one of Cume, the other of Chalcis. And the name of the city was at first Zancle, so named by the Sicilians because it hath the form of a sickle; and the Sicilians call a sickle zanclon. But these inhabitants were afterwards chased thence by the Samians and other people of Ionia; that in their flight from the Medes, fell upon Sicily. After this, Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium, drave out the Samians; and peopling the city with a mixed people of them and his own, instead of Zancle called the place by the name of his own country from whence he was anciently descended, Messana. Source: Hobbes, Thomas, William Molesworth, Thucydides, and Homer. 1843. The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. London: J. Bohn, Volume 9, p. 117.

then established its own colonies at Antipolis (Antibes) and Nikaia (Nice) and other towns of the region. The Gallic colonies then sent colonies to Spain such as at Emporion (Ampurias), whose name means “trading center.” The cities of Asia Minor also sent colonies to Sardinia and Corsica when the Persians began to dominate western Anatolia. All of these colonies were established in areas whose climates were similar to that of Greece, which made it easier for the residents to adapt. The Greeks did not establish many colonies on the North African coast. Thera sent a colony to Cyrene, which then established its own colonies at Barke and Euhesperides, but that was all. Some colonies in North Africa failed, and when the people there attempted to return home, they were prevented and advised to settle elsewhere. In the later phase of colonization, the Greeks turned their attention closer to home—namely, the northern Aegean. In particular, Chalchis established numerous colonies in Thrace on the three-pronged peninsula later known as the Chalkidike. The most famous colony here was Potidaia from Corinth. On the whole, the Greeks considered this region to be less hospitable than Sicily. Later, the Greeks went to the Hellespont, especially led by Megara, which founded a colony Chalcedon in 684 on the coast of Asia Minor but did not exploit at this time the more strategic site of Byzantium across the Bosporus. Later in 667, Megara established a colony at Byzantium that became more prosperous and strategic. The Greek cities of Asia Minor, especially Miletos, made colonies in the Black Sea region. Part of the reason why the Black Sea was not colonized earlier was that the winds blowing from the east pushed against the Greeks trying to sail across the sea. In addition, the tribes around the Black Sea destroyed some of the early establishments, which required the Greeks to reestablish them in the seventh century. Eventually, the Black Sea was colonized, though, and these colonies were able to exploit the rich wheatlands of southern Ukraine. This region became a rich

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trading partner, but it was always viewed as being too far from the Greek homeland and more dangerous than the west. The process for establishing a colony varied, but it is clear that certain rules and policies existed. First, a colony was not considered just an extension of the founding or mother city. This meant that the colony did not owe any allegiance to its founder. In fact, the two were often enemies, such as Corcyra and its mother city of Corinth. Some daughter cities, such as Potideia, retained some connection to Corinth, but those were an exception. Second, each colony had its own constitution. While colonies may have based their constitution on that of their mother cities, they were not obligated to do so. Third, once the colonists left their mother cities, they gave up all rights of citizenship and legal status, which meant that they could never return to their homeland, nor did they have any legal rights. Finally, the site of the colony had to be determined. Here, the Oracle at Delphi was crucial. Cities would ask the Oracle if they should establish a colony, and the Oracle would research its archives established by centuries of contacts and information about suitable places. The Oracle acted as a library for information about regions and their capabilities and would give advice as to where colonists should go. This gave the oracle great power since they could advise cities where to established colonies, most of which flourished. The new city-state often replicated its mother city in terms of politics (although if founded because of dissent, not always), social organization (i.e., classes or tribes), and even city planning. While the mother city may have been an oligarchy, the daughter city, especially if founded due to political dissent, might be democratic. The new city would have a gymnasium, theater, and agora. Since they were independent from their mother cities, most colonies had their own coinage. Although similar in design, occasionally governments, and religious, colonies were distinct from their mother cities. The colonization movement allowed mother cities to rid themselves of their surplus population and potential malcontents. It also resulted in Greek civilization and culture being transported throughout the Mediterranean. See also: Akragas; Byzantium; Corcyra; Corinth; Cyme; Cyrene; Delphi; Dorian Invasion; Epidamnus; Euboea; Ionian League; Istrus and Olbia; Magna Graecia; Massalia; Megara; Miletus; Sinope; Syracuse

Further Reading

Boardman, John. 1999. The Greeks Overseas: Their Early Colonies and Trade. 4th ed. London: Thames and Hudson. Sealey, Raphael. 1976. A History of the Greek City States, ca. 700–338 B.C. Berkeley: University of California Press. Tsetskhladze, Gocha R. 2006. Greek Colonisation: An Account of Greek Colonies and Other Settlements Overseas. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. For a discussion of Greek colonization and art, see Hemingway, Colette, and Seán Hemingway, “Ancient Greek Colonization and Trade and their Influence on Greek Art,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2007), https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/angk/hd_angk.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

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Comedy Greek theater had two major genres, tragedy and comedy. There was also a third subcategory, satyr plays, which were performed between the acts in tragedies, making fun of the characters. Athenian and later Greek comedies can be divided into three periods: Old, Middle, and New. Old Comedy began around 450 until around 400; Middle Comedy ran from 400 until the death of Alexander the Great in 323, and the New Comedy was from 323 to 250, during the Hellenistic Age. These divisions were established during the Hellenistic Age, perhaps formulated by Aristophanes of Byzantium (257–180), the head librarian at the Library of Alexandria, who devised numerous grammatical systems to create a system similar to punctuation. This division seems to be purely arbitrary, since comedy existed from early times and continuously changed and evolved over time. There were a variety of comedies based upon local customs and traditions. The most famous of these were created in Athens around 425 by Aristophanes. During the rise of Athens, comedy performances presented parodies of and attacks on political leaders. The Old Comedy had a stylized and structured system. The play started with the reading of the prologue, which described the background for the events that would soon unfold on stage and often served as a preface to the act that followed. This was then followed by the paodos, the first song sung by the chorus as it entered from both sides of the stage, and the debate (agon), a fight between the two main characters and/or their supporters in the chorus. This was the heart of the play, whether comedy or tragedy. A peculiar element of the Old Comedy was the parabasis, where the actors leave the stage and the chorus addresses the crowd about a topic irrelevant to the play. It may have been meant to be a break in the play that would provide the author with the ability to talk about something else—almost like a political commercial or a press release about the author. Comedies were not staged at the festivals until about 487, after the Battle of Marathon and about a generation after the establishment of tragedies at the festivals. By 450, these Old Comedy plays led by the chorus had taken on their final form and were best exemplified by Cratinus, who won numerous prizes at Athens in the Great or City Dionysia, a large festival in Athens established by Pisistratus in the sixth century and held in March or April. Cratinus wrote twenty-one comedies, at least eight of which won at the City Dionysia. He was known for attacking Pericles and was lampooned by Aristophanes in his play The Knights as an old coot, past his prime, trying to get a drink; the next year, Cratinus, then in his nineties, wrote the Pytine (The wine flask), which defeated Aristophanes’s The Clouds at the festival—a triumph that was probably very satisfying to him. Pericles seemed to be a particular target in these early comedies. One playwright, Hermippus, who like Cratinus was older than Aristophanes and his contemporary Eupolis, wrote the play Moirai, which portrayed Pericles as a coward and bully who was always drinking, and accused Pericles’s mistress, Aspasia, of impiety and immorality. She was in fact put on trial for these transgressions, and only Pericles’s tears got her off. These incidents likely provided material for the comics. Eupolis, a bit younger than Aristophanes and at first his friend, also

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attacked Pericles and Aspasia, probably in 429. His style seemed to be more elegant than Aristophanes. The two playwrights had a falling out with each other around 423, with each accusing the other of copying him. Aristophanes, due to the survival of his plays, is the best-known comedic playwright. Although facts about his life are sketchy, he was born about 446, when Athens was at its highest point, and he lived during the Peloponnesian War, dying in 386 after the Peloponnesian War. As a poet of the Old Comedy, he epitomized its style and structure. His plays offer an excellent portrayal of life in Athens and the political strains during the Peloponnesian War. His works are the major corpus of Old Comedy, and eleven of his forty plays (thirty-five of which were unique with five being duplicates) have survived. He was able to use his powers of speech to ridicule the political life of Athens. He poked fun at such individuals as Socrates in The Clouds and Cleon in The Knights. His plays are pro-Athens, and they attack individuals such as the politician Cleon for leading Athens astray and profiting from the war. An examination of the surviving plays by Aristophanes shows how he interacted with Athenians and how Athens shaped his political thoughts. His first two known plays, The Banqueters (427), which glorified the older generation of victors at Marathon, and The Babylonians (426), which Cleon said was slanderous, are unfortunately lost. His first surviving play, The Acharnians, was produced in 425 and won first prize at the Lenaia festival; it concerns an absurd plot about a young man who obtains a private peace agreement, something impossible, with Sparta during the Peloponnesian War and enjoys the fruits of that treaty while the rest of Athens suffers. His fourth play, The Knights (424), focused on attacking Cleon, probably in revenge for the populist’s criticism of The Babylonians. In this play, Cleon is the villain, and the people of Athens triumph over him. After The Farmers (424), he wrote The Merchant Ships (423) and the first version of The Clouds; unfortunately, all of these are lost, although The Clouds survives in an incomplete version from around 415. In this latter work, Socrates is lampooned, and it does not contain the political satire of his other early plays. Plato argued that the Clouds caused Socrates to be indicted and found guilty, although the twenty-year interval between its first production and Socrates’s trial argues against that. At any rate, the play was not well received. Aristophanes’s fourth surviving play, The Wasps (422), continued his attack on Cleon, as well as the law courts (because Cleon, at the height of his powers, was using the courts to further his political ambitions). The play won second prize at the Lenaia. In the same year, he produced Proagon. His play Peace, was written in 421, just before the Peace of Nicias was ratified, and it launched yet another attack on the pro-war leader Cleon (even though he had died a few months earlier). The play, which won second prize in the Dionysia, shows how the peace treaty was not necessarily the best, and opportunities were lost. An interval of seven years existed between this play and his next two, Amphiaraus (414), which was lost, and The Birds (414), his sixth surviving play. The latter took second prize at the Dionysia. Interestingly, this fantasy play, which was staged just as the Sicilian expedition was launched, does not contain references to the war, but rather the restoration of Athens as a great city.

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In 411, his seventh surviving play, Lysistrata, was produced. Many argue that its plot, the withholding of sex by the women of Greece until peace is achieved, is an antiwar play. Others, however, see it as the opposite—a satire on the peace party for supposing that peace could be obtained at any cost. It was produced at the same time as Thesmophoriazusae, Aristophanes’s eighth surviving play, it features subversive women, parodies on playwrights such as Euripides, one of the main characters, and the normal Athenian, all of whom who have debased themselves. Like some of his recent plays, it does not talk about the war. In this work, Aristophanes moves away from the Old Comedy structure. Plutus (408), largely lost (although its final version from 388 is extant), a comedy about wealth and morality, moved even further toward New Comedy. This play makes clear that riches are not for the virtuous; instead, they come to people randomly, and anyone can have wealth if they are lucky. Countering this sentiment is the idea that without poverty, there would be no trade or enterprise because everyone would have everything they need. Another lost play, Gerytades, was produced before the end of the war in 407.

Megarian Decree—Aristophanes Fights Back Ancient playwrights, especially comedians, attempted to use current events to attack politicians. One such playwright, Aristophanes, continuously attacked politicians for their stances on events. In The Acharnians (lines 515–538), written six years after the start of the Peloponnesian War, he shows how the Megarian Decree had produced hardship and war: For certain of us—I do not say the State; remember that, I do not say the State, but some fustian rascals, rudely stamped lumps of ore, uncurrent slips, bastard counters, mongrel trash, laid information against the Megarians’ little cloaks; and if they saw anywhere a pumpion, or a rabbit-sucker, or a pig, or a raze of garlic, or rock salt, these were Megarian wares, and were promptly confiscate the self-same day. Now, these things were paltry, I admit, of merely local interest. Next some rakehells—flustered with the Cottabus—went to Megara, and stole the callet Simaetha; and then, in reprisal, the Megarians, garlic-stung with passion, ravished two flirtgills from Aspasia: hence a hurricane of war was set abroach for all the Greeks in lieu of a leash of giglot wenches: hence Pericles, “the Olympian,” in his wrath lightened, and thundered, and set Greece by the ears; he drew up statutes, worded like drinking-songs, “From the Attic mart and sea The Megarian banished be: Refuge shall he seek in vain In the sky and on the main.” Hence the Megarians, starving inchmeal, made suit to the Spartans that we might reverse—face to the wall—the edict touching the stales. And so they begged us many times, but we refused, and hence there was a jowling of the shields. Source: W. J. M. Starkie. 1909. The Acharnians of Aristophanes with Introduction. English Prose Translation, Critical Notes and Commentary. London: MacMillan and Co., pp. 109–113.

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Aristophanes’s ninth surviving play is The Frogs (405), which won first place at the Lenaia. The comedy, written at the end of the Peloponnesian War, presents an attempt to show that Athens will be restored, just as Aeschylus (who had died earlier in about 456), returns with the god Dionysus to help Athens. The next dated play from Aristophanes is The Assemblywomen (391), his tenth surviving work. Once again, he portrays women in control of the government, eliminating private wealth and enforcing sexual equality for all. Like all of his plays, Aristophanes is not promoting these ideas but rather making fun of the current Athenian government—and in particular, questioning whether Athens would embark on a new set of wars to regain its empire, espoused by the poor, or peace, espoused by the wealthy. The play forms the link between Old Comedy and the upcoming New Comedy and has been seen as part of Middle Comedy. His last surviving play, Wealth (388), was a reworking of an earlier play. Two further dated plays, Cocalius (387) and Aiolosicon (386), do not survive. Other poems do not survive either, and they are undated and probably fill in the gap of the time periods missing. Of these, fifteen were unique, while three were earlier or later versions of some of his plays. Aristophanes’s plays show evolution and change during his time and into the Middle Comedy period. Within a century of Aristophanes’s time, the New Comedy took hold. Unlike the Old Comedy of Aristophanes, which made fun of and satirized the politics of the day in an attempt to teach people about important issues, the New Comedy became more like the situation comedies of today. No longer were politicians lampooned, which under a king would be dangerous; instead, individuals would get into strange situations and get out of them through events presented in a farcical manner. Menander is perhaps the best-known comic, and his comedies and other works were used as examples by writers such as Plautus in Rome. See also: Music and Dance; Theater; Tragedy

Further Reading

Konstan, David. 1995. Greek Comedy and Ideology. New York: Oxford University Press. Olson, S. Douglas. 2007. Broken Laughter: Select Fragments of Greek Comedy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Reckford, Kenneth J. 1987. Aristophanes’ Old-and-New Comedy. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Taplin, Oliver. 1992. Comic Angels: And Other Approaches to Greek Drama Through Vase-Paintings. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.

Corcyra Corcyra, on modern Corfu, is a large island in the Ionian Sea off the coast of modern Albania separated by the straits. It was ideally located to control the shipping lanes between Greece and Italy and dominate the Adriatic. The shape attested by the ancients is that of a sickle, and the main city and harbor of Corcyra lay in the middle, on the eastern side. The northern part of the island is mountainous; the central area has hills, and the southern part has low-lying plains. Because the

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island received a generous amount of rain, it had a strong agricultural base, allowing it to grow enough grain for self-sufficiency, as well as vineyards for wine exportation. It had three good harbors near the city, which made it an important trade center. The island had a native population since the Neolithic Age and had Bronze Age finds similar to those found in Italy. The first group to attempt to colonize the island came from Eretria, but they were driven out by settlers from Corinth in 734, who gave the island and city-state its name. Corinth had planned to expand westward, and after establishing this colony, it created another one at Syracuse. The relationship between the mother and daughter cities was generally good at the beginning. Corcyra would even establish a colony farther north at Epidamnus. Relations between these mother and daughter cities began to sour during the midseventh century, and the first recorded naval battle between Greek city-states occurred in about 660. Here, two large fleets from Corcyra and Corinth fought at sea, with Corcyra winning. With its independence, Corcyra could maintain its position as a gateway to the west. Also, about 650, a revolution occurred in Corinth, where the aristocratic government of the Bacchiad clan was overthrown by the tyrant Cypselus. Many of the Bacchiads fled Corinth, arriving in the colony of Corcyra. This group would be anti-Corinth not only under Cypselus, but his son, and even the restored oligarchy. Cypselus established colonies throughout the northwestern coast of Greece, on the Acarnanian peninsula of Leucas, and on the south side of the Ambraciot Gulf. Although Corcyra feared that these movements would interfere with its own interests, and there may have been some fighting, the two reached an agreement in the end. The two states agreed to establish a joint colony at Epidamnus, north of Corcyra. Cypselus may in fact have successfully attained control over Corcrya. Cypselus’s son, Periander, who was known for his cruelty, successfully regained control over Corcyra, but it was short lived. Periander killed his wife, and his younger son, Lycophron, upon finding out the situation, sought revenge by failing to talk or interact with his father. Periander banished his son to Corcyra, but apparently not as the ruler. When his father sought to have Lycophron return home, the son refused to answer his father, preferring exile. A few years later, Periander decided that Lycophron would rule Corinth and Periander would rule Corcyra. Upon hearing this, the Corcyraeans grew afraid of having Periander as their ruler, and they killed Lycophron. Periander now took savage revenge on the island. A few years later, Corcyra successfully won its independence from Corinth and established itself as a strong neutral state that followed its own course, which was usually neutral in Greek affairs, but would often oppose its mother city, Corinth. Its strong position, rich resources, and growing population allowed it to remain uncommitted to any Greek politics. But like all Greek cities, Corcyra was prepared to go whichever way would benefit it. In Sicily, where Corinth and Corcyra had helped establish the city of Syracuse, a strong desire to ensure its independence was crucial for trade and commerce. Both Corinth and Corcyra came to the aid of Syracuse when Hippocrates of Gela attempted to attack the city in 492, but they were stopped at the River Helorus.

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Corcyra even remained neutral in the Persian Wars, when it could have easily sent nearly sixty warships if it had wished to fight at Salamis in 480. The story went that the ships sailed, but that they arrived late at the Battle of Salamis, where the Greeks were victorious by then. They claimed that bad winds had held them up, but the historian Herodotus claimed that they arrived late on purpose so as not to support the Greeks; in that case, if the Persians won, they could claim that they actually supported Persia. Either way, they came out ahead without having to fight. This isolationism was no doubt due to its wariness toward Corinth and its desire not to upset its position as the major controller of the western trade routes. During the next half-century, Corcyra did not side with either the Athenian-led Delian League or the Spartan-led Peloponnesian League. When war broke out, it remained neutral, and Thucydides recounts that at this time, there were three great navies in the Greek world: Athens, Corinth, and Corcyra. Corinth and Corcyra continued to struggle over the correct level of honor and support for the latter to provide to the former. Corinth expected the Corcyrans to show deference to it as the mother city, but Corcyra had grown in stature and wealth and believed that it did not owe Corinth anything. At this stage, a civil war in Coryra’s own daughtercolony Epidamnus led to realignment and disaster. The city-state of Epidamnus would start the chaos in the west. It underwent a civil war when the pro-democratic party overthrew the aristocrats in 435. The

Corcyra Hedging Their Bets The struggle for Greek independence from the Persians was not a forgone conclusion. Many of the Greek states submitted to Persia, such as Macedon and Thessaly, and probably Argos as well. Others were not sure of the outcome and did not want to commit one way or the other in case the opposing side won. Messengers were sent to Sicily, where Gelo, the tyrant of Syracuse, indicated that they could not send help since the Carthaginians were attacking (perhaps in concert with Persia). Some states gave only lukewarm response to the Greeks, as seen in the following passage from Herodotus (Histories 7.168) concerning Corcyra and its fleet: As for the Corcyraeans, whom the envoys that visited Sicily took in their way, and to whom they delivered the same message as to Gelo,—their answers and actions were the following. With great readiness they promised to come and give their help to the Greeks; declaring that “the ruin of Greece was a thing which they could not tamely stand by to see; for should she fall, they must the very next day submit to slavery; so that they were bound to assist her to the very uttermost of their power.” But notwithstanding that they answered so smoothly, yet when the time came for the succours to be sent, they were of quite a different mind; and though they manned sixty ships, it was long ere they put to sea with them; and when they had so done, they went no further than the Peloponnese, where they lay to with their fleet, off the Lacedaemonian coast, about Pylos and Taenarum—like Gelo, watching to see what turn the war would take. For they despaired altogether of the Greeks gaining the day, and expected that the Persian would win a great battle, and then be masters of the whole of Greece. Source: George Rawlinson, and Edward Henry Blakeney. 1912. The History of Herodotus. London: J. M. Dent. Volume 2, p. 185.

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aristocrats, with support from the local indigenous tribes, attacked Epidamnus in the hope of regaining it. The democratic group sent a message to its mother city, Corcyra, asking for help with its great navy. But Corcyra decided to remain neutral, so Epidamnus asked for help from its grandmother city, Corinth, which realized that this was a perfect opening to control the region and Corcyra. The Corinthians arrived with troops and new colonists to help the democratic forces and defend Epidamnus against the aristocrats. This led Corcyra to send 120 warships to support the aristocrats in their attack by blockading the city. The Corinthians responded by sending a fleet of 75 ships against Corcyra. Dispatching 80 of its ships while the rest continued to besiege Epidamnus, the fleet of Corcyra won a great naval battle outside the Ambracian Gulf; at the same time, the city of Epidamnus was taken. Corinth now began a policy of rebuilding and training a new fleet in 434–433. Corcyra realized that Corinth had the backing of its Peloponnesian allies, while Corcyra had no help. Corcyra realized that this involvement could lead to further trouble, so they sought an alliance with Athens. As it stood, Athens had the largest navy, while Corinth had the second largest and Corcyra the third largest. Supposedly, one of the arguments used to support the alliance was that if Corinth defeated Corcyra, it would have the largest navy, one that could rival Athens. The result was that Athens and Corcyra made a defensive alliance, in which Athens would help only if Corcyra was attacked. The Athenians sent a small fleet of 10 ships to Corcyra in 433 to fend off the new Corinthian fleet if needed. At Sybota, a Corinthian fleet of 150 ships came up against the Corcyra fleet of 110 ships. When the right wing of the Corcyraeans was being overrun, the 10 Athenian ships came in to help prevent a complete rout. Later that day, 20 more Athenian ships arrived, and the Corinthians, fearing that a large Athenian fleet had come in addition to the present fleet of thirty ships, retreated and did not pursue battle the next day. Both sides claimed victory. On their return home, the Corinthians captured the city of Anactorian, which both it and Corcyra held in common. The victors treated the captured Corcyraeans with courtesy since most were important individuals whom Corinth hoped to use in the future to bring about changes in Corcyra. A few years later, in 427, a civil war broke out on Corcyra between the democratic and aristocratic forces. Corinth released the Coryraean prisoners it had taken during the return home, with the understanding that they would help break the alliance between Corcyra and Athens. The returning exiles created mischief, though; at one point, they led a rebellion against the democratic government, killing its leader and sixty other senators. These oligarchs drove the supporters of the democratic government to a nearby acropolis. Fighting between the two sides ensued, and soon a fleet of twelve Athenian ships arrived and tried to broker an agreement. After another naval battle, the prodemocratic party had the upper hand and took vengeance on the oligarchs. More than 400 nobles were massacred, some due to private grudges. The Athenian admiral did not try to stop the brutality; but on the other hand, the oligarchs had started the whole affair and had resorted to violence in the first place. Some of the oligarchs escaped, about 600 fleeing to Mount Istone, on the northeast side of the

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island. They were later captured by the Athenians, who placed them under arrest; the pro-democratic party then seized the oligarchs and massacred them. They were now gone, and the democratic faction ruled. The Corcyraeans, however, did not provide Athens with any help during its war with Sparta. See also: Athens; Corinth; Epidamnus; Peloponnesian War; Persian Wars

Further Reading

Kagan, Donald. 2009. Thucydides: The Reinvention of History. New York: Viking. Price, Jonathan J. 2001. Thucydides and Internal War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Corinth Corinth lay at an advantageous position on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow land connecting mainland Greece with the Peloponnese, roughly midway between Athens and Sparta. The isthmus is about four miles wide, with the Saronic Gulf, an extension of the Aegean Sea, to the east, and the Gulf of Corinth, which was further linked to the Ionian and Adriatic seas, to the west. Corinth attempted to dig a canal between the two gulfs but abandoned the idea due to its cost, a proposal likewise followed by the Romans but only completed in the modern era, in 1893 CE. The position of Corinth and its acropolis, the impregnable Acrocorinth six miles from the isthmus, made the city master of the entryway into both southern and northern Greece from each direction. The city had two harbors, one at Lechaeum on the Gulf of Corinth two miles from the city, and the other at Cenchreae, on the Saronic Gulf eight miles away. Corinth effectively needed two fleets to patrol and protect its position. Originally settled during the Neolithic period, the Acrocorinth controlled the small but fertile plain, allowing the population to increase. During the Bronze Age, the area of Korakou on the coast, which Homer in his Iliad may have referred to as “wealthy Corinth,” became more important and was probably linked to the kings at nearby Mycenae. With the collapse of the Mycenaean kingdom, the Dorians arrived and displaced the local population, who were now nothing more than slaves and were known as “Wearers of Dogskin Caps by the Dorian overlords.” Corinth then expanded through the joining of villages around the region and offered protection against pirates, which fomented its development. During the next few centuries, the city began to expand due to its ideal location as a trading port. It became a major exporter of Geometric pottery, and during the eighth century, it sent colonies west to Corcyra and Syracuse, spreading Corinth’s trading system to those parts of the world. Although like other Greek cities, these colonies were independent from their mother cities, Corinth maintained close ties with many of them, which gave the city strong trade partners overseas. They also expanded to control all of the isthmus, ensuring the protection of their sea trade at the expense of Megara, on the north side of the isthmus. According to legend, the Dorian invaders, led by Aletes, established the monarchy at Corinth. The sixth king had the name Bacchis, which gave the name to the

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Bacchiad dynasty. It was said that five kings later under its eleventh king, Telestes, the closely knit and intermarried Bacchiad clan decided to replace its king with an oligarchy made up of their own members in 747. The new aristocratic government elected a prytanis, or president of the council, for a year term, as well as a commanding general, or polemarch. There appears to have been a council of 80 members, although none is explicitly stated, with a steering committee of 8. A citizen assembly of 200, made up of the Bacchiads, composed the citizen body, making decisions for the city. This group engaged in endogamy, or the practice of marrying within a set social group. The purpose here was to protect the bloodline of the aristocracy by limiting new members. For the next two centuries, the aristocratic government effectively ruled Corinth and established colonies throughout the western area. The city’s population grew, and by about 730, it probably had enough inhabitants to outfit an army of 5,000 men. In 658, the polemarch Cypselus, a member of the Bacchiad through his mother (she was lame and married to a non-Bacchiad due to her deformity) but not recognized as a full member of the Bacchiad, seized power. He probably had developed the loyalty of many in the army, and through the Oracle at Delphi, he convinced them to support his move. When he seized power, he drove the Bacchiad aristocracy out of government, and many of them fled to Corcyra. His seizure could not have been accomplished without support from some of the aristocracy. Although Cypselus was called a tyrant (i.e., someone who rules outside the laws), his rule was known to benefit Corinth. He dispensed with a bodyguard, which possibly indicated wide support for his rule. He seemed to have redistributed land from the Bacchiad nobles to the poor and middle class. This probably allowed him to increase the citizen body and the military using the new standard of hoplites. During his reign, Cypselus also began a building campaign to enlarge Corinth and ensure its dominance in the region. He appeared to have created other colonies, most notably at Epidamnus, near Corcyra, to hem in the Bacchiad who had sought refuge there. Cypselus was succeeded by his son, Periander, who ruled from 627 to 587. He continued the process of ensuring Corinth’s mercantile position. After attempting to dig a canal across the Isthumus, he abandoned the project and instead built the diolkos, or a stone dragway, which allowed ships to move overland from the Gulf of Corinth to the Saronic Gulf, and vice versa. For the merchants, this allowed for a quicker and safer voyage by not needing to sail around the Peloponnese; and for Periander and the Corinthians, this allowed them to collect fees and make Corinth even more central to the trade of Greece. Periander also reestablished control over Corcyra and established new colonies not only in the west, but also on the Macedonian coast. Periander also behaved even more like a tyrant than his father, executing members of the aristocracy and going so far as to execute his wife and exile his son to Corcyra. His nephew succeeded him, but when he was assassinated after three years, the oligarchy was reestablished. The new government cast out the bones of the Cypselids by digging up their graves and casting the bones beyond Corinthian territory and also destroyed their houses in retribution. During its reign, the city of Corinth made new advances, especially in naval development. Tradition had that it created the three major warships in use during

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the Classical Age: the penteconter, bireme, and trireme. Regardless of who created them, these innovations allowed Cypselus and Periander to increase their naval and economic power. The fact that Corinth needed two navies, one for the Aegean and the other for the Adriatic, required it to construct more ships than most cities. While the trireme was the fastest and best warship produced, it did not completely replace the penteconter and bireme, since these ships were cheaper, easier, and quicker to build. In addition, the triremes were susceptible to rough seas and could not sail for long periods because they did not include sufficient space for rations. With these ships, Corinth could command both the eastern and western seas during the era of tyrants. After the overthrow of the tyrants, Corinth returned to an oligarchy for nearly two centuries. It had a re-established council of eighty and an assembly larger than the pretyrant assembly, probably due to more citizens needing to be involved after the rise of the hoplite army. With the establishment of this new government, it appears that Corinth established the Isthmian Games in honor of Poseidon. The government then was forced to give up control of Corcyra, which once again became independent and hostile to its mother city. Unlike most city-states, Corinth had a strong relationship with many of its colonies, except for Corcyra. Corinth had good relations with Syracuse and Potidea, and the colonies in the west were especially close to their mother city. Corinth continued its cautious policy in its relations with its neighbors. While Sparta continued to grow, it made an alliance with Corinth in 525 against nearby Argos. This did not mean that it always supported Sparta, however, for in 505, it declined to help Sparta in its attempt to restore Hippias, the ousted tyrant in Athens. In fact, it helped negotiate peace between Athens and Sparta. The Corinthians were known for being arbitrators in Greece, having successfully negotiated a peace agreement between Athens and Thebes in 519, and then between Syracuse and Gela in Sicily in 491. During the Persian Wars, they fought with Athens and Sparta, but by now their power had begun to wane. During the next half-century, they saw their commercial power eclipsed by Athens and its empire. Although Corinth remained a powerful state, its navy was no match for Athens. Its continual fight with Corcyra would ultimately cause the Peloponnesian War when Athens came to Corcyra’s aid and Corinth complained to Sparta about it, causing Sparta to declare war on Athens. After the Peloponnesian War, Corinth attempted to retain its independence despite Sparta’s increased power. The Corinthians joined with Thebes and Athens in 395 to fight Sparta, but when Thebes defeated Sparta in 379, they returned to the fold. With the continual wars in Greece, Philip of Macedon was able to defeat the Greeks at Thebes. Philip then created the League of Corinth, which effectively ended Greek independence. Corinth continued its policy of cooperation with Macedon when circumstances warranted. When Rome became involved in Greek affairs, the Corinthians attempted to resist, but Rome destroyed the city in 146, ending its great history. See also: Achaea; Corcyra; Epidamnus; Peloponnesian League; Potidaea; Sparta; Syracuse; Tyrants



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Further Reading

Dixon, Michael D. 2014. Late Classical and Early Hellenistic Corinth 338–196 B.C. ­ondon: Routledge. Kõiv, M. 2003. Ancient Tradition and Early Greek History: The Origins of States in Early-Archaic Sparta, Argos and Corinth. Tallinn, Estonia: Avita. Salmon, J. B. 1984. Wealthy Corinth: A History of the City to 338 BC. Oxford, UK: ­Clarendon Press. Sanders, G. D. R., Jennifer Palinkas, Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst, and James Herbst. 2018. Ancient Corinth: Site Guide. 7th ed. Princeton, NJ: American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Wiseman, J. 1978. The Land of the Ancient Corinthians. Gothenburg, Sweden: P. Åström. For a discussion on Corinth and its remains, see “Ancient Corinth,” CYARK, https:// www.cyark.org/projects/ancient-corinth/in-depth (accessed May 18, 2021).

Corinthian League The Corinthian League was a unified group of all the city-states in Greece (except for Sparta), which allowed Philip of Macedon and later his son, Alexander the Great, to keep control of Greece and use its resources in their war against Persia. The league took its name from Corinth, where the participants met for the first time after Philip defeated Thebes and Athens in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338. It was officially known as the Hellenic League, which harkened back to the original Hellenic League formed 150 years earlier to fight the Persians. An outsider looking at Greece during the Classical period would see a hodgepodge of city-states spread throughout the countryside, occasionally joined through alliances for short-term gain. Most of the alliances were often the product of ethnic identity, geographical and economic competition, and expediency. The most important alliance, the Hellenic League in existence from 480 to 478, brought together Athens, Sparta, and both their allies against Xerxes’ invasion. Formed by expediency, this union defended Greece for a short time but within two years it was dissolved through competition based on traditional prejudices; nevertheless, it became the archetype for the future Corinthian or Hellenic League under Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander in their attack on Persia. The old Hellenic League, originally formed out of the Peloponnesian League and then including other Greek states like Athens, was then dissolved into the old Peloponnesian League and a new alliance, the Delian League, based upon the sea power of Athens. Encompassing the islands in the Aegean Sea and the cities of western Asia Minor, the league attempted to safeguard and liberate cities from Persian rule. However, it did not have sufficient support from among many of the Greek states on the mainland, especially Thebes, Corinth, and Sparta and their reformed Peloponnesian League. Throughout the Classical Age, the Delian and Peloponnesian leagues struggled for supremacy, ultimately leading to the Peloponnesian War. The war was disastrous for all sides, and although Sparta and the Peloponnesian League won, their triumph would be short lived. With the rise of Thebes and other states, Sparta’s

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power declined, and Greece again was fractured. It was at this point in the 350s that Philip II of Macedon began to become involved in Greek affairs. During this same time, the Athenian philosopher Isocrates began to urge Philip to form a new union. The proposal for such a league was first done in 346, when Isocrates had suggested it as a way for the Greek city-states to unite by fighting a common enemy, Persia. After Philip defeated a coalition of city-states led by Thebes and Athens at Chaeronea, in 338–337, he called for a congress to be held at Corinth, where he proposed the creation of the Hellenic League. Most of the Greek city-states attended except for Sparta, which indicated that it was not a voluntary league since Philip had defeated or was allied with most of the league’s members. (Sparta ultimately joined under Philip’s successor, Alexander.) The league was clearly dominated by Philip, but he wanted it to have the trappings of a Greek alliance. Philip would lead the league as the autocrator strategos, or supreme commander. In classical Athens, this term was used to describe a general who had complete power to decide the military and peace treaties that needed to be taken without approval by the Assembly. For example, Alcibiades of Athens had been given such a command for the Athenian Sicilian Expedition. Philip, then, had precedent for this title; in addition, he was declared as a hegemon, where the dominant power of one state over others was recognized. Again, this was a term already in use, and Philip was simply continuing to develop it as part of his plan to control Greece. In this instance, Philip and Macedon were the hegemon over the league. The league was clearly meant to support Philip and the Macedonians. Philip’s position as hegemon, military leader, and governor of the league gave him the right to command its army as he saw fit, without needing to get permission from any legislative body. An Argument for Unity: A Foreign Enemy Isocrates, born in 436, was an Athenian rhetorician from a wealthy family, and he received a good education during the Peloponnesian War. Although he was not proficient in public speaking due to a weak voice, he earned his living by writing court speeches, a practice of the time since court participants did not have lawyers and instead relied on giving speeches often composed by rhetoricians. He established a school, charging high tuition but accepting only a few students (no more than nine at a time). Isocrates prospered from his teaching and speechwriting. He was known for publishing pamphlets that influenced the public. His school or academy of Isocrates attracted students from all over Greece. Isocrates believed that it was important for his students to serve the city. He had a clear desire to see justice served and to hope that Greece could be united. While he probably did not live long enough to see a united Greece, he did get to see the Greeks turn their energies away from their internecine wars and toward fighting Persia, Greece’s traditional enemy. In this vein, he urged the Spartan king Archidamus in the 360s to do this, and he wrote the Philippus for Philip of Macedon to persuade him to take up arms with a united Greece against Persia. Whether Philip truly believed in Isocrates’s vision is hard to say, but it must have afforded him the philosophical arguments that he could muster if needed to seize power and propose a united Greece under his leadership.



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The league had a council or synedrion that was created to give Philip the ability to showcase its loyalty to him and Macedon. There already was a council in Macedon, whose members were chosen by and advised the king, and it is probable that Philip viewed the league’s synedrion slightly differently than the Macedonian one where the king was seen as equal not superior to the other members of the synedrion. The new Greek synedrion was composed of representatives of Greek citystates who effectively did as Philip commanded. It is possible that the council did not include representatives of all of the city-states, but only the most important ones, which may also have been approved by Philip. When Philip decided to make war on Persia, the synedrion voted in favor, thereby effectively requiring the city-states that sent representatives to go along with the plan. Finally, there were judges or Dikastes, who would resolve any problems that arose among the member-states. It is probable that at first, these judges also were charged with ensuring that the league’s treaty and later rules were followed. Each city-state contributed soldiers to the league’s army proportionally based on their size, which was also done in the Delian League previously. Philip established garrisons, probably comprised of league members under Macedonian commanders, in some Greek cities, most notably Corinth and Thebes. The city-states’ representatives took an oath to support the league, indicating that cities would keep the peace, not break with Philip, and not attack those who remained faithful to the oath. The oath also promised that member-states would retain their governments or constitutions with no changes; that states were no longer to wage war with each other; that if a state’s government were overthrown, then a congress of representatives would meet at Corinth to decide if war was warranted and declare it; and that in such a case, Philip would command the army and the member-states would send troops. A fragment of the oath has been found, which clearly tied the city-states to Philip and Macedon first, and then to the other city-states. Philip created the Corinthian League in part to allow him to marshal troops for his upcoming invasion of Persia. Whether he sought to create the ideal of Isocrates is unknown, but it is clear that he saw the league as an instrument that he could use in his new military campaigns. Before Philip’s assassination in 336, he had sent a small force, probably composed of hoplites from some of the Greek states, to Persia. But after his death, Thebes argued that the Corinthian League and its treaty were null and void. Alexander, Philip’s successor, argued that the treaty and oath declared that he was still in charge, but other members began to secede, and Alexander needed to make a quick show of force to instill obedience. His forces in 335 defeated the Thebans. After his victory, Alexander argued that the city should be destroyed for violating its oath. A large majority of the league voted to destroy Thebes, and Alexander ordered Thebes razed and its population sold into slavery. He also commanded that the cities opposed to him expel their leaders and agree to the terms of the treaty and oath of the League. The vote by the council also indicated that they felt that the Thebans had been punished for their support of Persia a century and half earlier during the Persian Wars. The league continued to support Alexander in his conquest of Persia, with historical references showing the League fought for Alexander at Granicus, Issus,

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and Gaugamela. With the burning of Persepolis, the capital and palace of the Persians, in 330, Alexander declared the crusade over, effectively ending the league’s participation. At about the same time, the Macedonians under Antipater, Alexander’s legate, defeated the Spartans at the Battle of Megalopolis. The Spartans sued for peace, which Alexander granted on the condition that Sparta join the League. Alexander decreed in 324 that the Greek city-states take back their exiles, forcing Athens and Aetolia to return conquered areas that they had taken from other Greeks. When Alexander died the next year, in 323, the Greek city-states of Athens and Aetolia attacked the Macedonians and besieged the fortress of Lamia in the Lamian War. Athens sent 10,000 men to Boeotia, while the Aetolians sent 12,000, along with about 3,000 other allies. Antipater lost his Thessalian allies to Athens and was defeated at Thermopylae. He then fled to Lamia and was besieged but waited for reinforcements from Asia, which turned out to be more than 20,000 men. In 322, Antipater defeated the allies, and they sued for peace. He forced Athens to dissolve its democracy, replacing it with a modified form where only those with property could participate. Also, Demosthenes was forced to commit suicide. With the defeat of Athens and the anti-Macedonian forces, the Corinthian League was dissolved due to the separate peace treaties made with each city by the Macedonians. The Macedonians realized that the Greeks would not support the previous oath with any loyalty or consistency. While the Corinthian League failed in its goal, it did show that the Greek citystates could form an alliance if they felt it necessary. What the example showed was that the league could not function properly when it faced the hard task of dealing with Greek society and politics without a common foreign foe. The Corinthian League provided a working system on how a united Greece could succeed against a common enemy. But it failed because the city-states had no real desire to unite; rather, that was forced on them from an outside entity, Macedon. See also: Achaea; Athens; Chaeronea; Macedon; Thebes

Further Reading

Brice, L. L. 2012. Greek Warfare: From the Battle of Marathon to the Conquests of ­Alexander the Great. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Dixon, Michael D. 2014. Late Classical and Early Hellenistic Corinth 338–196 B.C. ­London: Routledge. For information on the treaty establishing the league, see “Treaty with Philp II,” Attic Inscriptions Online, https://www.atticinscriptions.com/inscription/SdAIII/403 (accessed May 18, 2021).

Corinthian War In the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War (431–404), Sparta played the supreme role in Greek politics. This leadership, however, was fraught with problems. Sparta had the backing of the mainland cities against the islands controlled by Athens, but the other major allies of Sparta grew weary of its overbearing attitude. Persian funds had built Sparta’s navy, which helped defeat the Athenians, and



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Persia believed that Sparta should give up Asia Minor as compensation. Sparta nevertheless decided to liberate the Greek cities in Asia Minor, Ionia, as well as attack the lands of Caria and Phrygia, and in 398 it sent an expedition under its king Agesilaus, but without support from Thebes, Corinth, and Athens. The Spartans were successful, and rival Persian governors bribed them to attack each other’s territories. Sparta, however, did not have the needed experience or character to lead the Greeks, and the very nature of Greek city-states favored self-determination instead of cooperative government. The Spartans, known for their arrogance, had received the lion’s share in the victory over the Athenians, much to the annoyance of Thebes and others. Sparta conducted the Corinthian War during the reign of its king, Agesilaus II (444–360). Agesilaus was the younger half-brother of Agis, who had died in 401. Born with one leg shorter than the other, Agesilaus was originally not expected to rule since Agis had a son, Leotychidas. But Leotychidas was not allowed to rule since it was rumored that he was the son of the Athenian Alcibiades. Agesilaus ascended to the throne in 399, due to the machinations of Lysander, the great Spartan general who defeated Athens in the Peloponnesian War. Lysander hoped to control Agesilaus, and the two did have a good working relationship, especially in the campaigns in Asia Minor before the Corinthian War. During this war, Agesilaus returned from his successes in Asia Minor in 395 to fight the forces of Athens, Thebes, Corinth, Argos, and other minor states. The Persians realized that Sparta had replaced the Athenians as master of the Greek city-states on the coast and was now controlling or threatening the inland territories. The Persian governor Pharnabazus sent 10,000 gold pieces to Greece to bribe the various leaders of the Greek city-states, especially Thebes, Corinth, and Athens, to rebel against Sparta. Many of them were only too happy to oblige. Agesilaus was said to have claimed that he was driven out of Asia by 10,000 Persian archers, a reference to a Persian coin that had a Persian archer on the obverse. He attacked the confederate forces at Coronea in Boeotia in 394, and although victorious, he suffered an injury and had to retreat to the Peloponnese. The Spartan navy lost at Cnidus, however, when the Persian fleet, under the Athenian general Conon, defeated the Spartans and then released the Greek cities of Ionia from Spartan control. The result of this “liberation” was that Persia now controlled these Greek city-states. The war itself seesawed back and forth, with neither side able to win a decisive victory. The allies were generally victorious at sea, led by the Athenian and Persian navy under Athenian command, while Sparta and its allies controlled the land. The war began when the Theban allies, the Locrians, attacked Phocis, an ally of Sparta. Both sides appealed for help from their protectors, and Sparta attacked Thebes. The Thebans were able to kill one of the Spartan commanders, Lysander, at the Battle of Haliartus in 395; the other, King Pausanias, returned home to Sparta, where he was put on trial for not arriving in time to help. Pausanias was also faulted for not recovering the soldiers’ dead bodies under a truce—a sign of defeat. This battle caused other Spartan allies to rebel, most noticeably Corinth, which joined with Argos, Sparta’s traditional enemy, in a joint venture of merging their

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cities and citizens. During the next phase of the war, in 394, the Spartans won a decisive victory at Nemea, near Corinth. Agesilaus attacked the Argolis and Corinth in 393–392 with some success, but he lost a battalion of troops to the Athenians and retreated to Sparta again. The Persians continued their naval raids in Asia Minor and then sailed west to the island of Melos, where they launched attacks on the Peloponnese. By attacking these regions, the Persians planned not only to harass Sparta, but also cut off any support it might receive from Egypt, which was waging its own war against Persia. This would prevent it from having to wage a multifront war. Persia also hoped that by raiding the southern Peloponnese, it might incite the various Spartan allies and subjects, most noticeably the Messenian helots, to rebel. Although the plan failed and Persia left, it did seize the island of Cythera and garrisoned it to prevent any Sparta-Egyptian connections. As part of the peace agreements at the end of the Peloponnesian War, Athens had to tear down the great walls connecting it with its harbor at Piraeus. These walls not only protected the harbor, but also allowed supplies to be brought to Athens without fear of hindrance. So long as the walls held, Athens could receive provisions from the sea. When the walls were destroyed, however, the Athenians were at the mercy of an invading land army. Now, with Persian help in the form of gold and a fleet of eighty triremes, Conon began to rebuild the walls. In addition, Athens then used its new fleet to retake some of its former allies or subjects, most noticeably Scyros, Imbros, and Lemnos, and it established garrisons and transplanted citizens to colonize them. These colonies differed from the traditional kind, where colonists lost their citizenship to their mother city. Instead, Athens created cleruchies, which were extensions of Athenian land. Through this practice, it created a different system for ruling its empire. During this time of Athenian and Persian naval victories, Sparta was able to take advantage of a civil war in Corinth, where the democratic forces drove out the oligarchs. For their part, the oligarchs convinced Sparta to attack the Corinthian harbor at Lechaeum, on the Gulf of Corinth. This capture seriously wounded Corinthian trade, cutting off revenue from the west as well as harming trade with the east. The Spartans used Lechaeum as a base of operations to attack the region around Corinth. The Athenians were able to beat back the Spartans, who ultimately returned to Sparta, but they could not capture Lechaeum. What the war did in this locale was allow the merger of Argos and Corinth, for even more protection. The Spartans would return and successfully campaign in and around Argos in 390. The real change occurred when the Persians began to realize that Athens was becoming strong again with its fleet and could possibly reestablish the old Delian League. Whereas they had previously supported Athens against Sparta, they now switched sides and began to support the Spartans. As in the Peloponnesian War, the Persians now gave money to Sparta for them to build and equip a new navy. The Spartans and Athenians waged a series of hit-and-run attacks against each other. For example, the Athenians defeated a Spartan army in the Hellespont, while the Spartan navy captured Athenian ships in the Piraeus region. It soon became apparent to all that waging the Corinthian War was depleting resources with no tangible overall successes. The Spartans negotiated with

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Persia once again, and Persia promised to enter the war on Sparta’s side if peace did not occur. Sparta clearly realized that it could not win alone, and Persia concluded that helping Sparta would allow it to control Asia Minor and prevent an Athenian resurgence. When the Greek allies realized what was happening, peace was negotiated in 387. The peace treaty, known as the King’s Peace and named for the Persian king Artaxerxes, effectively gave the Greek cities in Ionia and several islands to the Persians, and all of the Greek city-states were to be autonomous, meaning no leagues or alliances would be formed. This effectively meant that Persia came out the winner on both accords: They received back all of the lands that they had lost after the Persian Wars, and the Greeks could not unite into a league to attack them. They used the second provision of the treaty to break up the alliance at Mantinea into five smaller villages, and to campaign in the north against Thebes. For the next generation until 371, Sparta was again dominant. The eight-year Corinthian War had allowed Persia to be on top and not be challenged for another fifty years, until Alexander the Great began his crusade. See also: Achaea; Athens; Peloponnesian League; Peloponnesian War; Persia; Sparta; Thebes

Further Reading

Cartledge, Paul. 1986. Agesilaos and the Crisis of Sparta. London: Duckworth. Cartledge, P. 2020. Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece. New York: Abrams Press. Hamilton, Charles D. 1979. Sparta’s Bitter Victories: Politics and Diplomacy in the Corinthian War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Hamilton, Charles D. 1991. Agesilaus and the Failure of Spartan Hegemony. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Roberts, M., and B. Bennett. 2014. Spartan Supremacy. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Military. For an overview of the war, see Rickard, J., “Corinthian War (395–386 BC),” November 6, 2015, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_corinthian.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Cosmology Cosmology in ancient Greece was connected with both religion and science. While other ancient societies viewed the universe as part of their religious life, in which the gods controlled humans, the Greeks attempted to go farther. While astronomy helped explain the physical world of the cosmos, cosmology attempted to discover how and why the cosmos exists. The Greeks could observe the movements of the stars and planets, but they needed to create a system to explain them. According to the early Greeks, the origins of the heavens rested with the gods. This idea was consistent with other early religions, which saw the cosmos as the realm of the gods, where they interacted with humanity. But eventually the Greeks began to move away from the idea that the gods, who could be fickle, controlled the cosmos.

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In their early religion, the Greeks based their creation story upon their mythology. They believed that chaos existed first, and out of this void emerged Night and Erebus, the unknown where death existed. From this dark and empty place, Eros (Love) arose, bringing order; and from it, Light and Day became and then Gaea (Earth) appeared. From Erebus and Night came Aether, the heavenly light, and Day, the earthly light. But Night also produced Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams, Nemesis, and all those dark worlds of humans. In the Greek mythology, it followed that Gaea (Earth) produced Uranus (the heavens), and the two mated to produce several Titan offspring. Uranus hated the Titans and tried to do away with them. The early Greeks saw the Earth as surrounded, with air above, water around, and Hades below. Gaea convinced the youngest Titan, Cronus, to attack Uranus, and he castrated him and threw his genitals into the ocean. In response, Uranus cursed Cronus and the Titans. From his genitals in the ocean came Aphrodite. Both Gaea and Uranus had prophesized that Cronus would be overthrown by his son, so Cronus swallowed each child, both boys and girls, except the last, Zeus, who was exchanged for a stone by his mother, Rhea. Zeus was later accepted by Cronus and allowed to live on Mount Olympus. There, he gave Cronus a drink that forced him to vomit up his five children; these became the gods who made Zeus their leader as they fought Cronus and the other Titans. Zeus successfully exiled the Titans to Tartarus except for Atlas, who was punished by having to hold the Earth on his shoulders for eternity. Involved in the whole process of Greek mythology were the Three Fates, goddesses who weave a rug that depicts all the mortals’ and gods’ affairs, and nothing can stop this, not even the gods. In other words, there is the idea of a force that rules everything, even the divine. While some Greeks understood the idea of the Moon reflecting light from the Sun and the concept of lunar and solar eclipses, most still hewed to an idea based on mythology. For instance, Thales of Miletus (624–548) argued that the Earth floated on water. This explained earthquakes as waves in the cosmic ocean with stars floating in the upper waters. Anaxagoras, observing that meteors fall to Earth and are composed of the same material, theorized that these were really remnants of earlier parts of the planet that were thrown out due to its rapid rotation, and then as they slow down, they fall back to Earth. Anaximander stated that the Earth was in the middle of several spheres of mist, and in turn was surrounded by a big fire shining through the mist, which includes the Sun, the Moon, and the stars. These ideas and others were people’s attempts to account for what they were observing. The cosmos allowed for other phenomena as well, such as navigation. The early Greeks soon learned the positions of the stars and figured out how to use their regular movements to guide their journeys. This in turn allowed them to move beyond the ideas that the cosmos was just random. For many Greek philosophers, there was an attempt to construct a view of the universe that did not rely on the existence of gods. In particular, they wished to create a model that explained the movements of various objects in the sky. The most important of these thinkers was Plato, who viewed the creation of the cosmos through the Demiurge, whose name was derived from demos, meaning

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“people,” and ourgos, meaning “work.” The Demiurge, the most highly placed of the gods, worked for the public good. He was the creator of all that was seen on Earth and in the sky. In his work Timaeus, Plato said that the Demiurge created the cosmos out of chaos that already existed as random parts of matter. He organized it into the four parts of matter, or elements: earth, water, air, and fire. Within these elements existed the cosmos, with its soul the most important part since it was eternal and brought about the circular motion of the heavens. These were part of another universe, which was good, and our realm was a copy of these ideas or forms. From these elements, the Demiurge created the lower gods, the soul, and the stars. Plato went on to explain that the lower gods created mortals, whose souls created by the Demiurge were immortal and went through the process of reincarnation. Those men who were wicked would have their souls reincarnated as women, and if they were still wicked, they would become animals in the next reincarnation. In this system, Plato probably saw the Earth as the center of the universe, although he does not explicitly state that. Plato’s pupil Aristotle continued to develop this concept through his own observations. He argued that the stars are placed in a semicircular fashion above the Earth. He postulated that since the Sun rises and sets each day, and we have the sensation of movement, then clearly the Earth is the center of the universe. He further argued that the Earth does not move, but rather the rest of the cosmos moves around it. This geocentric version would last for the next 2,000 years. Plato had viewed the cosmos as a two-dimensional system of circular motion, while Aristotle now argued for a three-dimensional version. He further refined Plato’s concepts of the elements by limiting them to the area ranging from the Earth to the Moon; beyond the Moon lay the perfect celestial realm, composed of a mysterious and unexplained fifth element. All the elements moved toward the natural center of the universe (i.e., Earth), and as such, there could be no other worlds. Some ideas had other practical applications. Thales of Miletus (624–546) used information from Babylon to predict a solar eclipse in 585, showing that it was not just a sudden apparition from the gods but a physical event. He was the teacher of Anaximander of Miletus (610–546) who had argued that all matter was made of the four elements (earth, water, air, and fire). He argued that the element earth resulted from the condensation of air and fire. Democritus (460–370) argued against the idea of the four elements and proposed the concept of atoms (whose name came from the Greek a-tome, meaning “unable to cut”) the indestructible building blocks of matter. He argued that the universe obeyed the laws of mechanics, and these atoms moved about and collided with each other to produce larger objects. He also stipulated that infinite atoms made up the universe, and that between atoms, there is a void; therefore, the universe is infinite and eternal. His theories are the closest to the modern concepts of the universe. Around 400, the Pythagoreans on Samos argued that everything in the universe could be explained in whole numbers. Music, math, and astronomy followed this pattern, such as the idea that vibrating strings could produce tones when the ratios of their lengths are whole numbers. As their concept goes, the number is sacred and derived from a point equaling 1, a line being 2, a two-dimensional surface being 3, and a solid or cube being 4, and when added together, this

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produced 10. The mathematician Pythagoras then developed a theory of cosmology in which the Earth was a perfect sphere, as were other celestial bodies that moved around a celestial fire (but this was not the Sun, as it too moved around this fire), which was invisible to the eye. Since 10 was a sacred number, he believed that there were 10 objects around this central fire, some moving in opposing directions to create eclipses. All of these theories attempted to create an understanding of how the universe worked, beginning with mythology and religion, and finally creating sophisticated theories to explain observable data. See also: Aristotelian Philosophy; Olympian Religion; Pre-Socratics; Religion

Further Reading

Gagné, R. 2021. Cosmography and the Idea of Hyperborea in Ancient Greece: A Philology of Worlds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gregory, A. 2016. Anaximander: A Re-Assessment. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Guthrie, W. K. C. 1962. The Earlier Presocratics and the Pythagoreans. London: ­Cambridge University Press. Johansen, T. K. 2021. Productive Knowledge in Ancient Philosophy: The Concept of Technê. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kahn, Charles H. 1960. Anaximander and the Origins of Greek Cosmology. New York: Columbia University Press.

Cyclades The Cyclades are a group of islands located in the southern Aegean Sea. Although there are over 2,000 islands, islets, and rocks in the Cyclades, only 33 are inhabited; the rest are too small and desolate. Their name derives from the fact that they form a circle (the Greek kyklos), with Delos, the sacred island to Apollo, in the center. In the north and west were Makronissos, off of Attica, with Kea, Kythnos, Seriphos, Sifnos, Kimolos, Polyaigos, Melos, and Antimilos nearby; in the center were Gyaros, Syros, Paros, Antiparos, Ios, Sikinos, Folegandros, and Santorini; and in the east were Andros, Tinos, Mykonos, Rhenee, Delos, Naxos, Donoussa, Iraklia, Keros, Amorgos, and Anafi (listed from north to south). To the east of these islands lay the Dodecanese, off the coast of Asia Minor. Makronisos, which is located close to Attica, is about eight miles long and a third of a mile wide. It was originally called Helena, after Helen of Troy, and was uninhabited. Kea (known as Keos in antiquity) lies forty miles southeast of Athens and provides a close link to the mainland. It was known for its priests offering sacrifices to Sirius to bring good fortune with the star’s annual appearance. Kythnos lies between Kea and Serifos and about sixty miles from Attica. It was inhabited during antiquity, with individuals migrating from Euboea during the Dorian invasion. During the Persian Wars, it contributed two ships to the fight at Salamis. Seriphos is south of Kythnos and northwest of Sifnos and about 100 miles southeast of Attica. This was the island where the baby Perseus and his mother washed ashore, and where he returned with the head of Medusa to punish King

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Polydektes, who tried to force his mother into marriage. Sifnos (also spelled Siphnos) shows habitation from the Neolithic period. It had gold and silver mines, and its wealth allowed it to build a treasury at Delphi to store its offerings to the god Apollo. It was also said to have been the first city of Greece to mint coins around 600, although the island of Aegina soon began to mint coins and its weight and measures became one of the two most important coinage standards in the Greek world (the other was Athens). Its inhabitants came from Ionian Athens in the migration of the twelfth century. It became part of the Delian League. Kimolos (also known as Female figure from the Cyclades. (The J. Paul Cimolus) lies to the southwest, Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California) near the island of Melos. It often became the meeting point and battleground between Ionian Athens and Dorian Sparta, which controlled Melos. Polyaigos, a small island near Melos and Kimolos, was uninhabited except by goats (hence its name, derived from poly, meaning “many,” and aigos, meaning “goats”). Melos (Romanized, Greek, Milos ) was settled in the early Bronze Age. The Dorians from Sparta established a colony there in the first millennium after their takeover of the Peloponnese. The island issued its own coinage with the mark of the apple (a play on words since the Greek word for “apple,” melon, is like the island’s name Melos) from the sixth century until it was destroyed by Athens in 416. The island was made famous for its refusal to join Athens, preferring to remain neutral. In 416, Athens demanded tribute and Melos refused; ultimately, Athens responded by taking over the island, executing the men and selling the women and children into slavery. After the war, Sparta expelled the Athenians and repatriated the islanders but annexed it, supposedly for protection. Rounding out the western Cyclades was Antimilos, about ten miles northwest of Melos, which was supposedly sacred to Apollo. The central Cycladic islands included the small and uninhabited Gyaros, east of Kea and near Andros. To the south is Syros (Syra), about eighty miles southeast of Athens, which was inhabited since the Neolithic period, giving rise to the Kastri culture during the early Cycladic period. Paros, five miles to the west of Naxos and 100 miles southeast of Attica, was known in antiquity for its marble (Parian). Originally colonized by the Arcadians, it was then colonized by the Athenians and established other colonies itself. It sided with Persia during the Persian

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invasion. The Athenians under Miltiades, the hero of the Battle of Marathon, attempted to take the island but failed, and Miltiades was wounded, which later caused his death. After Salamis, the Athenians took the island, and it became part of the Delian League. It paid the highest tribute, thirty talents a year, probably due to its wealth and perhaps as punishment for joining Persia. A mile from Paros is Antiparos, which was inhabited from the Neolithic period until the Classical period, as shown from numerous finds. Ios, between Naxos and Santorini, became a stopping point to and from Crete due to its good harbor, as evidenced by Minoan and Mycenaean remains. It was supposedly the spot where Homer died and was buried. Nearby is the small island of Folegandros, which derived its name from the son of Minos. The small island of Sikinos, named after a son of Thoas (son of Dionysus and Ariadna) and Oenoe, was originally called Oenoe, translated as “island of wine” perhaps due to the growing of vines, lies between Ios and Folegandros, and it submitted to Xerxes (482) before becoming part of the Delian League. Like other southern Cycladic islands, it was originally settled by the Dorians but ultimately became part of the Delian League. Santorini or Thera in antiquity was a Minoan outpost before it was destroyed by a volcanic eruption. In the east, running north to south, lies the Cycladic island of Andros, just six miles southeast of Euboea and two miles north of Tinos. Andros was inhabited during the Neolithic Age and became populated enough to establish its own colonies. It had a temple to Dionysus and during Xerxes’s invasion supported the Persians. It was never close to Athens, and although in the Delian League, by 477 it had an Athenian garrison; in 411, it declared its freedom from Athens. The nearby Tinos, known also as Ophiussa (meaning “snake”), was forced to join Xerxes, and one of its ships defected to Athens before Salamis and joined the Delian League. Mykonos lies south of Tinos and Syros and was colonized by the Ionians from Athens in the eleventh century. Lying only a mile from Delos, it became crucial to that island’s trade. Delos lay at the center of the Cycladic islands and became important as a religious center. Naxos, near Delos, was an important trading center during the Classical Age. Said to be wealthy, it became one of the more important islands in the Delian League. Donoussa, about ten miles east of Naxos, is a small island that was a stopping point for goods from Asia Minor to Naxos. The small island of Iraklia, part of the Lesser Cyclades, south of Naxos, was likewise a stopping point on the route to Naxos from Asia Minor. Keros, part of the same grouping as Iraklia, had links to Crete and the remains of a number of marble figurines were found here, showing evidence of the Keros-Syros culture. Amorgos, the easternmost Cycladic island, lies near the Ionian towns of Asia Minor. It was inhabited during the Cycladic period, as attested from sculptures found in several places. These figures tended to be slender and elongated and date to about 2700. Anafi, known as Anaphe, lies east of Thera, where the Argonauts sheltered from a storm. The small island has a temple to Apollo and other archaeological remains. Many of these islands allowed cabotage or coastal shipping, and due to the nature of early seamanship, the sailors rarely ventured out of sight of land. The islands offered stopover points between Asia Minor and Greece. Most of the

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islands are visible to other islands from their coasts, which allowed easy navigation. They were useful during the Neolithic Age for providing obsidian, especially on Melos, which was used for making tools. Settlements probably were established around 4000, when agriculture could sustain a larger population than hunting and gathering. Neolithic settlements are known at Antiparos, Melos, Mykonos, and Naxos. Rich in minerals and other natural resources, the Cycladic islands developed metallurgy and supplied resources to both Greece and Asia Minor. These materials allowed the islands to become important trade centers with shipbuilding and mineral exports. Most of the evidence indicates that their inhabitants lived near the shore. The Cycladic culture, dating to the third millennia, gave rise to marble statues, found at Saliagos near Paros and Antipoaros. The Early Cycladic culture had two phases, the Grotta-Pelos (3200–2700) and Keros-Syros (2700–2300), each denoted by burial styles and remains. The use of the word culture is probably a misnomer since most of the archaeological finds are grave goods that perhaps show only rudimentary social stratification. These early Cycladic sculptures are mainly female figures, most of similar consistency and form, and were painted. The period of the Early Cycladic culture ended with the arrival of the Minoans from Crete, who occupied the islands during the second millennium, giving rise to the Middle Cycladic period (2000–1600). No longer were statues found in tombs. The islands’ role as intermediaries with Crete and the mainland was vital. On Melos, the settlement at Phylakopi has Grey Minyan and Kamares wares, and Cretan influence dominates. The Grey Minyan ware from Crete, which does not dominate on the mainland, and the Kamares ware from the mainland, which is limited on Crete, are found in abundance here and at Aghia Irini on Kea. There was also a temple with an inner shrine and figures that look similar to the Minoan style; one appears to be a cult leader, while the others portray worshippers. Kea continued to be occupied until its destruction in the Theran eruption and earthquake. Two cities, Phylakopi and Aghira Irini, were fortified on the landward side, but not on the seaward side. It is tempting to see these areas as being fortified against fellow island raiders and not pirates from the other islands or the mainland. This period witnessed a segregation of cultures; in the north, the islands were influenced more by the northeastern Aegean, while in the south, it was influenced by the Minoan. While the Minoans may have influenced the entire Aegean world, they did not completely drive out the local indigenous cultures. From the archaeological surveys, it appears that the Minoans did not occupy the islands; rather, they probably supported allies on the islands who would help defend their maritime domains and ensure that the sea routes stayed open and friendly to Crete. The settlements were small and well-fortified, with modest houses and an absence of palaces on Crete. One archeological site, Akrotiri, was an installment buried during the volcanic explosion of Thera after it suffered an earthquake. With the eruption and earthquake, Minoan culture declined in the Cycladic islands, to be replaced by Mycenaean influences.

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The Late Cycladic culture witnessed the arrival of the Mycenaean culture (1450–1050). There is evidence of similar military fortifications and a beehive tomb at Mykonos. The Mycenaean influence declined when the mainland group was disrupted and overtaken. The arrival of the Dorians, as they were called, led to their brief control of the islands before the Ionians arrived from Asia Minor in the tenth century. The Cyclades continued to be the meeting place for the mainland and Cretan cultures, such as at Melos as before. The Ionians made Delos the chief religious center around 800, and a religious site was built on the island. It was during this time that cities began to rise on the Cyclades with different influences—Ionian in the north and Dorian in the south and west. During the Archaic period that followed, when colonization on the mainland occurred, most Cycladic islands did not participate. This may have been due to a fairly static population, which had no reason to emigrate. The major exception was Santorini, which established a colony at Cyrene. There is evidence that Athenian culture and influence began to increase during the Middle Geometric I period (850–800), and the connections with Crete were still important as Oriental influences came to the west via the Cyclades from Crete rather than directly to the mainland from Asia. When the Persians under Darius attacked, leading up to the Battle of Marathon, some of the islands surrendered, including Melos, while others like Naxos were sacked; Delos was left alone due to its religious connections. Some of the islands, like Paros, remained under Persian control after the Battle of Marathon. With their victory over Persia in 480 at Salamis, the Athenians were determined to take back the Cyclades from the Persians and punish those who had supported them. Some, like Melos and Naxos, went over to the Greeks and fought at Plataea in 479, while others remained either pro-Persian or neutral. With the defeat of Persia, the Athenians took over the islands through the Delian League. The islands were not necessarily in favor of entering the league, and some, like Melos, refused. Some of the islands, like the large and prosperous Naxos, provided ships and were nearly equal to Athens, while others paid silver that went to Athens, especially after the treasury was moved from Delos to Athens in 454. Naxos rebelled against Athens in 469 and was besieged and forced to submit. The amount of tribute that these islands submitted was set by Athens, and if they rebelled, they had to pay more. With the exception of Melos and Thera, all of the islands were part of the Athenian Empire. Thera, desolate without a large population and mainly desolate was not crucial to Athens. Melos was ultimately forced to submit after a siege, and its inhabitants were made slaves. The famous Melian Dialogue by Thucydides points to the political realities of war. With the end of the Peloponnesian War, most of the islands had their freedom but were often subject to Spartan or Athenian attacks. Ultimately, they entered the Second Delian League in the mid-fourth century until the rule of Philip II of Macedon. During this time, some of the islands were taken over by Alexander of Pherae, the leader of Thessaly from 362 to 360. See also: Andros; Athenian Empire; Athens; Delian League; Delos; Melos; Minoan; ­Peloponnesian War; Persian Wars

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Further Reading

Bintliff, J. L. 2012. The Complete Archaeology of Greece: From Hunter-Gatherers to the 20th Century AD. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. Renfrew, Colin and J. Malcolm Wagstaff. 1982. An Island Polity: The Archaeology of Exploitation in Melos. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rutishauser, B. 2012. Athens and the Cyclades: Economic Strategies 540–314 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Small, David B. 2019. Ancient Greece: Social Structure and Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For more information on the art and culture of the Cyclades, see the Department of Greek and Roman Art, “Early Cycladic Art and Culture,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004), http://www .metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ecyc/hd_ecyc.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Cyme The Greek city of Cyme (Cumae in Latin), in the Phlegraean Fields in southern Italy, was established as a colony by residents of the cities of Chalchis and Eretria, both on Euboea, and Pithecusae (Ischia), which was already a colony of Chalchiss and Eretria, on a nearby island. The name came from the city of Cyme (Kymi), on the island of Euboea where the leaders originated. Most of the inhabitants had moved from Pithekusai to the mainland due to its strategic and well-defended acropolis. Located on the Bay of Naples, about six miles north of Cape Misenum, the city became strong and prosperous in the Classical Age, disseminating Greek culture throughout southern Italy. The region had been settled since the Bronze Age, and Mycenaean traders, among others, visited it. The Ancient author Strabo in his Geography referenced cave-dwelling inhabitants called Cimmerians in the Iron Age, but they probably were not related to those mentioned by the Assyrians. Rather, these individuals migrated to Italy during the great transfer of population at the end of the Bronze Age. According to Strabo, the city of Cyme was the first of all the Greek settlements in Italy. It was the Latins (and later the Romans) who began to call the Greeks by that name. When Rome encountered Cyme, they did not call its inhabitants as Hellenes or Eretria, or even Cyme, but as Graia. This was the term that the Latins called them, and they were then known as Graeci, a derivative of Graii, which became the standard way of referring to Greece. The Greek colonists arrived about 750 from Euboea, as well as those already from Pithecusae led by Megasthenes of Chalcis and Hippolces of Cyme to establish the colony. The site was well chosen since it had a high and strong acropolis protected on one side by the sea and on the others by steep hills. Below the acropolis, with its strong walls, was the city proper, which was also walled; it controlled a rich and fertile land and possessed a good harbor. The colonists drove off the few original inhabitants and exploited their strong position to make Cyme one of the chief cities in the Bay of Naples. Although the city did not have a harbor, boats could be pulled onto the beach below the citadel. Cyme’s culture was crucial for the west since the Chalkidian alphabet became the Greek alphabet of the region,

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ultimately leading to its modification and adaptation by the Etruscans and then by the Romans as Latin. The city became important for spreading Greek cults throughout the region and establishing other colonies, most notably at Zancle (modern Messina) in Sicily. The city grew during the seventh and sixth centuries, and with their increase in power, the need for a harbor became evident. The Cymaeans then took over a harbor just inside the promontory, establishing a town called Dicaearchia, which became Puteoli; they then established a city farther east called Neapolis (modern Naples), meaning New (from nea) City (from polis). The Cymaeans became dominant in the Bay of Naples, with Misenum along the Campanian Coast. The original Cyme government was either oligarchic or aristocratic. It was a Greek outpost in a region controlled by the Opican, one of the major branches of the Italic tribes, with whom Cyme was successful in keeping the peace. The growth in Cyme’s power soon caused the local tribes to join with the Etruscans to attack the city in 524. Under the leadership of Aristodemos, Cyme successfully beat back the offensive. Aristodemos allied himself with the Latins and Romans in 505 to defeat the Etruscans again at the Battle of Aricia. Here, Lars Porsena from Clusium sent a force to attack Aricia. Although the Clusian army was successful, the Cymaean troops allowed the Clusians to break through, only to fall upon them in the rear and win the battle. Aristodemos, who was popular, now established himself as a tyrant. During his rule, he dispossessed many of the nobles, making them slaves, while freeing the existing slaves and giving them property. The last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, was exiled to Cyme after losing at the Battle of Lake Regillus in 496, and he died there the next year. In 479, Aristodemos was assassinated by the aristocrats whom he had exiled in 490. In 474, the fleets from Cyme and Syracuse defeated the Etruscans and eliminated their power in Campania. The naval victory seems to have eliminated the land danger as well. Cyme, however, declined in power after Aristodemos. Local Oscan and Samnite tribes took the city in 428 after breaking down the walls and destroying the countryside, after which it ceased to be Greek. In addition to its wealth and power, which influenced the west and allowed Greek culture to spread, Cyme was known as the home of the Sibyl, the ancient oracle. Although the word sibyl merely means “prophetess” and there were several throughout the ancient world, the Cyme Sibyl was perhaps the most famous due to its connection with the city of Rome and the Sibylline Books containing prophecies for Rome. The story went that she was a beautiful virgin, and the god Apollo pursued her. Apollo said that he would grant the Sibyl a wish in exchange for her virginity, and she asked that she be allowed to live for as long as the number of grains of sand (1,000) were in a pile on the floor. She then denied Apollo his wish, and Apollo granted her wish where she indeed lived 1,000years, but she grew older—she had forgotten to ask for eternal youth. As her body withered, it shrunk until it was so small it fit into a jar and only her voice was left behind. She was also famous for having nine books of prophecy, which she attempted to sell to Tarquinius Superbus. She offered them at a high price, and when he refused to pay it, she threw three of them into a fire. She then offered the remaining six for the same

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Entrance to Hell The Greeks brought the legends and oracle from Asia Minor with them to the city of Cyme. The myth arose that the entrance to Hades was located at Cyme near Lake Avernus, which also allowed the Cimmerians, mentioned in Homer as being in Asia Minor, to now be known as the local inhabitants. It is probable that from these legends, tales of the Trojan War with Aeneas and Ulysses now made their way to Italy. The Sibyl lived in a cave in a vast subterranean grotto, which later resembled a great hall or basilica, with three water reservoirs and an inner chamber where the prophetess gave her prophecies. The cave was supposedly destroyed when the Byzantine general Narses besieged the city in the sixth century CE; the assault undermined the walls, causing the roof of the cavern to collapse. The Sibyl became the link between the Greek and Italian oracles and religion. The long history of oracles also promoted the link between government and religion.

price. Again, he refused, so she threw three more into the fire. Finally, he paid the original sum for only three books, and these were brought back to Rome and consulted throughout the city’s history. The site of the grotto of Sibyl was supposedly discovered in 1932. It is a trapezoidal gallery about 130 meters long and 2.5 meters wide and 5 meters high, cut into the rock under the Acropolis of Cyme. It overlooked the sea through six windows and had nine doorways. In the back were three cisterns, which had been converted from ceremonial baths, with the stone cutting dating from the fifth century. At the far end, on the south side, there was an adyton, or innermost sanctuary, where Aeneas received his oracle, and to the east was a chamber, apparently the Sibyl’s apartment, while to the west was another chamber that let in light and air. Cyme also played an important role in cultural development—namely, helping to create the Latin alphabet. The city helped developed the script that the locals used, which the Romans then adopted. At the same time, the Etruscans independently received their alphabet from Cyme and passed it on to other tribes in northern Italy. As the outpost of Greek culture in central Italy, the city of Cyme introduced the Italians to the Greek Olympian gods and heroes. See also: Carthage; Etruscans; Euboea; Magna Graecia; Mystery Religion; Rome; Syracuse

Further Reading

Berger, Shlomo. 1992. Revolution and Society in Greek Sicily and Southern Italy. Stuttgart: Steiner. Casadio, G., and P. A. Johnston. 2009. Mystic Cults in Magna Graecia. Austin: University of Texas Press. Ceserani, G. 2012. Italy’s Lost Greece: Magna Graecia and the Making of Modern Archaeology. New York: Oxford University Press. For an examination of the colony of Cyme, see Brouwers, Josho, “Home of the Sibyl: The Greek Colony of Cumae,” August 16, 2019, Ancient World Magazine, https:// www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/home-sibyl-greek-colony-cumae/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

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Cyrene Cyrene in North Africa was a colony established from citizens of Thera in seventh century. Due to overpopulation and limited resources, the city and island of Thera consulted the Oracle at Delphi as to where they should send colonists when they were suffering from a famine in the 630s. The island was probably also dealing with internal strife since it was governed by a small group of aristocratic families descended from the earliest Dorian invaders or settlers. Further proof of this discontent may be seen in that some of the colonists were conscripted by lot, and threats were made against those who attempted to evade the duty. The city had received a message from the Oracle to the effect that the land of Libya was rich and fertile. In addition, the Oracle probably received information that it was an ideal spot because no Greeks had settled there, meaning there was less competition. Furthermore, Tyre had also bypassed the spot in its colonization of North Africa. Cyrenaica is a large, round promontory extending from the Gulf of Syrtis Major in the west to the Egyptian border in the east, with deserts behind or south of it, Colony of Cyrene Herodotus in his Histories, relates how the Oracle of Delphi indicated that Thera should establish a colony in Libya. The only problem was that no one knew where Libya was. After finding a Cretan who knew the region, the expedition set sail and arrived in Libya; it thrived, and they again asked the Oracle for help. The Oracle possessed extensive information concerning regions, which had been brought back by merchants and sailors. The following passage also shows that once a colony set off, it was no longer part of the mother city, and its residents may not even be allowed to return. The ultimate foundation of Cyrene proved to be successful: After a while, everything began to go wrong both with Battus and with the rest of the Theraeans, whereupon these last, ignorant of the cause of their sufferings, sent to Delphi to inquire for what reason they were afflicted. The Pythoness in reply told them, “that if they and Battus would make a settlement at Cyrene in Libya, things would go better with them.” Upon this the Theraeans sent out Battus with two penteconters, and with these he proceeded to Libya, but within a little time, not knowing what else to do, the men returned and arrived off Thera. The Theraeans, when they saw the vessels approaching, received them with showers of missiles, would not allow them to come near the shore, and ordered the men to sail back from whence they came. Thus compelled to return, they settled on an island near the Libyan coast, which (as I have already said) was called Platea. In size it is reported to have been about equal to the city of Cyrene, as it now stands . . . Here they remained six years, at the end of which time the Libyans induced them to move, promising that they would lead them to a better situation. So the Greeks left Aziris and were conducted by the Libyans towards the west, their journey being so arranged, by the calculation of their guides, that they passed in the night the most beautiful district of that whole country, which is the region called Irasa. The Libyans brought them to a spring, which goes by the name of Apollo’s fountain, and told them—“Here, Grecians, is the proper place for you to settle; for here the sky leaks” [signifying plenty of rainfall]. Source: Herodotus. George Rawlinson, and Edward Henry Blakeney. 1912. The History of Herodotus. London: J. M. Dent. Volume 1, pp. 348–349.

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effectively making it something of an “island” that looked toward the sea. It was more accessible from Greece than from Egypt or Carthage or the southern deserts inhabited by local nomadic Berber or Libyan tribes. The broad coastal strip had three regions cultivated at different times, allowing for its great productivity in antiquity. The colonists were led by merchants from Samos, as well as a purple-dye (murex) fisherman, to an island just off the coast of Cyrene named Platea, in the Gulf of Bomba. They were then supplemented with another group of colonists from Thera, under the command of Aristoteles. The colony apparently did not prosper, and the colonists complained to the Oracle of Delphi, which responded that they did not colonize Libya, meaning the landmass, but rather an island, Platea. The colonists then moved to the mainland to Aziris and established their base for the next six years. It was during this time that they had friendly relations with the local native Libyans; in 632, the tribes suggested that they move to a better position, which was more fertile and had plenty of fresh water. Aristoteles led the group some sixty miles west and came upon Cyrene. Aristoteles now became king under the name Battus I, a name with Libyan connections. It appears that some of the early inhabitants were Libyan, but they do not appear to have been citizens at this point. The fact that the Libyans were helpful points to at least cooperation, and perhaps even union with the colonists. Cyrene sits on a plateau about 1,800 feet above sea level and six miles from the sea. The city was on a spur, protected on the west and south by deep ravines and on the northeast by a small ravine. On the southern side of this latter ravine, a fountain flowed, and nearby were temples to Apollo and Artemis and the tomb of Battus I, who was viewed as a hero. The region had rich grain lands and orchards, which allowed the city to grow its own food and even export some of it. The city continued to expand on the plateau and even encompassed the nearby hill and valley. The colonists built a temple to Zeus on the new site, and nearby on the hills were temples to Demeter and Persephone. Along the road to the harbor at Apollonia, a city established around 600, some twelve miles away, several cemeteries were located, with many tombs cut into the rock. The harbor, now mainly underwater, provided access to the other Greek lands. At this time, the city also sent out other colonists to nearby regions; these journeys were productive, including the establishment of Taucheira and then Euhesperides (Benghazi), on a promontory overlooking the sea. These endeavors were initiated by Battus I and his successor, Arcesilaus I. The growth of Cyrene also witnessed the concentration of power in the monarchy. Arcesialus I increased the power of the king and chose members of the local aristocracy as his ministers. During this early period, down to about 580, the Greek colonists and Libyan inhabitants appear to have had favorable relations. The next king, Battus II, sought to have more Greek settlers arrive, and with the backing of the Oracle at Delphi, the homeland sent out new colonists from the Peloponnese and Crete, which were traditional Dorian homelands. Battus II (583–560) and his policies soon angered the local Libyan inhabitants, many of whom had intermarried with the Greek colonists. This was due in part to the Libyans having been driven off their lands so they could be given to the newly arrived Greek colonists.

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As a result, a war soon broke out in which the Libyans received some help from the Egyptian pharaoh, but they ultimately submitted to the Greeks. This situation was only exacerbated by the next ruler, Arcesilaus II the Cruel, quarreled with his younger brother Learchus (although some ancient authors say he was an advisor) who then left and established a new colony at Barca near Taucheira. Archesilaus II was then defeated in the desert by the Libyans under Learchus who killed Archesilaus. Learchus proclaimed himself king but was murdered by Archesilaus’s widow Eryxo and her brother Polyarchus who then proclaimed Archesialus and Eryxo’s son Battus III the Lame, king. Battus III, seeing how dissension had ripped apart the rich, flourishing city, called in an advisor to help solve the political situation. The advisor, Demonax of Mantinea, revised the political and legal system and reduced the monarchy to more of a figurehead, with some religious and territorial rights, and he also increased the power of the people. He had three tribes, with the first belonging to the original Theran and later Libyan settlers, the second to colonists from the Peloponnese, and the third to colonists from the islands. In this way, he was able to bring the local population into the political fold and solve their disenchantment. There was also an attempt to ensure that the original Theran settlers, now reinforced by the Libyans (who probably had a more positive sentiment toward them than the later colonists), had the largest representation. Battus III’s son and successor, Arcesilaus III, did not appreciate the loss of power of the king and attempted to reverse these reforms. He failed and thus was forced to flee and marshal a new army, supported by the Samians on the promise of land and money. He won back his kingdom and then took revenge on those who had defied him. He in turn was pushed out again, fleeing to Barca and leaving his mother, Pheretime, to rule as regent. Arcesilaus III was assassinated, and his widow appealed to the Persian governor of Egypt for help. He responded by coming to take Barca and attack Cyrene. The Persians appointed Arcesilaus’s son, Battus IV, to rule over all of the lands, including Cyrene, Barca, Taucheira, and Euhesperides; he created a small kingdom of Greeks in North Africa. The monarchy of Cyrene lasted until it was replaced by a republican government in the 440s. Until the troubles suffered by Battus III, Cyrene was known for its riches. In addition to being an excellent location for growing wheat and barley, the region flourished from growing olives and vines. Sheep provided wool, and the raising of horses was also well known. Cyrene was known mainly for its cultivation and export of silphium. Silphium is not a Greek word, which suggests a connection to the local Libyans. Although it is now believed to be extinct, during antiquity it was known for a variety of uses, as a delicacy, a contraceptive, a laxative, and an antiseptic. The plant grew only on the coast of Cyrenaica, and it resisted any attempts to transplant it. It probably belonged to the genus Ferula and was also known as laserwort or laser. Other species of Ferula were used as spices. It is unknown when silphium became extinct, or even how it occurred. Some theories are overgrazing, overcultivation, or changes in soil chemistry or climate. Cyrene’s crucial position on the coast of Africa allowed it to become an important trade center for both eastern and western civilizations. Greek ships would often use it as a midway point with Carthage. In addition, it became renowned

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during the Hellenistic Age for its philosophers, and the mathematician Eratosthenes (276–195) came from Cyrene. The area also introduced a new god, Amun, who was the oracle of Zeus at Siwa. The Greeks called him Zeus Ammon, a play on the word ammos, meaning “sand”—hence the nickname “Sandy Zeus.” The cult spread throughout the ancient Greek world. Cyrene was an important colony that spread Greek culture to the west, especially in Africa. See also: Cyclades; Delphi

Further Reading

Barker, Graeme, John Lloyd, and Joyce Maire Reynolds. 1985. Cyrenaica in Antiquity. Oxford, UK: B.A.R. Calame, Claude. 2003. Myth and History in Ancient Greece: The Symbolic Creation of a Colony. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Robinson, E. W. 1997. The First Democracies: Early Popular Government Outside Athens. Stuttgart: F. Steiner. For a description of the site at Cyrene, see “Archeological Site of Cyrene,” UNESCO: World Heritage Center: Libya, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/190/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Cyzicus As with other cities in antiquity, Cyzicus and its history are wrapped in mythology. Located on the Sea of Marmara (known as the Propontis in ancient history), Cyzicus was located on a tombolo, a narrow piece of land attaching the mainland Mysia to an island called Arctonnesus, on the northern coast of modern Turkey. The city was originally on the island, and over time, either by means of natural phenomena or human activity, the island became connected to the mainland. Located on the westward side of the original island, the city was ideally located for trade for ships coming from the west. The city was said to have been founded by the Pelasgians, who had come from Thessaly. The Greeks used the term Pelasgians to mean either preclassical Greek indigenous inhabitants or the ancestors of the ancient Greeks. They seemingly used the term to distinguish these populations from the barbarians, non-Greeks who may have entered the geographical region. Although during the Classical Age, Greek writers often described the remaining enclaves as speaking barbaric languages, they nevertheless viewed them as Greek. They should be seen as the original Neolithic inhabitants of the region. In Homer’s Iliad, the Pelasgians are allies of Troy from Larisa in Thrace. The city was also involved with the Argonauts. According to tradition, Jason and his followers, traveling to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece, stopped at the island of Bear Mountain, where the Doliones tribe lived on the shore of the Sea of Marmara. They were ruled by their king, Cyzicus, the son of Aeneus, founder of the city of Cyzicus, and Aenete, the daughter of Eusorus. Cyzicus received the Argonauts as guests, giving them a feast and supplies. After the Argonauts left, a terrible storm drove them back to the island, where the Doliones believed them to be Pelasgians who had constantly attacked them and engaged them in battle. The

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gods Pan, Cybele, and Bellona caused the battle because Cyzicus had killed one of Cybele’s lions, and she wanted revenge so neither the Argonauts or Cyzicus and his men recognized the other combatants. During the battle, Cyzicus was killed by either Jason or Heracles. Afterward, realizing what had happened, Jason gave Cyzicus a burial fit for a king and handed the kingdom over to his sons. This mythological account of the city and its inhabitants places its foundation at about 1300, a century or so before the Trojan War. The archaeological evidence indicates that the city’s oldest settlement layer came from the late eighth and early seventh centuries. The semihistorical records indicate that colonists arrived from Miletus about 756 from the southern coast of Asia Minor, although a later date of 679 is also possible. These colonists established an outpost for its trading network throughout the Black Sea. Located on the southern shore of the Hellespont, the more hospitable shore, Cyzicus was well situated to control trade from both the Black Sea to the east and the Aegean Sea to the west. It was located in a fertile region, allowing it to support its population. The city enjoyed good inland communications and two chief routes, which allowed it to trade with interior cities. But its main fame lay in its two excellent flanking harbors connected by a canal, which allowed the city to prosper from the merchant ships going to and from the Hellespont. In addition to these economic bounties, the city was engaged in the profitable fishing of tunny—so much so that the fish appeared as symbols on its coins beginning in 600. The Cyzicene coinage became dominant in the east during the next century. Its gold staters were only superseded by those of Philip II of Macedon. Its coin known as the cyzecenus was worth twenty-eight drachmas. The city soon lost its independence due to its strategic location. The Lydians took it over, and after the defeat of Croesus, the Persians installed a local tyrant, Aristagoras. When Darius I attempted to take over Europe in 513–512 by marching toward the Danube and engaging the Scythians, Aristagoras refused to rebel when rumors reached Asia that Darius had been lost. With the rumors being false, Cyzicus was able to maintain some of its autonomy since they remained loyal to Darius, while the other states that rebelled were suppressed. When Ionia rebelled in 499, Cyzicus was tempted to join with it, but the arrival of a Persian fleet kept the city in check. Its most important phase began during the Peloponnesian War, when Cyzicus was originally an ally of Athens. Due to its convenient location for controlling the grain trade from southern Russia through the Black Sea, whoever controlled Cyzicus could determine Athens’s food supply. The city was in danger of falling under Spartan control in 411, when the Spartan fleet under Mindarus was attacked by the Athenian fleet, led by Alcibiades. Athens won a tremendous victory, thereby keeping the Spartans at bay for two years. After the war, Cyzicus was ceded to Persia and was only later retaken by Alexander the Great in 334. It became an important school of philosophy when Eudoxus of Cnidus established his school there. Eudoxus was an astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher who studied with Plato for a short time. He then went to Egypt, where he lived for over a year studying astronomy and math. He then arrived in Cyzicus and established his school. Eudoxus developed several mathematical ideas, including the method of

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exhaustion, a precursor of integral calculus in which an area of shapes can be determined by a sequence of polygons creating an ever-diminishing open area, or exhaustion, until the remaining unknown area is irrelevant. He worked out proofs for areas of circles, volumes of spheres, and volumes of pyramids with this method. He used geometry instead of arithmetic to create proofs, thereby going against the Pythagoreans, who argued that only arithmetic could be used in proofs. His work on astronomy is not as well known, but he seems to have examined eclipses and planetary motions. His school flourished until his death in 355. Cyzicus was a crucial city that controlled the main routes in the Hellespont. It sent its grain to Athens, which allowed it to continue to survive as part of the Athenian Empire. See also: Coinage; Macedon; Peloponnesian War; Thessaly

Further Reading

Aratus, Aaron Poochigian, and Eudoxus. 2010. Phaenomena. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Hasluck, F. W. 1910. Cyzicus: Being Some Account of the H ­ istory and Antiquities of That City, and of the District Adjacent to It, with the Towns of Apollonia Ad Rhyndacum, Miletupolis, Hadrianutherae, Priapus, Zeleia, Etc. Cambridge: Cambridge: University Press. Knorr, Wilbur Richard. 1993. The Ancient Tradition of Geometric Problems. New York: Dover. For more information on the Battle of Cyzicus during the Peloponnesian War, see ­Rickard, J., “Battle of Cyzicus, 410 BC,” August 17, 2011, http://www.historyofwar.org /articles/battles_cyzicus.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

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D Defenses During the pre-Classical and Classical ages of Greece, military conflicts were usually decided on the open field, with battles fought by hoplites. A battle would often determine not only the military outcome of a situation, but the political outcome when one side achieved victory and the defeated acknowledged it. Often a side would avoid conflict by retreating into its fortified city with the plan to withhold a siege. During this time, the sophistication of the offensive side was often limited to scaling ladders, sappers, and battering rams. The defensive side was often in a better position, especially if there was plenty of water and food. The defensive force typically had a superior rating based on its protected strength and ability to resist frontal assaults. Before 700, there were few well-fortified sites, perhaps no more than fifteen, which could be added to the few preexisting Mycenaean forts that were now reused. During the period from 700 to 550, the number of fortified sites increased and included important cities such as Argos, Corinth, and Athens. The largest

City wall and gate at Troy. (Alexander Khripunov/Dreamstime.com)

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increase in defensive cities occurred after 550, which probably reflects the change in warfare from local tribal raids to more organized armies using the hoplite system. These forts would often be placed at strategic sites within the city, overlooking a fertile plain, an important crossing, or a port. A typical city had a citadel or protected spot built on a high hill known as an acropolis. Some cities such as Athens and Corinth had high peaks, which provided even more protection. This system allowed defenders the ability to hold the high ground, allowing them to fire further and see farther then on a level plain. In addition, attackers would have to expend more energy moving uphill. For some cities such as Athens, where the acropolis was on a fairly high hill, the terrain to reach the heights would be problematic, which gave the defenders even better resistance. A city might have a wall protecting it. These walls were usually made of ashlar blocks of stone fitted tightly together to prevent movement and allow a stronger bond, or less commonly of mud brick with clay. The stones were usually large to prevent easy dislocation. These walls may have been as much as twenty-five feet high and twelve feet thick, and they would have been able to withstand the siege forces of the time. During the late Classical period, cities added towers to the walls, usually round or multiangular, which added to range and allowed covering for an adjacent wall. If a city had a wall, it was almost impossible to take by storm. Evidence indicates that if such a city were taken, it was often because the attackers would use ladders to scale the wall. Occasionally, the attackers would look to alter the natural landscape, such as by changing the course of a river or stream so as to hit the wall head on to weaken it, especially if it were made of mud brick, or to dam up a river to flood the region or prevent water from reaching the city. The other method for taking a city centered on starving the besieged. If the attackers could come upon a city and its inhabitants quickly to prevent the stockpiling of resources, they might be able to starve them out. City walls were symbols of independence and power. If a city lost a war or even a battle, its walls were often torn down, not only to diminish its military defensive power, but also to diminish its political power. Other types of walls were also constructed for defense. For example, the Phocians built a wall across the small pass at Thermopylae to prevent the northern Thessalian tribes from attacking from the south into the region of Phocis. King Leonidas rebuilt the wall to prevent the Persians from passing through in 480; he was able to hold out for three days until his forces were circumvented and attacked from the rear. The battle and these tactics show how a strong wall could act as a barrier to prevent a frontal attack. The most famous defenses were at Athens. During the Persian Wars, the old Acropolis walls, made of wood, had been burned. Afterward, the Athenians under Themistocles decided to rebuild the city walls. They realized that the city needed protection not only from a possible return of the Persians, but also from the Spartans if they wished to attack. The city walls were built quickly and to a sufficient height to ward off any attack. For the next forty years, the Athenians transported supplies and goods between the city and the port at Piraeus five miles away without any walls and were exposed to possible attack. To counter this, and due to

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fighting occurring across Greece and the Aegean between 465 and 458, they decided to ensure the protection of Athens by fortifying the region between the harbor and the city by building a series of walls called the Long Walls. The Long Walls were then built between 465 and 445. These walls, about three to four miles long, were made of stone from the local region. There were several walls in the system; the first was the North Wall, which ran four miles, from southwest of Athens to northeast of Piraeus. The second was the Phaleron Wall about three miles long, which ran southeast of Athens to the old port at Phaleron, which therefore blocked access from both sides to the harbor at Piraeus. During the 440s, the Athenians built a parallel wall to the North Wall, often called the Middle or Southern Wall, which provided a more protective direct corridor to the Piraeus. It probably was meant to provide a backup to the Phaleron Wall. There was room between the North and Southern Walls for a large number of people to live on and even cultivate the land in the surrounding region. Since the Phaleron harbor had begun to diminish in importance during the 450s, the Southern Wall was crucial to protect Piraeus. The harbor at Piraeus was further protected with its own fortifications, and in 429, Athens built a stronger defensive system there featuring towers and platforms to aid in repelling any direct attack. It also added moles, which created a barrier, and chains across the open part that could be raised to close off the harbor from ships, as a further protection, a common system at these times. The purpose of the Long Walls, together with the walls at Athens and Piraeus, was to create a protected space secure from a land invasion so that Athens could receive supplies from the sea without fear of being cut off from the harbor and fleet some four miles away. This became even more important after the Spartans occupied Decelea in Attica in 413 and a Spartan army became encamped on Athenian soil. This act prevented Athens from cultivating the area around it, forcing it to rely even more on the sea for its food. The Long Walls held out against Spartan attacks during the Peloponnesian War, but after its ultimate defeat in 404, Athens was required to tear them down. Athens would rebuild the walls in 395, and by 391, they had become part of its defensive system again, but over the next three centuries they were never used. The defenses of Greek cities centered on having fortifications and the ability to withstand an initial attack. If that succeeded, the defenders often were able to remain safe, so long as they had sufficient supplies. It was only if supplies ran low or if the city was betrayed that it was taken. These walls did succeed for as long as the Greeks were facing each other with limited cities and resources, but they often failed against larger empires and kingdoms such as Macedon and Rome. Interestingly one of the cities that did not rely on walls for their defense was Sparta, which for many years withheld attacks with only their army. See also: Army; Athens; Sicilian Expedition; Sparta; Syracuse; Thebes; Weapons

Further Reading

Ballmer, Ariane, Manuel Fernández-Götz, and Dirk Paul Mielke (eds.). 2018. Understanding Ancient Fortifications: Between Regionality and Connectivity. Oxford, UK: Oxbow Books.

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Conwell, David H. 2008. Connecting a City to the Sea: The History of the Athenian Long Walls. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. De Ste. Croix, G. E. M. 1972. The Origins of the Peloponnesian War. London: Duckworth. Frederiksen, R. 2011. Greek City Walls of the Archaic Period, 900–480 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Delian League After the Athenians and the Greeks defeated Persia at Salamis in 480, they decided to create a united league to free the Greek city-states still under Persian control, especially in Asia Minor and to defend against any returning attacks. Initially, the Greek forces were under the command of Sparta, and victories at Plataea and Mycale in 479 pushed the Persians out of Greece and allowed the Greeks to seize the eastern Aegean Sea for themselves. The Spartan commanders, especially Pausanius, the victor of Plataea, then behaved poorly, acting arrogantly and demanding cities give them more control, however, and the Greek representatives requested that Athens take over the naval forces. The leading advocates for this change were the islands and cities on the coast of Asia Minor, Ionia, which had been under Persian control. It was with this change in command that the Athenians and their allies decided to create a naval league called the Delian League. The stated purpose of this league was to free the cities under Persian control and punish the Persians; to accomplish this task the cities in the league would pay for the league’s activities. In theory, all city-states, regardless of their size, received one vote in a representative body. Each then determined its contribution to the league based upon its economic ability to pay. As a result, some cities, like Athens, contributed significant amounts, while others, like Delos, contributed inconsequential amounts. The delegates requested that Aristides of Athens, also known as Aristides the Just, determine each city’s contribution. The levy could be paid in the number of ships to be outfitted each year for campaigns, or else a monetary contribution equivalent to outfitting the ships. Many smaller cities realized that contributing money was safer since if a ship was lost, destroyed, or captured, the city would need to replace the ship next year, a cost that often exceeded the monetary contribution. Those cities that only gave money, however, saw their influence diminished since they did not have significant power to oppose the larger states, especially Athens that had ships and military power to control small cities. Cities that contributed ships were recognized as more important than cities giving money. Since each of the 150 members of the Delian League had a single vote, Athens was able to counter any of the other cities that contributed ships. Athens could coerce the members who paid small amounts of tribute since it dominated the setting of policy and provided most of the resources. The Athenians were to provide the commander-in-chief and determine the field of operations. In addition, the ­Athenians selected ten treasurers, who oversaw the money contributed to the league. According to Thucydides, the first assessment equaled 460 talents, where a talent was roughly equal to the cost of a warship. Ultimately, the Athenians decided upon on how the money could be spent.



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With Athens in command, the league quickly began operations against the Persians. The league was supposed to protect the city-states and move against the Persians when possible to retaliate for their attack on Greece. The city-states met once a year on the sacred island of Delos, where the treasury was maintained. The cities took an oath to remain in the league forever, and to seal the oath, each city’s representative threw an iron bar into the sea and declared that only when the bar floated could the league be dissolved. The major cities that contributed ships included Athens, Lesbos, Samos, Thasos, and Chios. Although the command of the fleet was initially under Aristides, he quickly disappeared, possibly because he was ostracized by his political opponents. His successor was Cimon, son of Miltiades, the victor at the Battle of Marathon. The league elected its generals yearly. The league’s first task was the taking of Sestos on the Hellespont, which provided an entry into the Black Sea region, with Cimon leading the fleet; he also took Byzantium at the same time. He led the league’s fleet and army as one of its generals, a position he would continue to hold until exiled in 461. In 476, Cimon expelled the Persians from Eion at the Strymon River, the most important stronghold in Thrace and west of the Hellespont, and he established Athenian settlers there to hold the region. Eion’s governor, Boges, refused to surrender, and when the town ran out of food, he built a funeral pyre, killed his wife, children, concubines, and slaves and then jumped into the flames himself. The next year, Cimon led operations against local, non-Greek pirates at Scyros in the northern Aegean on the way from Athens to Thrace and sent Athenian colonists there. Athens now annexed the island, not as a colony but as a territory. He also allegedly found the bones of Theseus, the great Athenian king who had defeated the Minotaur, and took them back to Athens. This act endeared him more to the Athenians than any of his other accomplishments. During this early time, participation in the league was voluntary, but in the early 460s, Cimon decided to force Carystus, on the southern edge of Euboea, to become a member since it was too close to Athens to remain outside the league, and it could potentially threaten Athens. Athens argued that Carystus was benefiting from the league’s protection without paying any of the costs. This sentiment would have rung loudly with many of the cities that paid tribute. Next, the island of Naxos in the Cyclades, a member of the league, attempted to secede, saying that the league had achieved its original goal and now the league had been altered against its original purpose so cities could leave if they wish. Athens disagreed and Cimon and the fleet reduced Naxos, a member of the league and an ally of Athens, which was the first time an ally was forced to submit to Athenian rule. Again, Athens could argue that the league was simply upholding the prerogative of the sacred oath sworn by all of the cities. Although all it was doing was upholding the oath, it was criticized for acting like a tyrant. If the rebellion by Naxos had succeeded, that could have been a rallying point for other league members to resist as well, but Cimon was able to provide new opportunities to keep the league focused against Persia with an attack in Asia Minor in southern Lycia that defeated the Persians there and successfully increased the league membership. In 468, at the Eurymedon River in Pamphylia, the Greeks achieved a great military victory over the Persians. The Persians, seeing the

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increase in Athens’s power and control in Asia Minor, tried to retake the region by bringing a large army and navy to the mouth of the river. Cimon attacked them in the small river basin mouth, destroying 200 Persian ships and defeating the land forces. Then the Persian camp was sacked and a Persian relief naval force from Cyprus was annihilated. The victory at Eurymedon ended the Persian Wars with nearly all of the coastal cities of Asia Minor falling under the league’s control. The victory allowed the Greek trading ships access to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant once again. Cimon now decided to enhance the Delian League by moving north to Thrace in the Chersonese, forcing the Persians to evacuate. But now the league faced another rebellion, that of Thasos in the north. The Thasians had found a new gold mine and, with Athens encroaching upon the region that Thasos was laying claim to, a dispute arose concerning ownership of the mines. Athens asserted that it controlled them in the name of the league, while Thasos said that it owned them by right of possession. Thasos resented Athenian commercial interests in the nearby Thracian mainland, as well as the city-state’s arrogance and overbearing manner, and seceded from the league in 465. The Athenians spent two years besieging the island, which finally surrendered to Cimon, losing its mainland possessions, gold mines, and defenses. What was at stake here was not the activities and goals of the league, but the rise of Athenian power. After the defeat of Thrace, many of the other states began to look upon Athens with contempt and fear. Cimon defeated Thasos after a long blockade, destroyed their walls, and relegated them to paying tribute instead of outfitting a fleet. At this point, there were three types of cities in the league. The first were nontributary allies who contributed ships. These were Athens, who contributed the most, followed by the three largest and wealthiest islands, Lesbos, Chios, and Samos. They maintained some independence, and their fleets probably ensured that their wishes were at least heard and they could influence some of the policies and planning. The second class of cities was tributary allies, which were independent. These cities had their assessments converted to cash, and although independent, they probably could not influence policy or planning. The third group included tributary allies subject to Athenian control. This group paid an assessment but had no say in the running of the league. Athens, of course, wanted to have as many cities in the second and third classes since then it could control the policies of the league without fear of rebellion. Without ships, a city did not stand a chance against Athens. Any new city that joined the league were never given absolute independence, and any city that revolted, like Thrace, lost its freedom. As new cities entered the league, Athens made sure that they were also bound to Athens by an individual treaty, one requiring that they have the same type of government as Athens (namely, democratic). Some of these cities would even have an Athenian military garrison. Most important, each city was required to contribute soldiers to the league in times of war in addition to whatever tribute they paid. These new arrangements now altered the original structure of the league, changing it from a purely maritime group to a land and sea force. All league members but the three naval states, Chios, Lesbos, and Samos, contributed soldiers.

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Cimon’s political opponents at home began to move against him, however, notably the young Pericles, who desired that Athens become the premier city in Greece. Cimon succeeded since he avoided any land-based activities; he did not wish to engage in a power struggle with his allies, the Spartans. But this peace was one of the criticisms made against him by his enemies. The key event occurred when an earthquake occurred in Sparta, prompting a helot rebellion, and Sparta asked Athens for help. Cimon arrived in 462 in response, but after he failed to take the helots’ stronghold, Sparta dismissed Cimon and the Athenians. This humiliation of Cimon made him vulnerable to his enemies at home. While he was gone, Ephialtes and Pericles made radical reforms to the Athenian constitution, making the city-state a full democracy. Upon his return, Cimon was ostracized and banished. With Cimon’s pro-Spartan policy abandoned, the Delian League became more interested in securing more territorial conquests and rights. This occurred under the leadership of Pericles, who now moved it into Athens’s empire and made it no longer a representative league against Persia. When an expedition by the league to Egypt failed in 454, Athens decided to move the treasury from Delos to itself, ostensibly for safety. In reality, though, this meant that the league’s contributions would come directly to Athens, and its treasury and the Athenian treasury were one and the same. Athens also decided to discontinue the assembly meetings in Delos, so now it could decide the course of action as it saw fit, not as the league felt. At this time, the league became an empire, one based not at Delos but at Athens. See also: Athens; Naxos; Peace of Callias; Persia; Persian Wars; Taxation; Thasos; Tribute

Further Reading

Low, P. 2008. The Athenian Empire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Meiggs, Russell. 1972. The Athenian Empire. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Rhodes, P. J. 1985. The Athenian Empire. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Rhodes, P. J. 2018. Periclean Athens. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Rutishauser, B. 2012. Athens and the Cyclades: Economic Strategies 540–314 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press. For an overview of the league, see “Delian League,” Livius.org, https://www.livius.org /articles/concept/delian-league/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Delos Delos was an island held in high regard by the ancient Greeks as a religious site at the center of the Cyclades, a group of islands in the southern Aegean. It was a crucial island for the religious and political life of Greece. Delos lay to the north of Naxos and Paros and was long regarded as the origin of the Cycladic culture due to it being inhabited early It is a small, infertile island measuring only three miles long and between a mile and a mile and a half wide. Although composed of granite and possessing little water, it had been inhabited since the third millennium, with remains of stone huts in the mountains and on the plains below. Its highest

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point is Mount Cynthus, at 350 feet. Mycenaean remains, including buildings and pottery, have been found on Delos, and more pottery has been found here than on the other Cycladic islands. Since its initial habitation, Delos was a site for religious worship. Its chief deity since the late Bronze Age was Artemis. During the second millennium, Ionian colonists arrived from the mainland and took over the island, including the sacred grotto on Mount Cynthus. It was supposedly at this site that the Titaness Leto gave birth to the twins Artemis and Apollo, the daughter and son of Zeus. The “Hymn of Apollo,” in two sections written sometime after Homer’s Odyssey and occasionally attributed to Homer, describes the dual sacred regions of Delos, in the first part, and Delphi, in the second. The two parts of the Hymn, however, appear to have been written by different authors, although both were ascribed to Homer, a common phenomenon with these early poems. The section on Delos (lines 1–178) records the birth of Apollo on an infertile island. In this version of Apollo’s birth, Leto, after having labor pains for nine days, leaned against Mount Cynthus and gave birth, even though all were afraid that Apollo would harm the island for impurity (i.e., giving birth). Leto reassured the Delians that Apollo would bring no harm, promising that he would construct his temple there. The “Hymn” also gives an account of the great Ionian festival to Apollo, held there as early as the seventh century. The festival was one of the most important in antiquity. It featured celebrations such as boxing, dancing, and singing, and the inhabitants were honored alongside the men and women of earlier times. Both Artemis and Apollo were honored, along with their mother, Leto, on the island. Unlike in other Greek towns, women were allowed to come to the festival. The main sacred site on Delos was on the flat plain below the mountain next to the sea. At this site, the main religious shrine, built on top of the Mycenaean ruins, was dedicated to Artemis, with an adjacent precinct nearby for Leto with a sixthcentury temple. Apollo’s sanctuary was adjacent, and although it was originally similar in size to Leto’s and smaller than Artemis’s, his sanctuary soon surpassed theirs. The shrine rose in stature throughout the Greek world and soon became the most important religious precinct to Apollo. It exceeded all others in beauty and became the center of an Amphictyony (religious) league. Although other sites would rival it, especially Delphi, the island of Delos could claim primacy due to it being the birthplace of Apollo. As with other Greek religious sites, the temple and its sacred precinct were viewed as the home of the gods, who would periodically visit. The shrine was not only a splendid structure, but near it, to the west, stood the nine-foot-high statue of the young god Apollo, with his golden locks. The avenue from the shrine to the Sacred Lake, now drained, was guarded by nine lions, and the whole avenue and lake formed part of the ancient island’s beauty. Near the sanctuary lay the ancient Sacred Harbor, which had the earliest manmade port structures, a mole or pier extending 300 feet out into the sea for ships to dock. Delos underwent several periods of control. Not sufficiently able to control its own destiny, the island was usually controlled by other cities. The earliest of these was Naxos, where many of the island’s artistic artifacts and statues came from. It

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controlled the island during the seventh and early sixth centuries. For a short time, the Athenians under the tyrant Pisistratus controlled the island and its sanctuary. They were then supplanted by Polycrates of Samos, who created a new festival to Apollo on the nearby island of Rheneia. After the fall of these tyrants, Naxos once again exerted control over the island. During the Classical Age, the island became famous as the center for the Athenian naval league, named the Delian League in its honor. Here, the representatives met annually to conduct business for the league, and its treasury was stored here until 454, when it was moved to Athens due to potential attack by the Persians after a military setback. Since the island could not really support much life, its populations were often transported to other regions, usually by Athens. The reason for doing this was often described as an attempt at purification, to ensure that the island was fit for Apollo to visit and “live” there. The Athenian tyrant Pisistratus ordered all the graves and bodies moved from near the sanctuary to another nearby island. During the early part of the Peloponnesian War, all of the graves were moved by order of the Oracle at Delphi, which further ordained that no one should either be born or die on Delos. The island in essence became suitable only for religious rites and commercial activity; no one owned land, and therefore the island remained neutral. The Delian Games, held every five years, were then established before 600 and then ceased during the early Classical Age to be restored in 426. See also: Festivals; Mycenae; Religion; Temples

Further Reading

Rutishauser, B. 2012. Athens and the Cyclades: Economic Strategies 540–314 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Tsakos, Konstantinos. 1998. Delos-Mykonos: A Guide to the History and Archaeology. English ed. Athens: Hesperos. Valavanēs, Panos, and Angelos Delēvorrias. 2007. Great Moments in Greek Archaeology. English-language ed. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum. For an overview of Delos, see “Delos,” Odysseus, http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351 .jsp?obj_id=2371 (accessed May 18, 2021).

Delphi Delphi was not only a city, but a religious and political idea due to its famous Oracle, dedicated to Apollo. Physically, the city is located in the territory of Phocis near the Corycian Cave, on the lower slopes of Mount Parnassus, 2,000 feet above sea level and beneath the two Shining Cliffs, and it looks south toward the Gulf of Corinth, six miles away. It had been inhabited since the late Bronze Age. The Greeks believed the Corycian Cave to be the central point of the entire Earth, and this gave rise to its religious foundation, especially as a giver of oracles. As the Oracle became more famous, the term Delphi came to symbolize the political ideas of the Greek world. Apollo gave his oracles through a woman called the Pythia. The Oracle is mentioned in the Iliad; by the seventh century, it had become famous throughout the Greek world.

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Temple or tholos at Delphi, Greece. (Alexandre Fagundes De Fagundes/Dreamstime. com)

The stories relating to the Oracle have the woman being purified in the Castalian spring and drinking its waters from a fountain. She then sat on a tripod overlooking a chasm with smoke arising, and she inhaled the vapors until she went into a trance. A male seer or priest would then ask her a question that a delegation wanted put to her. The Pythia would give a message, which was audible but often not comprehensible. The priests of Apollo would then give the delegates their interpretation of the god’s utterance through the Pythia, delivering it in hexameter verse. However, archaeological excavations have not discovered any kind of chasm. It is possible that it was merely an opening in the shrine’s floor leading to an underground chamber, or even just a hole where smoke came out. It is possible that the Pythia was drugged by chewing on laurel leaves, which contain traces of potassium cyanide. Many of the early oracles concerned the establishment of colonies. While the surviving texts appear to be later interpretations or even outright forgeries, it has been established that Delphi became a repository for all types of potential information. Having collected facts from far beyond Greece through travelers, the priests would know about certain regions. While many of the stories or oracular traditions were later invented to justify the location of the colonies or to show that the colonists did not follow the Oracle correctly and hence failed, many of the oracles were vague enough to justify any outcome. The oracular pronouncements were meant to force the asker to look within his own beliefs and ideas to determine the correct path. Synonymous with this idea of vagueness were two themes associated with Apollo and Delphi: “Know Thyself” and “Nothing too much,” both of which were inscribed on the temple.

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Apollo and the Oracle Several stories of the Oracle’s origin with Apollo exist. One has Apollo arriving with the Dorian invaders and settling in the region. Another has Apollo setting out from Delos to arrive at his new home. One of the stories from this myth has him arriving at Mount Parnassus and slaying the murderous she-snake (dragon) Typhon (or later Python) who guarded the sacred Cassotis spring. The “Homeric Hymn to Apollo” possibly of Cretan origin, tells a different story, in which Apollo leaves Delos, turns into a dolphin, and lands upon a ship that had been bound for Cnossos but now diverts and lands at Cirrha, later known as the port of Delphi. Upon turning into human form, with fire reaching to the heavens, he orders the crew to serve him and call him Apollo of the Dolphin or Delphinos (the derivation of the name Delphi). Still another version of the tale has the name coming from Delphus, the son of Poseidon. The hymn’s Cretan origin has some basis in archaeology. Minoan (Cretan) remains have been discovered, followed by a Mycenaean settlement with a temple to Athena underneath, which point to an earlier goddess (perhaps Gaia) being represented by the serpent (dragon) in the stories. Further, the strong association with women is attested in that the Oracle always gave its prophecy through a woman.

“Know Thyself” really meant to know your place in society and follow the gods. It was then later reinterpreted by the philosophers as an instruction to know oneself for one’s own betterment. The idea here was that by looking within, one would be able to find the right answer. The other theme, “Nothing too much,” meant moderation; the ideal was something always searched for, but usually not attainable. It was the opposite of immoderate behavior or hubris, which was often the cause of so many downfalls in Greek tragedy. If one were immoderate or excessive, one might bring disaster, or nemesis, upon oneself. Many of the Oracle’s responses, whether interpreted at the time or after the fact, dealt with these two ideas, both of which originated in Apollo’s interaction with mortals. The growth of Delphi’s reputation, especially after the eighth century, was in part due to the supposed accuracy of its pronouncements. By being vague, the Oracle could point out that any proclamation was right, regardless of the outcome. The religious site increased rapidly in prestige during the eighth century, probably due to its general positive advice on the establishment of colonies, which further enhanced its reputation. As its predictions and advice became well known, cities began to show their appreciations to the shrine with gifts, allowing the complex to be enlarged and beautified. The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, to the east of the Castalian spring in the Marmaria district, and the Sanctuary of Pythian Apollo, west of the spring, were the two main temple precincts. The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia was built in the early eighth century over preexisting Mycenaean ruins. This area had already been sacred to the original local inhabitants due to the spring, and the construction of the temple continued its previous history. Nearby was a sixth-century shrine with rooms dedicated to Athena and Artemis. The Sanctuary of Pythian Apollo, on the Sacred Way as it made its route up from the main road, was built by the legendary architects Trophonius and Agamedes from Boeotia. The temple probably dates from the seventh century. In 548, a fire destroyed the temple of Apollo, which led to the construction of a new great

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temple, with a larger precinct enclosed by a trapezoidal wall built in a way that would withstand earthquakes. This rebuilding was accomplished by the influx of new funding from all over the eastern Mediterranean, including non-Greek regions such as Lydia and Egypt, based upon the fame of the Oracle. Most of the funds came from the Alcmaeonid clan of Athens, which had been driven into exile by the tyrant Pisistratus. The Alcmaeonid clan desiring to return to Athens and defeat Pisistratus and his sons, supported the Oracle with gifts (bribes most likely). A by-product of this financial support was the Oracle’s support in advising Sparta to keep Greece free from Persia and to restore order to move rid Athens of Pisistratus’ son Hippias. The site produced an honorary festival to Apollo, held at first every eight years, which became the precursor for the Pythian Games held every four years. The festival not only honored Apollo, but also Dionysus, who took over Apollo’s position for three months during the year when Apollo ostensibly left Delphi to visit his other shrines. The worship of Dionysus had a long and celebrated history, coming into the region from Thrace early in the Iron Age. It also appears that the Delphic priests did not fully embrace the ecstatic features of the Dionysiac cult, which was in contrast to the calm conservative rites of Apollo. Since Delphi became involved in the establishment of colonies that often competed with one another, it was only natural that it also become involved in political conflict. Some early disputes revolved around Delphi’s support of Chalcis fighting Eretria in Euboea in the Lelantine War at about 700. The Oracle had supported Chalcis and its allies, especially Corinth, in their colonization efforts. This may have been due to gifts from Corinth, offered by the tyrant Cypselus and his son, Periander. These offerings may have shown their appreciation for the Oracle’s support in establishing their western colonies, but they may also be seen as potential bribes in order to receive favorable pronouncements. Phocis originally controlled Delphi during the eighth century, but it lost its grasp when Delphi became the center of a religious league called the Amphictyony (meaning “dwellers around” the region of Thermopylae). This new league would take on political acts as well as religious ones. There were twelve tribes represented in the league from Thessaly, the Phocians, and Boeotia. Although mainly concerned with religious issues, the league also took part in political events. An example of this political interference occurred when Delphi and its harbor-town, Cirrha, an independent city, became involved in a conflict over the charging of tolls for pilgrims going to the Oracle. Delphi, with Apollo’s blessing, declared Cirrha an enemy and sentenced it to be destroyed. The Amphictyony League attacked Cirrha in the First Sacred War from 595–583, and its forces, led by the Thessalians, destroyed the city and enslaved the survivors, with their territory given over to Apollo. At this time, the Thessalians became the dominant partner in the league; the original headquarters may have been located at the Anthela near the pass at Thermopylae before being moved to Delphi. This original position was crucial for the control of movement between Thessaly and central Greece into Boeotia. With the move, Delphi became even more important. It was not only the most religious site in the Amphictyony League, but it was also central in location to the other cities and for commerce. Further, it was well protected since it was remote and not on

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any of the convenient thoroughfares between central and southern Greece. At this time, Delphi became an independent city. Although the city increased in prestige, its Oracle started to decline. Part of this was due to bad advice from the Oracle. One of the worst examples was advice that it gave to Croesus of Lydia in his campaign against Cyrus of Persia: “If you cross the River Halys, a great empire will be destroyed.” Croesus, and indeed most of the Greeks, thought that that meant Croesus would be victorious. He was not. While the Oracle could claim that its response was really neutral, it probably was meant to support Croesus, who had earlier supported it. Perhaps the Oracle could console itself by claiming it was actually correct, that a great empire (Croesus’s) was indeed destroyed, but that was not what people expected. The Oracle’s reputation also became tarnished when it was accused of taking bribes in exchange for favorable predictions. In one incident, word leaked out that the priests had been bribed by the Alcmaeonid clan of Athens to throw out their tyrant Hippias. Another incident occurred in 490, when the Spartan king Cleomenes I bribed the priestess to declare his rival Demaratus illegitimate. When that proclamation came out, it caused Cleomenes to go into exile but he was recalled and deemed insane and put into prison where he died mysteriously, with the authorities saying it was suicide. From then on, the Oracle began to move away from political pronouncements. It was probably this aversion to politics and failing to give “correct” answers that prompted the Oracle in 480 to advise the Greek cities not to resist Persia. This, however, also proved disastrous—when the Greeks defeated the Persians, the Oracle was seen as pro-Persian and lost prestige. Once it became independent and the strength in its religious power increased, Delphi reconstituted its festival to Apollo with the creation of the Pythian Games, probably in 586. Open to all Greeks, the games became one of the four Panhellenic festivals; now held every four years instead of eight, it took place during the third year of the Olympiads. In addition to musical competitions, the games included athletic events. Even after the decline of the Oracle’s reputation, Delphi would continue to have prestige in personal religious activities, and Greek citystates still felt obligated to ask the Oracle for permission to go to war. See also: Olympian Religion; Religion; Stadium; Temples; Thebes

Further Reading

Kindt, Julia. 2016. Revisiting Delphi: Religion and Storytelling in Ancient Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Morgan, Catherine. 1990. Athletes and Oracles: The Transformation of Olympia and Delphi in the Eighth Century B.C. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Partida, Elena C. 2000. The Treasuries at Delphi: An Architectural Study. Jonsered, Sweden: Paul Åströms Förlag. Scott, Michael. 2014. Delphi: A History of the Center of the Ancient World. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Scott, Michael. 2010. Delphi and Olympia: The Spatial Politics of Panhellenism in the Archaic and Classical Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For information on the Delphi archaeological site, see “Archaeological Site of Delphi,” UNESCO: World Heritage Center: Greece, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/393 (accessed May 18, 2021).

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Deme The deme was a geographical and demographic division in Attica, the territory of Athens. Demes existed for centuries and probably reflected family and clan divisions. In the late sixth century, the reformer Cleisthenes divided the region of Attica into 139 demes. However, they varied in geographical and population size; for instance, some demes on the Council of Five Hundred had only one representative, the eight largest demes sent over ten councilors, and the largest, Acharnai, sent twenty-two. Originally, the demes were small hamlets or villages of Attica that played no direct role in the political determination of the Athenian system. Instead, the four Ionic tribes, based on kinship or clans, had been the determining influence. The deme became the identifier of where a person came from, and as such it became part of his full name. An individual would be known as “X, son of Y [the father], of deme Z.” The deme therefore acted as a physical anchor for the citizen, one that he could identify. Under Cleisthenes, these small regions began to be used as the central components for the political changes he undertook. Cleisthenes produced the list of 139 demes, which was then published. Individual citizens were then instructed to register with the deme where they felt they had the closest relationship. This could be the deme where they currently lived or the deme where they were born and had family. It is more likely that individuals identified with a specific deme based upon their lineage. In some cases, if an individual was unsure what deme to choose, he may have been instructed where to register. The city of Athens appears to have had five demes, and their size varied, as evidenced by the fact that they sent three to twelve councilors. The city-state of Athens was not a homogenous area; rather, it was composed of small villages with open spaces in between where the dead were buried. Over time, the open spaces were inhabited and some of the demes became larger, while others retained their original small areas. The actual boundaries of each deme were never clearly marked. Under the democracy established by Cleisthenes, the demes became the central element of the ten tribes. What is most interesting is that Cleisthenes decreed that once a citizen was registered in a particular deme at this time, his descendants belonged to the same deme regardless of where they lived. During the time of Pericles, a half-century later, a citizen might live in deme A but be a citizen of deme B. This prevented the geographical issues of the city, coast, and mountain regions from creating political conflicts, as had occurred earlier. Instead, the deme was the political district to which the citizen and his successors were appointed. This meant that neighbors living in the same district or region might politically belong to different demes and different tribes. Since women did not have political rights, they belonged to the deme of their fathers, and after they married, they assumed the deme of their husbands. Noncitizens living in Athens, the metics, did not belong to any deme and did not have any political rights either. Citizenship in Athens then rested upon one’s enrollment in a deme. When a man reached eighteen, he requested enrollment in the deme,

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and his fellow demesmen under oath decided if he met the qualifications of age and family. Until the time of Pericles, only one’s father had to be Athenian—his mother had to be free born but did not have to be a citizen. Pericles’s law of 451 decreed that both parents had to be Athenian citizens. If denied membership in a deme, one could appeal through a lawsuit in the courts. If successful, he was enrolled in the deme, but if not, he could be sold as a slave. Finally, the Council of 500 gave the final approval and could disqualify an individual; if this happened, it could also fine the demesmen for enrolling an unqualified citizen. In addition, some wealthy individuals might own land or houses in multiple demes, but again, politically and socially, they were members of the deme in which their forefathers had registered under Cleisthenes. Each deme had its own political officers and selected them by lot from its citizens who were over thirty years old. They were examined for fitness before they took office and were examined at the end of their term to ensure that their conduct was satisfactory. The officer which was most crucial was the Demarch, or deme president, who held office for a year. It appears that an individual could hold the office only once, as there is no evidence of an individual being the Demarch twice. In addition to this office, there were probably treasurers, secretaries, accountants, and other officials helping the Demarch, but there is no evidence of any regular number of such offices, or even if all offices existed in all demes. This most likely was due to the varying size of each deme. The Demarch was the most important official since he was the link to the central government presiding over the local deme assembly and maintaining the register. He was responsible for collecting taxes and special exactions and ensured that the deme met its obligations for holding festivals, disposed of corpses, recovered debts, and met other obligations required by the central government of all demes, as well as those specific to his own deme. Since the demes varied in size, each assembly also varied in its membership, from under a hundred to over a thousand, each with its own quorum size. Meeting usually in the deme itself, each assembly conducted any important or contentious business by ballot. The deme had the power to enact decrees, but most seem to be honorary rather than laws. It could raise revenue and spend the funds received from its deme members, regardless of where they resided, and from residents of other demes who lived in the deme. The system allowed for the running of Athens at the local level and ensured that all members of society had the potential to participate in government. See also: Athens; Boule; Democracy; Ecclesia; Officials; Prytaneis; Tribes

Further Reading

Hignett, C. 1952. A History of the Athenian Constitution to the End of the Fifth Century B.C. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Stockton, D. L. 1991. The Classical Athenian Democracy (Reprinted with corrections). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Traill, John S. 1975. The Political Organization of Attica: A Study of the Demes, Trittyes, and Phylai, and Their Representation in the Athenian Council. Princeton, NJ: American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

188 Democracy Whitehead, David. 1986. The Demes of Attica, 508/7-ca. 250 B.C.: A Political and Social Study. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. For a discussion of the demes, including a representative map, see “Political Organization of Attica: Demes and Tribal Representation,” American School of Classical ­Studies, http://www.agathe.gr/democracy/political_organization_of_attica.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Democracy Democracy is a form of government in which the people directly decide on issues facing a political unit. In ancient Greece, the best and clearest example of this was in Athens, especially during the fifth and fourth centuries. Athenian democracy arose due to the political inadequacies of the earlier reforms instituted by Solon in the sixth century. His reforms brought about a political system based primarily on wealth, with the top political offices going to those who had the largest and most stable sources of income (usually land). This led to discontent, especially among the city’s middle class, and helped propel Pisistratus into leadership as the tyrant during the mid-to-late sixth century. With the ouster of Pisistratus’s son Hippias in 509, Athens called upon one of its leading citizens, Cleisthenes, to establish a new system of government. Cleisthenes recognized that Athens was faced with social and political inequalities based primarily upon the geographical distribution of its population. Those that lived in the coastal region or plains had extensive holdings in agriculture, producing a segment of the population that was conservative but wealthy. Those that lived inland in the mountain or hill regions were often poor, with small land holdings; they also supported Pisistratus as he promoted new opportunities. Finally, there were those who lived in the city, who were often merchants but also included the urban poor, who desired entrance into the political monopoly held previously by the wealthy. Cleisthenes realized that all three geographical areas had to be integrated into political life somehow to prevent the regional Bust of Pericles. (Abxyz/Dreamstime.com)

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factionalism that had occurred during the previous century. The democracy of Athens would undergo a series of changes, mostly related to how the officeholders were chosen. In the earliest system, Cleisthenes still envisioned that each office would be filled by election. Later, this was sometimes changed to selection by lot. Cleisthenes decided to use preexisting political forms as the basic building blocks and then add new entities where needed. He used the preexisting 139 demes as the first entity. These were geographical regions, small towns or hamlets, that were spread out across Attica, the geographical region of Athens and its surrounding territory. The city itself had five demes. A deme classified as part of the city may not have actually been in the city but may have had some kind of close connection to it. Each deme varied in geographical size and population; some were small, with only a few hundred people, while others were large, approaching thousands. Cleisthenes ordered that all of the citizens be enrolled in one of the demes. Most likely, they were enrolled in the deme where they currently resided. What makes Cleisthenes’s reform crucial is that from then on, the descendants, regardless of where they lived, were always enrolled in the same deme as their ancestors. In this way, if someone enrolled in one of the inland demes moved into the city, they and their descendants would still be a member of the inland deme. It is clear that Cleisthenes did not attempt to make each of the demes equal in population, probably because it would have disrupted the social fabric and continuity of the entire region. Cleisthenes then created the trittyes, plural of trittys, which means “a third” in reference to the three types of land. He created ten trittyes for each of the three districts so that in total, there were thirty trittyes—ten for the city, ten for the coast, and ten for the inland (mountains or hills). The role of the trittys is unclear, other than acting as a bridge between the numerous demes and the few tribes. It may have been created as a way to bring disparate and nonadjoining demes from each region into the political system at the local level, without having much dissension. The trittyes were composed of at least one deme, and there were usually more in each region, and those with multiple demes may have had their members based not on their proximity to boundaries, but to roads, allowing ease of communication. The trittyes may have played a part in military matters with the outfitting and organization of ships and the army. They typically derived their name from the largest deme in the trittys. With the demes then allocated to each of the trittyes, it is clear that each trittys did not have the same population; again, this may have been due to Cleisthenes desiring to have the next level, the tribes, as the averaging factor. To ensure political stability, Cleisthenes then took one trittys from each of the three regions to create one tribe. In this plan, the thirty trittyes would create ten tribes, an increase over the four tribes created by Solon. It is probable that Cleisthenes determined that the varying-sized demes and trittyes would be averaged out in the new tribes. The tribe would now become the crucial element of the political system. All political offices were increased to ten—one for each tribe. Competition was no longer among tribes, but rather within tribes. Individuals ran against members of their own tribe for office. In his plan, the geographical variations were now intermixed with the trittyes and the tribes. For example, two

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neighbors belonging to two different demes may be enrolled in two different trittyes. They would then be enrolled in two different tribes as well so that they could not vote for the same political officers. At the same time, candidates could no longer attempt to create a power bloc from their own region. For example, a candidate from one region for an office in one tribe would need to get the support of the two other regions. A candidate from the city would need to get support from the demes in his tribe and the trittyes from the coast and inland. His competitor may not have been from the same region and would also need to get support from the other regions. In his system, Cleisthenes forced the three geographical regions to work together. For Cleisthenes, everything revolved around the selection of officials from each tribe. This included the boule or council. When Solon reformed the Athenian constitution, he created a council or boule of 400; this group was made up of exmagistrates normally drawn from the upper class, with 100 representatives from each of the four tribes. Cleisthenes kept that framework but adapted it to his new system. Instead of 400 members, the boule would now have 500, with 50 members selected from each tribe. In addition, since the Athenian year was divided into ten months, each tribe was responsible for running the boule for one month. These councilors, or bouleutai, came from the various regions and demes. It was not an exact division; the city gave 130 members, the coast had 196, and 174 came from the inland. It is unclear as to why there were these differences, but since the constitution remained unchanged for over two centuries, it must have worked without anyone objecting too much. It appears that by the mid-fifth century, and probably extending back to Cleisthenes’s original reform, members of the boule were selected by lot, without an election. In the later period after 450, individuals could serve on the boule no more than twice in their lifetime, and never in successive years. It is probable that Cleisthenes instituted the requirement that no one could serve more than once, and that this rule was relaxed during and after the Peloponnesian War, when the number of citizens was reduced. As with all members of the citizenry eligible for holding office, one had to have a certain specified amount of property and wealth, although this sometimes seems to have been ignored later. Members of the boule began to receive pay in the 460s, after the reforms of Ephialtes and Pericles; it amounted to 5 obols for a regular member and 6 (or one drachma) for the prytaneis, members of the standing committee of the boule. Assuming that one served twice (which was not guaranteed), the number of citizens needed to serve in a twenty-five-year period would be 6,250 and more likely 10,000, showing how successful the system was in terms of bringing about broad representation of the citizenry. Taking office in midsummer, the council members were granted honorific places in public celebrations and exempt from military duty; they were, however, required to stay in Attica and meet every day, except for holidays and days of bad omen, in the bouleuterion, or Council House, near the Agora. Most likely, one received pay only if they attended that day’s meeting. Members could speak in the meetings, although no one seems to have been forced to participate. Each tribe served for one month as prytaneis, whose job it was to keep the agenda and run

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the meeting; the order was determined by lot. One of its members was chosen each day by lot to be its president, or epistates, and was in possession of the state seal and keys to the treasury; a person was limited to holding this office only once in his lifetime. The prytaneis received envoys and messengers. The ultimate authority for the political life of Athens was the assembly, or Ecclesia. In theory, this body was composed of all Athenian citizens. On any given day when the assembly met, its total number of members probably only approached 6,000 at most, but that was still a sizable number. The constitution of Cleisthenes also had a safety valve—the idea of ostracism, in which an individual could be banished for ten years if the assembly voted as such. During the early period, the use of ostracism was commonly used as a way to get rid of antidemocratic elements. The boule would debate proposals and other ideas and then present them to the assembly. To have something put on the agenda for the assembly, any officer of the state, council member, or even any citizen could come before the boule and make a proposal or proboulemata. The proposal could be precise, such as an honorific decree, or an open question on an important subject. It might be controversial, such as to wage war or make peace, but many were probably routine matters. The boule was also involved in state finances, something that took on more prominence during the fifth century, when Athens achieved its naval empire. Although always subject to the assembly, the boule had extensive leeway in its judgment. Its members constituted the primary overseers of the state offices, especially when it came to their expenses. One of the problems with the Athenian system, which gave the boule even more power, was that since officers and boards were selected by lot and usually not able to repeat service, there was high turnover, meaning that most of these people did not have a full understanding of the system and the intricacies involved in state finances. The boule and those who regularly interacted with it could use this lack of knowledge to their benefit. The boule would appoint a board of ten auditors from the prytany as auditors to examine the accounts of each official. In later times, individuals were elected to serve as financial officers, and they could be reelected yearly to oversee the important military and civil funds. In some ways, the boule was powerful since it oversaw so much of Athenian politics and social life. However, at the same time, it was not that powerful because its membership constantly changed and that prevented one individual or group from holding much power or influence. Cleisthenes’s constitution was continually altered. The major reforms occurred during the mid-fifth century, led by Pericles and Ephialtes. The latter was an opponent of Cimon (an anti-Persian general), who not only attempted a rapprochement with Persia but also wanted to make Athens even more democratic. He introduced attacks against individuals in the Council of Areopagus, which was a holdover from the earlier pre-Cleisthenes government. It was made up of exarchons, creating a Council of Elders. It was originally established as a check on the monarchy and it later became a court of justice, ruling on cases of murder and manslaughter. It soon became the governing body for the city of Athens during the aristocratic government. The Council of Elders seems to have had some control over the election of magistrates, even though the archon and polemarch were

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elected by the Assembly. It is possible that the council vetted the candidates first. These members were also in charge of punishing public officials if they violated the law, as well as of general administration of the laws and overseeing the working of the government. These were powerful checks not only on the people, but on the government in general. Ephialtes brought a series of lawsuits against individual members of the Areopagus and ultimately got a law passed stripping the Council of Elders of most of its oversight of the laws and government. The council ultimately had jurisdiction only over cases of homicide and caring for the sacred olive trees of Athena, and it also had a say in the supervision of the Eleusinian property. The other responsibilities passed to the Council of 500, the Popular Assembly, and the law courts. This attack on the Areopagus was followed by an attack on the office of the Archon. Archons automatically became members of the Areopagus, and this was seen as an honor. Previously, the office was unpaid, with its holders coming from the upper two classes. In 458 BC, when the attack on the Areopagus occurred, Ephialtes and/or Pericles moved to make the office of Archon a paid position. This meant that members of the third class were now eligible. Further changes made all of the offices chosen by lot. Previously, there had been a mixed system in which members were Pericles’s Funeral Oration and Democracy It was a custom in Athens to honor the dead at the end of the military campaigning season, usually when the harvest occurred. After the first year of the Peloponnesian War, for instance, Pericles, the general noted as the architect for the Athenian military strategy, gave the funeral oration. In this speech contained in Thucydides’s History of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles extolled the benefits and glories of Athens. Like Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, the speech did not attempt to praise the dead effusively, for they needed no praise; rather, it lauded the nation. Pericles praised the Athenian state, but interestingly he did not refer much to the gods or religion as Lincoln did. The following extract illustrates Pericles’s praise of the Athenian government: We have a form of government, not—fetched by imitation from the laws of our neighbouring states; (nay, we are rather a pattern to others, than they to us); which, because in the administration it hath respect not to a few, but to the multitude, is called a democracy. Wherein, though there be an equality amongst all men in point of law for their private controversies; yet in conferring of dignities one man is preferred before another to public charge, and that according to the reputation, not of his house, but of his virtue; and is not put back through poverty for the obscurity of his person, as long as he can do good service to the commonwealth. And we live not only free in the administration of the state, but also one with another void of jealousy touching each other’s daily course of life; not offended at any man for following his own humour, nor casting on any man censorious looks, which though they be no punishment, yet they grieve. So that conversing one with another for the private without offence, we stand chiefly in fear to transgress against the public; and are obedient always to those that govern and to the laws, and principally to such laws as are written for protection against injury, and such unwritten, as bring undeniable shame to the transgressors. Source: Hobbes, Thomas, William Molesworth, Thucydides, and Homer. 1843. The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. London: J. Bohn, Volume 8, p. 191.

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chosen by lot after an initial election into a pool, but this was now eliminated, and all but a very few numbers of offices (mainly military) were chosen by lot. Ephialtes was successful in banishing Cimon through ostracism, but he in turn was assassinated, perhaps due to the ostracism or more likely political rivalry in his own faction. In addition, the system was altered so that pay was expanded for other positions and was introduced by Pericles, including for jurors and perhaps those who attended the Assembly. Since jurors and perhaps those who attended the Assembly were now paid, it became an incentive to keep the number of Athenians constant to ensure enough citizens but not too many as to tax the system financially. This whole process was accomplished by a new law in 451 that restricted citizenship to those whose parents were both Athenians. If this law had been in place earlier, Cleisthenes, Themistocles, and Cimon would have been excluded. Many of these changes occurred when Athens transformed the Delian League into an empire. When the treasury of the league was moved from Delos to Athens in 454, Athens had complete control over the league’s finances, which allowed it to pay for political offices, juries, and ultimately the rebuilding of the city. The democracy of Athens was therefore tied closely with the Delian League, and later the Athenian Empire. The democracy of Athens proved that decisions could be made by the people, regardless of their class. See also: Archon; Athens; Boule; Ecclesia; Officials; Oligarchy; Samos; Sparta; Tribes

Further Reading

Blackwell, Christopher W. “Athenian Democracy: A Brief Overview,” In Adriaan Lanni, ed., Athenian Law in its Democratic Context (Center for Hellenic Studies Online Discussion Series). Republished in C.W. Blackwell, ed., Dēmos: Classical Athenian Democracy (A. Mahoney and R. Scaife, eds., The Stoa: A Consortium for Electronic Publication in the Humanities [www.stoa.org]) edition of February 28, 2003. http://www.stoa.org/demos/article_democracy_overview@page =all&greekEncoding=UnicodeC.html (accessed May 18, 2021). Hansen, Mogens Herman. 1999. The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes: Structure, Principles, and Ideology. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Hignett, C. 1952. A History of the Athenian Constitution to the End of the Fifth Century B.C. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Rhodes, P. J. 2004. Athenian Democracy. New York: Oxford University Press. Stockton, D. L. 1991. The Classical Athenian Democracy (Reprinted with corrections). Oxford: Oxford University Press. For a summary of the Athenian democracy, see “Democracy from the Past to the Future,” American School of Classical Studies, http://www.agathe.gr/democracy/democracy_from_the_past_to_the_future.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Dionysus The god Dionysus, known to the Romans as Bacchus, is not like the other Olympian gods. Mycenaean Linear B tablets in connection with wine mention his name, while earlier archaeological remains from the island of Cos show his worship

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Fresco panel depicting Dionysos and Ariadne, 1–79 CE. (The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California)

there from at least the fifteenth century. Origin stories also have him coming from Thrace. There was also the Anthesteria, a Dionysiac festival in Athens for wine, before the tenth-century Ionian invasions. All point to his origin from at least the Mycenaean period, but his name is rarely mentioned by Homer. Some argue that he is not one of the traditional Olympian gods, but rather was newly introduced from Thrace or Asia Minor. This idea is further supported by stories of him being resisted by worshippers and not being readily accepted as the other gods were. It appears that his worship in Greece was of great antiquity, and he may not have fit into the traditional Olympian pantheon due to his nonwarlike nature. Dionysus became the god of wine and ecstasy and was often displayed as a youthful, slightly portly figure, with wavy locks of hair and holding the thyrsus, a rod with ivy leaves. He usually was portrayed as an effeminate youth reclining with a bunch of grapes and a cup of wine. Unlike the other Olympian gods, who brooded and enjoyed delivering pain and trouble to mortals, Dionysus brought joy and relief to them in the form of intoxication, which also made them ecstatic. Through intoxication, one lost one’s identity and had an intensified mental power, often seen in an ecstatic ritual where his followers seized a wild animal, ripped it

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A God Born from Anger The story of Dionysus’s origin is that Zeus impregnated Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes. Zeus’s wife, Hera, then tricked Semele into asking Zeus to reveal himself in his true form. Semele did so and was consequently consumed by Zeus’s lightning. Zeus saved Semele’s child and placed him in his thigh, and he was later born. Hera, still jealous, persecuted the child’s caretaker, Ino, the sister of Semele, driving her mad and causing her to jump into the sea before being turned into a sea goddess by Zeus. Dionysus was then raised by the nymphs of Mount Nysa and introduced to the cultivation of the vine. Through the cultivation of the vine, his influence and therefore his worship and power extended to India. He was opposed by Pentheus, king of Thebes, which became the story of Euripides’ tragedy The Bacchae.

apart, and consumed it raw. In this act, known as the sparagmos, they believed they would consume the god himself and receive his power. This in turn led to one of the highlights of the cult, the mask, which showed the altering of the identity of the individual. This rite often had dire consequences, though, since the followers were often unaware of what they were doing due to their mental powers being altered, and cause physical harm to others. One of the important elements of the worship of Dionysus was the festival given in his honor. Originally, there were two festivals, held in rural and city locations, both called the Dionysia. During the Classical Age, several other festivals were added. Dionysus and Apollo were often associated in their festivals. For example, at Delphi, the two were seen as overseers of the great shrine. While Apollo controlled the shrine in spring and summer, Dionysus took over in the fall and winter. At Athens, this combination can be seen in Dionysus’s festival of Oschophoria, which took place on the same day as Apollo’s festival, the Pyanopsia. In fact, it was said that Apollo gave the day over to Dionysus for his celebration, but both celebrations took place. The Oschophoria was a celebration of wine pressing and took place during the winemaking season. This festival went back to Mycenaean times and was the first of the Dionysiac Cycle festivals. The procession was led by two boys carrying a vine branch full of grapes. Another festival was the Anthesteria, a three-day celebration at the end of the Dionysiac Cycle that celebrated the first drinking of the wine produced from the time of the Oschophoria. It too was celebrated as far back as the end of the Bronze (Mycenaean) Age. The first day of the Anthesteria celebrated the arrival of Dionysus by sea, the second day recognized the drinking of the new wine by everyone from children to adults, and the third day celebrated the religious festival where Dionysus married the wife of the Archon Basileus, the socalled queen. In between these two festivals was the Lenaia, in late January, where Dionysus and the maenads were celebrated. In Athens, there were two main festivals dedicated to Dionysus of great antiquity. A rural celebration, or rustic Dionysia, was held in December, but due to the timing, it was probably not visited by many non-Athenians. Then there was the Great Dionysia, held in the city in March, when the sea lanes were open, allowing

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more visitors to attend. They were identical until the Pisistratids celebrated the festivals in the Great Dionysia. In the rural Dionysia, the main object in the procession was the large wooden phallos, with a sacrificial billy goat leading the way. The Great Dionysia also had a parade. Most of these festivals involved plays, choral lyric poetry, comedies, and tragedies. The Great Dionysia was inaugurated by Pisistratus in 534, where he brought the cult from Eleutherae, on the border with Thebes, to Athens. The god’s image existed in his temple, in the Theater of situated on the southern slope of the Acropolis. The temple was in the precinct of the theater. An altar stood in the orchestra and its earliest date is from Pisistratus, although Pericles reconstructed the theater in the fifth century. The Great Dionysia began on March 10 (modern calendar) and would run for five days. During this time, there would be five comedies, one on each afternoon, as well as three tragedies or satyrs and two dithyrambic or cult song competitions with Dionysiac content. During the Peloponnesian War, the number of days celebrated was reduced by one and the number of comedies changed to three. The festival was a chance for Athens to highlight its power and glory. Sons whose fathers had been killed in battle paraded through the theater to commemorate them, and citizens who helped the city through their generosity were honored. Visitors to Athens saw the power of the city, and during the Classical Age, when the Delian League, or Athenian Empire was at its height, allies (subjects) of Athens would display their tribute in the theater. The festival was a way in which Athens showed not only its power, but how it was favored by the god Dionysus. First, the cult statue of Dionysus was removed two days before the start of the festival and deposited outside Athens in another temple. Then, on the day of the festival, it was brought into the city in a reenactment of Pisistratus’s transfer from Eleutherae. The religious procession included the carrying of phalluses to honor the god Dionysus. The ten generals made a religious offering in the temple, and the procession included the choregoi. These individuals put on plays for the celebration, as a form of liturgy or public service. The expenses were considerable, but these events also allowed the patron to be honored. These patrons also chose the members of the chorus, which would perform, and they paid for all of the expenses associated with the performance including payment for actors, their training, rehearsals, and costumes. Since Great Dionysia highlighted the god Dionysus, it became a crucial part of Athenian political and religious life of Athens. Dionysus became the god not only of wine and merriment, but also of culture, through his festivals. See also: Festivals; Mystery Religion; Olympian Religion; Religion; Theater; Tragedy

Further Reading

Anthony, M. 2021. Women and Dionysus: Appearances and Exile in History, Culture, and Myth. Milton Park, UK: Routledge. Isler-Kerényi, C., and A. Beerens. 2015. Dionysos in Classical Athens: An Understanding Through Images. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. Simon, Erika. 2002. Festivals of Attica: An Archaeological Commentary. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Stuttard, D. 2016. Looking at Bacchae. London: Bloomsbury Academic.



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Dorian Invasion The ancient Greeks attempted to account for the differences in dialect through mythological stories. The Trojan War marked a clear delineation in Greek history. Events occurred either before or after this great war, and it provided a clear understanding of Greek culture in antiquity. While this neat break did not really exist as a single point in time, such as a battle, it did create a distinction between what was before and what came afterward; it provided the Greeks with a starting point to account for regional variations that they witnessed and experienced during their lifetime, often centuries later. It was clear to the Greeks during the Classical Age that their culture, politics, and ethnic lives were different than the Mycenaean period. The ancient Greeks called this break in continuity the Dorian invasion. The Mycenaean period was wrapped up in folklore when Greece was united through language, and the Great King of Mycenae ruled over a variety of minor kingdoms that owed him allegiance. According to Greek mythology, when this civilization was swept away, it left remnants that spoke Ionic. The arrival of this new group around 1100 produced a period of upheaval. During the tenth and ninth centuries, the arrival of a new group speaking a Greek dialect, the Dorians, arrived from the northwest between Thessaly and Epirus. The traditional view had the Dorians coming into Greece, destroying the Mycenaean Bronze Age culture and replacing it with a different culture from the Iron Age. This is probably too simplistic and should be seen as a transition from the twelfth-century Mycenaean Age to the Geometric pre-Classical Age of the eighth century. The Greeks viewed the Dorians as the return of the descendants of Heracles, since Hyllus, his son, had already come to Greece, and died, before the Trojan War. These new invaders appropriated the story of Heracles’s descendants returning and occupying Greece. The legends help explain the dialects that soon developed among the Greeks. Areas like Attica and Euboea claimed that they were not conquered, and their dialect, Ionian, was the tongue of the original inhabitants. Fleeing the Dorians, they would sail east to Asia Minor and establish colonies there. The various dialects, Dorian, Aeolian, Ionian, Achaean, and Arcadian, which were based upon geographic divisions of Greece, accounted for the ethnic divisions in their mythology. The story was that the Dorians came from the north by land, crossing the Pindos Mountains and moving south. They were blocked from traversing the Isthmus of Corinth by the Thessalians and Boeotians, who were already there. The Thessalians prevented the Dorians from moving on the eastern side of Greece, forcing them to move through the western side of Greece, and upon their arrival in the south, the Boeotians blocked the southeastern passage through the isthmus. The legend then had the Dorians moving south, to the northern coast of the Gulf of Corinth through Doris to Naupaktos, where their guide, Oxylos, a relative of the Heraclids, led them by sea to the northern shore of the Peloponnese. They bypassed Elis, which did not speak Dorian, since Oxylos wanted that region for himself. Upon arrival in the Peloponnese, the Dorians moved south and east to Argos, which displaced the inhabitants to Achaea, and those peoples in turn displaced the Ionians to Athens. The second area attacked by

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the Dorians in the Peloponnese was Laconia, while a third wave moved to the south and west toward Messenia, pushing the indigenous inhabitants into the mountain regions. Some ancient Greeks believed that this third invasion did not really take place then, but rather was part of the later Sparta (Laconian) expansion during the seventh century. The Arcadians were left alone and had favorable relations with the Dorians. The region of Corinth came under the influence of the Dorians only at a later time. The stories said that the Dorian invasions occurred over a period of generations and discussed the different geographical and ethnic regions that came into existence. In the mythology, the Dorians were ultimately located in the Peloponnese, with the exception of the northern Arcadian region. The Isthmus of Corinth was taken over eventually, while in the north, the region of Attica became Ionian and Boeotia Aeolian. The purpose of these stories was to show how the Greeks viewed themselves through the different dialects. This division also was used for the eastern Aegean, where the Ionians, from Attica, colonized the middle region of Asia Minor, traditionally in twelve cities that included Miletus, Ephesus, Samos, and Teos. The Dorians colonized five cities south of Ionia in Asia Minor, among them Rhodes, Kos, and Knidos. Finally, north of Ionia, the Aeolians established twelve cities. This division corresponded to the ethnic division in Greece consisting of the Ionians in Attica, the Dorians south in the Peloponnese, and the Aeolians north of Attica in Boeotia.

Peoples of the Peloponnese Herodotus attempted to detail the complete history of the Greeks. He was faced with the daunting task of describing the diverse peoples who made up the regions. In the case of the Peloponnese, he was struck by the variety of dialects and assigned some of them to indigenous populations, while others were used by immigrants. Herodotus in his Histories based these divisions not only on linguistic differences, but also on the myths surrounding the migrations and invasions that took place over several centuries. His stories tried to reconcile the political, cultural, and ethnic divisions that existed in Greece. Seven nations inhabit the Peloponnese. Two of them are aboriginal, and still continue in the regions where they dwelt at the first—to wit, the Arcadians and the Cynurians. A third, that of the Achaeans, has never left the Peloponnese, but has been dislodged from its own proper country, and inhabits a district which once belonged to others. The remaining nations, four out of the seven, are all immigrants—namely, the Dorians, the Aetolians, the Dryopians, and the Lemnians. To the Dorians belong several very famous cities; to the Aetolians one only, that is, Elis; to the Dryopians, Hermione and that Asine which lies over against Cardamyle in Laconia; to the Lemnians, all the towns of the Paroreats. The aboriginal Cynurians alone seem to be lonians; even they, however, have in course of time, grown to be Dorians, under the government of the Argives, whose Orneats and vassals they were. All the cities of these seven nations, except those mentioned above stood aloof from the war; and by so doing, if I may speak freely, they in fact took part with the Medes. Source: Herodotus. George Rawlinson, and Edward Henry Blakeney. 1912. The History of Herodotus. London: J. M. Dent. Volume 2, pp. 241–242.



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The Dorian invasion, then, must be seen as a way for the Greeks to explain their position in the post-Mycenaean age. The mythology had the Dorians as originally part of the heroic age (i.e., the Mycenaean Age) as the offspring of Heracles (a Greek) who had left the Greek world and now they returned to take up their position as leaders of the Greeks by virtue of their ancestor (Heracles). This would then account for the arrival of the Dorians into Greece. Homer put the Dorians in Crete and the Eastern Aegean islands. The later Greeks said that the Dorians pushed north into Thessaly by the Cadmeans, the Bronze Age Greeks, or the Mycenaean Greeks. They were then led back to Greece, the so-called “return” by the Herakeidai, or descendants of Heracles, and retook the southern part of Greece, or the “Achaean” world of Homer. The Greeks indicated that the Dorians had tried several times and succeeded only after two generations, after the Trojan War. The Greeks explained that the Hylleis, one of the tribes of invaders, were led by Hyllos. This group was viewed as the elite group of Dorians rather than the mixed group under the second tribe, the Pamphyloi, whose name means “of mixed race.” The third tribe, the Dymanes, has unclear origins. It appears, however, that these invaders did not come in as waves, but probably during a period of time when various groups moved simultaneously from the northwest, collectively known as the Dorians. The term Dorian Invasion, however, does not explain the entire picture. The dialects, customs, and institutions that developed did not occur so neatly. The various regions, with their dialects, were divided even further into subdialects, making the determination even more difficult. In addition, most of the surviving texts, who go back only to the eighth century, are written in the Ionian dialect and not in the Dorian dialect, the language of the invaders. The archaeological remains are not very conclusive as to their origin and differences with the Mycenaean and preGeometric eras. The division of the dialects then fell into two major categories aligned with geographic regions. The West Greeks and North-West Greeks, seen as Dorian, were the most recent arrivals after the fall of the Mycenaean period. The preDorian East Greeks were divided into the Aeolians, Ionians, and Arcadians. The Dorians settled in the south-central Peloponnese and North-West Greece, while the pre-Dorians occurred in Thessaly, Boeotia, and Attica, north of the Peloponnese; Arcadia, in the northern part of the Peloponnese in a mountainous region; and Cyprus, which had the same dialect as Arcadia. The protogeometric pottery during the tenth century, with circular designs, differed from the hand-painted Mycenaean-era creations. The protogeometric pottery then looked more toward the new Greeks rather than to the previous Mycenaean Age. The following period, in the tenth and ninth centuries, produced a more settled condition, allowing for growth. This in turn led to an increase in population, colonization, and the rise of a new political system based upon the city-state, or polis. This period created a rise in urbanization that differed from the Mycenaean period, which was founded upon the palace and not the households and mercantile development in a region. The Dorian invasion was viewed by the classical Greeks as a watershed event that separated the Mycenaean period from the pre-Classical age. Although the invasion is now known to have been a series of migrations over several centuries,

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the classical Greeks viewed it as a relatively quick event. The end result of the influx of new Greek-speaking immigrants was to divide Greece and foster a divergence of cultural and eventually political cultures. The Dorians, mainly in the south, pushed their colonies out to Sicily and southern Asia Minor. The major classical Greek conflict would be between the Dorian Sparta and the Ionian Athens. See also: Bronze Age; Mycenae; Peloponnese; Sparta; Tribes; Troy

Further Reading

Drews, Robert. 1988. The Coming of the Greeks: Indo-European Conquests in the Aegean and the Near East. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Grant, Michael. 1989. The Rise of the Greeks. New York: Collier Books. Hall, Jonathan M. 2002. Hellenicity: Between Ethnicity and Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Hopper, R. J. 1976. The Early Greeks. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. Kennell, Nigel M. 2010. Spartans: A New History. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. Lemos, I. S. 2002. The Protogeometric Aegean: The Archaeology of the Late Eleventh and Tenth Centuries BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press. For a history of the Dorians, see Thomas, Carol. 1978, “Found: The Dorians,” Expedition, Volume 20, Penn Museum, https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition /found-the-dorians/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

E Ecclesia The Ecclesia was the general democratic assembly in ancient Greek cities. The best example comes from Athens, where during the fifth and fourth centuries, citizens voted on important matters in such a body. The Ecclesia normally met on the Pynx, a hill near the Acropolis and Agora that formed a natural auditorium, and until the fourth century, it could comfortably accommodate more than 6,000 individuals. This was the number needed for a quorum to determine if ostracism would take place. It is clear that in other instances, smaller numbers needed to be assembled. It appears that the Ecclesia met on the eleventh day of the first prytany, the term that each tribe held as an executive office (there were ten of these a year, one for each tribe), to determine if there would be a change in the laws of Athens. This might be seen as a yearly constitutional convention. There were four regular meetings per prytany or a total of forty per year. One meeting per prytany was called the kyria ekklesia, and voting was done at that principal time on issues concerning the performance of officers of the state, food supply, important initiatives, and national security. During the sixth prytany, the kyria ekklesia meeting was also used to determine if the state would hold an ostracism that year and to receive complaints about sycophants, those who deliberately deceived the state. Another meeting was set aside for individuals to submit private petitions to the assembly on matters of import to them. Another meeting was used for religious matters, and still another for foreign affairs. Typically, the agenda for a meeting had to be posted four days early. These meetings did not limit the city from calling special meetings if needed, and for important events, they might have been held several times over consecutive days. The meetings were set up and formalized by the prytaneis, the standing committee of the boule, but the entire boule or the Ecclesia itself also could call a meeting. Only citizens were allowed to attend and vote, although noncitizens and visitors could watch from the Agora. The matters being discussed clearly determined who attended, and in the late fifth century, citizens were herded into the meeting by a dyed rope where the guards stretched a rope across the area and moved them toward the meeting place, which also may have been used to bring the assembly to order and diminish the noise in the Agora. The meeting began in the early morning with religious services and lasted until midday. Some of the items placed before the Ecclesia was routine and probably passed without discussion or even formal voting, just nodding or the like. Most speeches were probably pro forma, not taking long, but important matters were afforded more speakers, who gave longer speeches. Those taking too long or

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speaking on trivial matters could be shouted out or even removed. Voting was done by a show of hands except when a quorum of 6,000 was needed or when the Ecclesia acted as a court; then ballots were used. Since a show of hands was not exact, the presiding officers would interpret the count, but this could be objected to by another member, which would force another vote to be held. Until 403, a prytaneis was in charge of the meeting, with the presiding individual chosen by lot for that day; from then on, there was a board of nine members, one from each of the prytanies, chosen by lot, and one of those nine people was chosen (also by lot) to serve as the presiding officer. The prytaneis, and after 403 all nine board members, sat on the bema (platform) in the Pynx, and to help maintain order, there were 300 police officers, archers who were known as the Scythians since they were slaves from that region. After 403, those who attended the Ecclesia began to be paid for their services. Originally, the salary was one obol, and by 390, it had risen to three obols; by the end of the fourth century, it had risen again, to six obols or one drachma for normal meetings and 1.5 drachmas for kyria ekklesia. Although anyone could call a meeting, no business could actually come to the Ecclesia unless the boule sent it there. The boule could send a very specific proposal, which could be altered and then the Ecclesia could either accept or not; or it could put forth a general discussion point, where the Ecclesia could debate and decide for itself how to proceed. The Ecclesia could even instruct the boule to send a proposal or topic to be discussed at a future meeting. This may have been a way to gauge the sentiment of a particular item before it reached the full assembly. The item to be placed on the agenda, therefore, had to come from a member of the boule or the boule itself, or else someone outside the boule had to get a member to propose it. Officers of the state, such as generals, typically knew individuals on the council to ensure that their matters were put on the agenda. The Ecclesia could reverse its own decisions; one famous example was in 427, when they originally decreed that the rebels at Mytilene were to be executed, only to levy a more lenient punishment in a second decree on a later date. Citizens could request a change in laws; some of these, like Pericles’s law requiring both parents to be citizens, became permanent, while others were simply one-time practices. If a citizen proposed a new law and it was deemed to be inexpedient, he could be indicted for making an inappropriate law and fined if found guilty. The Ecclesia also acted as a court, especially for those officials charged with corruption or abuse of their offices. The information is less detailed about other city-states, although most of them must have had similar policies. In Sparta, the Assembly or apella apparently voted on matters put forward by the kings or Ephors, and voting was done by voice, with the kings or Ephors determining the outcome. In other city-states in Greece, the Assembly gave the population control of the political life of the city and ensured a check on the executive branch or other individuals. See also: Archon; Athens; Boule; Democracy; Gerousia; Monarchy; Prytaneis; Sparta

Further Reading

Hansen, Mogens Herman. 1987. The Athenian Assembly in the Age of Demosthenes. Oxford, UK: B. Blackwell.

Economy 203 Hignett, C. 1952. A History of the Athenian Constitution to the End of the Fifth Century B.C. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Rhodes, P. J. 2004. Athenian Democracy. New York: Oxford University Press. Sinclair, R. K. 1991. Democracy and Participation in Athens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Stockton, D. L. 1991. The Classical Athenian Democracy (Reprinted with corrections). Oxford: Oxford University Press. For an overview of the Athenian assembly, see “The Ekklesia (Citizens’ Assembly),” American School of Classical Studies, http://www.agathe.gr/democracy/the _ekklesia.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Economy The economy of ancient Greece was originally based on the house or oikos, from which the word economy originates. In the Mycenaean palaces, and later Archaic strongholds, the household was the original unit for the production and distribution of goods. The original economy was primarily based on agriculture. The ideal was that the household could produce enough food for the family, a type of autarchy, or a self-sufficient system. The major products produced on the family farm were grain, perhaps olive groves, goats, sheep, and chickens. In addition, the household would make its own clothes, pottery, and tools as needed. Once city-states began to develop, there naturally was an increase in surplus goods and the creation of standardized products, which in turn promoted the rise of factories or workshops specializing in the manufacture of one type of goods. The most important early factory produced pottery, and workers (often slaves) were employed to produce pots, amphorae, and jugs. To produce large numbers, cities and shops required some kind of special equipment, such as kilns and pottery wheels, which in turn allowed rapid production and more workstations. In addition, artists in the workshops were promoted and developed. Additional shops included tanneries for the production of leather; wagon makers, shoemakers, clothing manufacturers, including dyers and weavers, and specialized professions related to ship construction and outfitting. These shops arose during the age of the tyrants (ca. 650–500), allowing further development of the cities. Another major industry was mining, such as at the rich silver veins discovered at Laurium in Attica. Slaves were employed to dig shafts and mine the ore for the state. Slave owners would rent out their slaves to the state to perform this work, which demonstrates that slavery and industry were private and still related to the household. The slaves used picks to break apart the stones, and then they filled baskets with ore and carried it out or loaded it in bays and then passed it from man to man since the underground galleries were only wide enough for one. The profits were immense, capable of building the Athenian great fleet and the structures in the city-state of Athens. When the mines were captured by the Spartans during the Peloponnesian War, the economy of Athens nearly collapsed. Metallurgy was also advanced when the ore was crushed by mortars (worked by slaves), and then the mills ground the ore by turning stone and the fine ore was washed and the

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metal ore collected and smelted in furnaces in which lead was separated from the silver. The silver at this point was nearly 98 percent pure. Another industry, just as extensive and crucial, was the quarrying of marble and stone. Again, slaves would drive metal chisels into the stone and break the marble into slabs. These pieces of marble were then transported to workshops where artists would shape them into statues or use them for the facing of buildings. Other factories included shield workings, which employed over a hundred workers. Since most cities needed soldiers, these workshops and others producing military arms and clothes were essential. In Athens, such materials probably were made to order at first, but later they seemed to be standardized and produced constantly. Since each factory was private and independent, there were no corporations or unions. Typically, fathers handed down their trade to their sons. Once a city produced a surplus of goods, it was necessary and desirable to sell the goods outside it. Transport was difficult since the roads were not well developed and poorly constructed (in fact, they usually were just made of dirt). Bridges were not well built either, usually being earthen dikes that washed away after rainfall occurred. Land transport was usually used for short distances due to the cost and aggravation. Sea transport was cheaper, but also precarious. There were no exclusive passenger ships at this time, with travelers paying for passage on freighters that offered few luxuries, but on the other hand did not charge much either. Ships were propelled by sail, and if needed by oar. Merchant ships relied mainly on sails, while warships used both sails and oars. Athens imported most of its grain from southern Russia, which required many ships. Many merchants would insure their cargo at a high cost. Many court cases refer to the culpability of the captain if weather or negligence were involved in an accident so as to collect on the insurance in case of weather or hold the captain personally liable forcing him to pay. To facilitate the transport of goods and promote trade, the Greeks, and in particular the Athenians, developed banks. Although most people did not use banks, preferring to keep their money at home, merchants used them to allow transactions to be made without needing to transport funds from city to city. Some Athenians would lend money at 18 percent per year as seen in ancient texts, usually to provide mortgages and fund risky operations such as long-distance trading. There were “state” banks, so to speak, in the form of temples, with the Temple of Apollo at Delphi acting as an international bank. Another form of banking was the money changer, who not only exchanged monies from other cities but also lent money, with interest rates varying from 12 to 30 percent. Trade ultimately became the backbone of the Athenian economy. Many producers sold their wares to an intermediary, who in turn sold them to local shops, and then to consumers. In addition, goods were sold in the streets. Slaves, freemen, and metics would come to the shops to haggle and buy goods, but free aristocratic women did not go there. Trade by sea was crucial. The local producers not only made their goods for domestic sale, but transported them to cities throughout the Aegean. The Piraeus, with its docks, warehouses, banks, and markets, allowed Athenian trade to prosper. A variety of goods came to and from the Piraeus. The Greek

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Solon’s Political and Economic Reforms Ancient cities saw constant struggles between the wealthy and the poor, including in government. In Life of Solon, Plutarch, a Greek writer during the Roman Empire, describes how Athens had witnessed a series of attempts to solve the struggle between the wealthy and poor and to resolve the situation where Draco in 621, an aristocrat, created harsh laws and who prescribed death for many offenses, which caused popular resentment leading to the tyranny of Pisistratus and his sons (545–510) who argued they were campions of the people. In between these two eras was Solon (595), who attempted to involve the poor into the Athenian government, while keeping the real power in the hands of the wealthy as shown in the following excerpt. First, then, he repealed all Draco’s laws, except those concerning homicide, because they were too severe, and the punishments too great; for death was appointed for almost all offences, insomuch that those that were convicted of idleness were to die, and those that stole a cabbage or an apple to suffer even as villains that committed sacrilege or murder. So that Demades, in after time, was thought to have said very happily, that Draco’s laws were written not with ink, but blood; and he himself, being once asked why he made death the punishment of most offences, replied, “Small ones deserve that, and I have no higher for the greater crimes.” Next, Solon, being willing to continue the magistracies in the hands of the rich men, and yet receive the people into the other part of the government, took an account of the citizens’ estates, and those that were worth five hundred measures of fruits, dry and liquid, he placed in the first rank, calling them Pentacosiomedimni; those that could keep an horse, or were worth three hundred measures, were named Hippada Teluntes, and made the second class; the Zeugitæ, that had two hundred measures, were in the third; and all the others were called Thetes, who were not admitted to any office, but could come to the assembly, and act as jurors; which at first seemed nothing, but afterward was found an enormous privilege, as almost every matter of dispute came before them in this latter capacity. Source: Plutarch and John Dryden. Corrected from the Greek and revised by Arthur Hugh Clough in five volumes. 1906. Plutarch’s Lives: The Translation Called Dryden’s. Boston: Little Brown and Co., Volume 1, pp. 184–185.

colonies allowed not only for the selling of goods abroad, but also for the purchase of local goods to ship home to the mainland. To accomplish trade and commerce, the need for coinage was crucial since it allowed the easy exchange of goods. Every city had its own coinage, with varying weights. In many cities, the coinage’s purity was manipulated or even debased. The Athenian owl became the standard symbol on coins, and they were known for having a constant purity and weight. The normal coin was made of silver. In each city, the money changers would exchange foreign coins into the local currency for merchants to use (for a price, of course). The Greek economy was based on the available personnel, with machines virtually nonexistent. In most cities, free citizens cultivated the land since the local farms were mainly operated by the owner, his family, or free tenants. Only in Sparta did a servile class work on and cultivate farms. The economy in the city was based around a mixture of free and servile classes. Many of the small shops were run by the family, while larger productive centers used a mixture of freemen

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and slaves. There were also many freemen or metics who were foreign born and came to Athens for economic opportunities. Although they did not vote or participate in the government, the metics became the professional craftsmen, artists, contractors, and managers of the city. Added to them were the freedmen who were former slaves. Most of these were former slaves who knew the family business and still loyally served their former masters. The economy of Greece, and especially Athens, was based on the concept of the household. It was structured like a household business and viewed as an extension of the traditional family and his farm. See also: Agriculture; Coinage; Food; Merchant Vessels; Olives; Slavery; Social Status; Sparta; Taxation

Further Reading

Engen, Darel Tai. 2010. Honor and Profit: Athenian Trade Policy and the Economy and Society of Greece, 415–307 B.C.E. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Finley, M. I., Brent D. Shaw, and Richard P. Saller. 1983. Economy and Society in Ancient Greece. New York: Penguin Books. Rutishauser, Brian. 2012. Athens and the Cyclades: Economic Strategies 540–314 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press. For the effect of trade on Greek art, see Hemingway, Colette, and Seán Hemingway, “Ancient Greek Colonization and Trade and their Influence on Greek Art,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2007), https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/angk/hd_angk.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Eleusis Eleusis, a town in Attica approximately twelve miles northwest of Athens, lies on a landlocked bay east of the Rharian plain, opposite the island of Salamis on the main north-south road. The site was well protected with an acropolis, and until the seventh century, it remained independent of Athens. Having its own king and history, Eleusis was a Mycenaean site, and its religious rites were already well established, including the remains of a megaron, or porched house that was a shrine, probably to Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. During the seventh century, Eleusis was ultimately taken over by Solon and incorporated into the Athenian political system. It was during the time of the tyrant Pisistratus that the cult of Demeter was appropriated and taken to Athens and the telesterion, or Hall of Initiation, was constructed there. Pisistratus initiated at Athens a festival in honor of the goddess. The Athenians were able to elevate the Festival of Greater Eleusinia to Panhellenic status. The festival was performed every four years during the second year of the Olympiads. Two Athenian families were involved—the Eumolpidae, who provided the initiating priests, and the Ceryces, who administered the Mysteries at Eleusis. The word mystery came from the Greek word muein, meaning “to keep silent,” and therefore it probably conveyed the idea that the nocturnal celebrations were meant to be held in secret, only for those who believed in the goddess. The

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Mysteries revolved around being a family initiation, although in later times, over 4,000 people could fit into the Initiation Hall and anyone—men, women, children, and even slaves—could be admitted into the rites, so long as they had not committed homicide. The Mysteries are one of the better-known rites for which information is available. It seems that the rites acted out the rape of Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, probably including the god Hades kidnapping her and taking her to the Underworld. This was then followed by Demeter coming to Eleusis to find her. During the rites, torches were thrown into the air. There was then a fertility procession in which models of genitalia and statues of men and women engaged in sexual acts were displayed and obscene invectives shouted out. This reflected the idea that human sex acts improved the fertility of the soil and crops. What made the festivals and rites popular was the fact that anyone could participate. This was not a religion reserved for the rich and powerful; it also appealed to women, the half of society who could not take part in many of the state functions. It also stressed the individual, unlike the state religion, which focused on communal actions. In addition, the Mysteries promoted the possibility of an afterlife. Through successive initiations, one could be reborn, like the crops that Demeter sowed. This is different from the Homeric legends and hymns, which viewed the afterlife as one of pain and suffering. Demeter and Persephone became models for posthumous salvation. After the first day of sacrifices, the initiates remained at home and fasted, only taking in a barley-water drink called kykeon, flavored with pennyroyal. During their procession to Eleusis, the initiates shouted obscenities in the form of abusive joking to honor Iambe, an old woman who had made Demeter smile after the loss of her daughter. Rhythmic shouts were also raised during the procession, and some viewed it as a reference to Dionysus. Once arriving at the Hall of Initiation, the priest would show the sacred objects to the initiates. During the ceremony in the dark hall, a light revealed the birth of the divine child Persephone.

Spring Follows Winter The cult of Demeter and the Eleusinian Mysteries revolved around the goddess of agriculture and her rites of fertility. The story involved the kidnapping often called the rape, of her daughter, Persephone, by Hades, lord of the Underworld. Demeter searched frantically for her, and during this time, the land became barren due to her not caring about whether there were crops or not. She arrived at Eleusis, where she was befriended by King Celeus’s daughters and taken into the palace, where she nursed the king’s son. She revealed herself to the local population, who constructed a temple for her before she left to continue her wandering. Seeing the barrenness of the land, Zeus persuaded Hades to allow Persephone to return to the upper world eight months out of the year and remain with Hades for the remaining four months. That arrangement satisfied Demeter, so she once again allowed the fertility of the world to occur. She sowed the first grains of wheat, her symbol, in the Rharian plain and told Celeus the secrets of her rites and mysteries.

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The city became important during the Reign of the Thirty Tyrants in Athens in 403; after their expulsion, the tyrants were allowed to go to Eleusis with their families. This in turn allowed Eleusis to become separate and autonomous, except that the temple of Demeter and its Mysteries were open to all of Attica. Once at Eleusis, these individuals agreed to give up their eligibility to hold public office, but they did retain their Athenian citizenship and property. Two years later, in 401, Eleusis was retaken by the Athenians and incorporated once again into the city-state. While the city of Eleusis lost its political freedom and position, it retained its religious status for over a thousand years. From the time of Mycenae, when the first religious rites were celebrated there, until 396 CE when the rites were disbanded by the Roman emperor Theodosius, Eleusis was closely connected with the Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone. See also: Athens; Attica; Mystery Religion; Religion; Social Status; Temples

Further Reading

Cosmopoulos, Michael B. 2015. Bronze Age Eleusis and the Origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries. New York: Cambridge University Press. Grant, Michael. 1989. The Rise of the Greeks. New York: Collier Books. Mylonas, George E. 1961. Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Stockton, D. L. 1991. The Classical Athenian Democracy (Reprinted with corrections). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Elis The city of Elis lay on the northwestern side of the Peloponnese on the Ionian coast, with Achaea to the north, Arcadia to the east, and Messenia to the south. Its dialect is similar to that of Aetolia of the northwestern subgroup. Elis became the most important and powerful city in the district. The region is mountainous, with offshoots of the Arcadian highlands. In the north, the district of Koile (Coele), meaning hollow, probably referred to its valleys formed by the Peneus and Ladon rivers, which provided excellent pasturage for cattle and horses. In the middle was Pisatis, where the city of Pisa existed, and in the south was Triphylia, the land of the Three Tribes (tria phylia), the Amphidolians, Marganian, and Letrinians. With the invasion of the Dorians, Elis supposedly fell to the Aetolians under Oxylus. The Eleans became the dominant tribe in the region and successfully controlled Elis. Elis soon became protector and held the right to officiate and celebrate the Olympic Games since Olympia was in its territory. The government of Elis may have been democratic, with a council and popular assembly. Elis sided with Sparta in its attempt to break the power of Argos, while Pisa allied itself with Argos. There were probably several reasons why Pheidon of Argos campaigned across the Peloponnese to help Pisa in its attempt to take control of the Olympic Games, such as to break the power of Sparta and control the northern Peloponnese. The campaign probably occurred in 668, when Sparta, Elis’s ally, was preoccupied with Messenia and the helots. Using the Pisan claim

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to the games as a pretext, Pheidon moved to exert control over the northern P­eloponnese while Sparta was busy with these internal issues. This campaign would have diverted help from Elis from reaching Sparta, allowing the conflict to continue. Pisa eventually gained a brief control of the games. Elis and Pisa would fight for nearly two centuries, off and on, for control of the Olympic Games until 572, when the Eleans successfully destroyed Pisa. For the next two centuries, peace continued. While Elis was an ally of Sparta and a member of the Peloponnesian League, it continued to run its own affairs without much interference. Never pursing a course outside the region, the city and the district remained at peace until the Peloponnesian War. The Spartans during the early part of the war were concerned with Elis’s prosperity, and for its part Elis did not approve of the Peace of Nicias in 421. An alliance of Argos, Achaea, Elis, and Athens against Sparta in 418 led to the Battle of Mantinea in the Peloponnese. After a truce in the early part of the year, which was not favorable to Sparta, their king, Agis, sought to redeem himself and marched north. The Argive alliance moved toward Tegea, which controlled the entry into Laconia. At the same time, Elis attacked Lepreum, which was claimed by both Sparta and Elis. With Elis removed from supporting the Argive alliance being bogged down at Lepreum, Agis could commit his forces against Argos and ravaged the area around Mantinea. The Spartans won the battle. Elis was now isolated, and Sparta turned against it and they forced them into the Peloponnesian League again. The animosity between the two continued. In 399, the Spartans ravaged Elis’s territory and deprived it of its southern area. The Spartans and Elis once again allied themselves against Arcadia in 369, and with Spartan help, Elis got the Olympic Games back again. It was a key city in the Peloponnese, and it controlled the Olympic festival, the most important Panhellenic event. See also: Games; Olympia; Olympic Games and Festivals; Panhellenic Games; Sparta

Further Reading

Bourke, Graeme. 2018. Elis: Internal Politics and External Policy in Ancient Greece. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. Jeffery, L. H. 1976. Archaic Greece: The City-States c. 700–500 B.C. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Robinson, E. W. 1997. The First Democracies: Early Popular Government Outside ­Athens. Stuttgart: F. Steiner. Robinson, Eric W. 2011. Democracy Beyond Athens: Popular Government in Classical Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For further discussion of the city, see “Ancient Ilis,” Olympia Greece, http://www .olympia-greece.org/olympics/ilis.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Ephesus The city of Ephesus lay on the southern side of the estuary of the Cayster River, near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Ionia region. Since the M ­ editerranean Sea does not have tides to clear the silt deposited by rivers, the coastline expanded

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Ruins of temple of Artemis, at Ephesus. (Goldikan/Dreamstime.com)

west, and at the present time Ephesus has become more of an inland settlement, farther from the coast. The city controlled the rich Colophonian plain, with its orchards, and became a major transit point for trade going both east and west. The city was well fortified on the slope of Mount Pion and about two-thirds of a mile from the later great temple, the Artemisium, dedicated to the goddess Artemis, which had its roots with the pre-Greeks. The Artemisium: Wonder of the Ancient World The city of Ephesus was famous for the Artemisium, its great temple to Artemis, which was reportedly the largest building in the Greek world. Begun in 560, the new shrine contained a statue of Artemis beneath a canopy. The building was made of marble except for the ceiling and beams made of wood, and was designed by Chersiphron and his son, Metagenes. In addition, the architect Theodorus of Samos was consulted, since he had built the temple of Hera at Samos and had expertise on building methods, since the structure was built on swampy land near the Sacred Harbor and could not be relocated due to religious traditions. The roofless edifice was long and narrow, and its interior contained numerous columns, similar to structures in Egypt and the Near East. Slender Ionic columns in a double row surrounded the exterior, while the front had three rows. The porch, or pronaos, had two additional rows of four columns behind the front entryway. The façade had a broad marble architrave. Croesus of Lydia, who was allied with Ephesus, presented the bottom drums for the front columns as a sign of friendship between Lydia and Ephesus. The Artemisium was one of the Seven Wonders of Antiquity. The temple was destroyed in 356, when Herostratus, said to have gone mad, burned it down. It was again rebuilt, even bigger this time. It is estimated that the temple was four times bigger than the Parthenon.

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According to legend, Ephesus was established by the Amazons. By the end of the Bronze Age, the city had become the leader of a local group of pre-Greek Carian cities, as implied in Hittite sources. This region was controlled occasionally by the Hittites of central Asia Minor. Androclus, the son of the Athenian king Codrus, led a group of Greek colonists who pushed the native Carians out of the city and established a colony in the eighth century, which included four tribes of Ionian citizens. The newly established city, led by kings, soon established control over the kings of other Ionian cities, which perhaps gave the local Ionian poet Homer his idea of a central leader, Agamemnon, controlling other Greek kings in a semifeudal system, for the Iliad. The city soon saw an increase in non-Ionian Greeks, who were then divided into two newly formed tribes such that its population included six tribes. The monarchy was ultimately replaced by an aristocratic oligarchy of the leading families, probably descended from the royal Basilidae families. Ephesus soon grew due to its ability to charge fees for providing sea-to-land transit for goods. The city established coins of electrum stamped with the sign of a bee during the seventh century. It continued its political growth during the early seventh century, defeating a nearby Greek town called Magnesia, near Sipylus, in the territory of Lydia. This victory and expansion were short lived, though, since the Cimmerians, a non-Greek people from southern Russia, took over Phrygia and devastated the area around Ephesus. The Cimmerians established hold in Phrygia, replacing its native kings, and constantly posed a danger in the region. Like many other Greek cities, the aristocratic families continued to rival each other for political control. One of the Basilidae, Pythagoras, overthrew the oligarchic government and established a tyranny. Like most tyrants, Pythagoras secured support from the lower classes by attacking and even executing the wealthy and taking their estates and money and then using their funds to pay for projects that provided employment and benefits to the lower classes. One of those projects was rebuilding the temple precinct to Artemis that the Cimmerians had destroyed earlier. The attacks by Pythagoras against the wealthy produced an unfavorable response from the Oracle at Delphi, which refused to support his religious endeavors. It declared his acts unsanctioned, causing him to lose power. Ephesus was ruled by a series of successive tyrants from the aristocracy. During this time (590–530), the original six tribes were abolished and five new tribes created. One of these contained all of the Ephesians from the six original tribes, while the others were now composed of other Greeks and local inhabitants, including Lydians. This was probably done to diminish the power of the local aristocrats, who controlled all of the tribes. The tyrant Melas supported establishing close relations with Croesus, the king of Lydia. This relationship was sealed in his marriage with a daughter of King Alyattes, while Croesus married an Ephesian aristocrat’s unnamed daughter. When Croesus went to war against Cyrus, Ephesus supported him instead of accepting a peace agreement with Cyrus. With Croesus’s defeat, the Ephesians attempted to negotiate with Cyrus, but it now refused and took over the region in 547. The region was now ruled by Persian satraps, or governors, with local tyrants in control of the city, such as Athenagoras and Comas under Darius I.

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The Persians under Darius built the Royal Road from Susa, one of the Persian capitals, to Sardis, and then continued onward to Ephesus. This road opened the way for Ephesian merchants to trade even more closely with the Near Eastern regions. Ephesus did not desire to join the Ionian Revolt of 499, but when the rebels landed near the town, some inhabitants joined them and helped the Athenians attack and burn Sardis. The Persians defeated the rebels in 495, and after the Greek defeat at Lade, the Ephesians massacred the sailors from Chios, thinking them pirates; the act ingratiated them with the Persians. After the Persian defeat at Salamis in 480 and the establishment of the Delian League in 478 successfully pushed the Persians out of the region, Ephesus joined the Athenian alliance, providing funds instead of ships. The city remained free until the end of the Peloponnesian War, when Sparta ceded control of Ionia, including Ephesus, to Persia in exchange for financial support against Athens. Ephesus remained under Persian control until Alexander the Great liberated it in 334 it. Under Persian rule, one of the greatest philosophers was Heraclitus, who even received an invitation by King Darius (whom he knew) to reside at his court in Susa; he refused the offer. The work On Nature was a collection of his sayings gathered by his pupils and deposited in the Temple of Artemis. Heraclitus, born around 535, came from the royal clan of Ephesus through his father, Blason, which still had religious duties for the cult of Artemis, while Heraclitus renounced his religious functions in favor of his brother. He apparently was a loner and stood aloof even from his fellow philosophers. Like Anaximander of Miletus, Heraclitus viewed the world as always changing and rife with conflict between opposites. He is even credited with the saying that all things are in flux, so “you cannot step into the same river twice.” This was contrary to other philosophers, who argued that reality was unchanging. He believed that all of these tensions were part of an overall unity, linked with each other to create a harmonious single and cohesive balance and order. He called this unifying idea the word of Logos, which governs all things. The Logos, seen as godlike, unifies all aspects and opposites and was symbolized by an eternal fire, which fills the heavens and even the sea, and earth becomes fire so that it constantly persists. This Logos has Reason, and humans, being closest to the eternal fire, have the highest reason. The Logos, then, is the font of human law and reason. All individuals must move beyond their own inertia to find themselves and the truth (the real meaning of life). Ephesus had been a crucial transit point between the Greek West and the Near East. Maintaining friendly relations with both Persia and Greece, the city prospered as an economic center. The fame it earned thanks to its religious shrine ensured that Ephesus maintained its preeminent position, especially after the Persians destroyed the shrine of Apollo at Miletus after the Ionian Revolt. See also: Athenian Empire; Delian League; Ionian League; Ionian Revolt; Miletus; Persia; Persian Wars; Religion; Temples

Further Reading

Clayton, Peter A., and Martin Price. 1988. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. London: Routledge.

Ephors 213 Kahn, Charles H., and Heraclitus. 1979. The Art and Thought of Heraclitus: An Edition of the Fragments with Translation and Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mac Sweeney, N. 2013. Foundation Myths and Politics in Ancient Ionia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. McDonough, Y. Z., and D. Putra. 2020. Where Were the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? New York: Penguin Workshop. For a general overview of the city, see Starkweather, Helen, “Exploring Ancient Ephesus,” Smithsonian Magazine, January 2008, https://www.smithsonianmag.com /travel/exploring-ancient-ephesus-11753958/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Ephors The Ephor was a magistrate of Sparta charged with protecting the people against the absolute power of the king. The Spartan constitution had a variety of offices, which provided a check on each other to prevent anyone from becoming too powerful. Many Greeks viewed Sparta as the perfect government since it employed elements of monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy without any one part having too much power. The democracy was seen in its assembly, which voted on nearly all important elements of politics and society. The oligarchy was represented by the Council of Elders, or Gerousia, while the monarchy was witnessed in its two kings, each from a family supposedly descended from Heracles. In addition, the Spartan constitution had executive, legislative, and judicial branches interspersed in the three forms of government. Another part of the executive branch was the Ephor, who also acted as part of the judicial branch. The Ephors were chosen by and from the Spartiate, or male citizens with full rights. The Ephor was an ancient office, with some historians asserting that it went back to the great Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus, who had established the form of government in the 750s. In its final form, possibly even early on, there were five Ephors, each elected for one year, and each Ephor could hold that office only once in their lifetime. The word ephor means “overseer” or “inspector,” and Ephors became overseers of the whole state. Their power and authority allowed them to balance out the power of other magistrates, including the two kings and the Council of Elders, judicially call out every magistrate, and require them to give an account of their acts and morals. The chair of the Ephors was also the president of the Popular Assembly, with the authority and duty to call meetings of the Assembly for deliberations and voting. The power of the Ephors extended to controlling nearly all aspects of Spartan life. They took over the state’s finances, especially after the Peloponnesian War, when Sparta began to receive gold and silver from the conquests by Lysander, its general. They could deliver judicial decrees or verdicts on the law courts, with jurisdiction over all of Sparta. Ephors controlled the religious life of Sparta by declaring the morals that needed to be upheld, and they oversaw the public games. They had the power to declare war and peace, limit debate in the Assembly, deploy troops, and make alliances. Since their power was in many ways absolute, they could not be prosecuted during their term, but they were liable for prosecution

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after they left office for acts committed during their term. In addition, since their power was almost like that of an absolute monarch, they were limited on only one yearlong term in office so that they could not become what they were supposed to prevent—a tyrant or king. Ephors were elected at the time of the winter solstice in late December, which was also the beginning of the Spartan year. There are some differences of opinion among the ancient authors as to when it was established. The earliest writers, Herodotus and Xenophon, indicated that Lycurgus created the office as part of the constitution that he established when the Spartans were fighting the Messenians and both kings were required to be absent. The Ephors then acted in their place and also provided a counterweight to maintain a proper balance. Plutarch, writing in 130 CE, indicated that they were established about 150 years after Lycurgus by the Spartan king Theopompus so as to preserve the monarchy, saving it from itself since he feared that the Spartans would come to resent the hereditary power if it were absolute. The office may in fact predate all of these, since the five Ephors seem to correlate with the five villages that made up the ancient city and the fact that one was elected in each village to oversee its structure. They may have been in charge of the markets or citizenship rolls in each village. They could give orders to the king except on the battlefield. In addition, they could bring charges against the king for his actions on the battlefield, even if victorious. The Ephors also maintained the moral character of the state. At the beginning of their tenure, they could declare war on the helots (state serfs), so that if one was killed by a Spartan, the act would not be seen as homicide. In addition, they often declared that Spartans were to shave off their beards and mustaches in order to show their dominance in local matters. The office was also found in other cities, such as Thera and Cyrene with evidence of its existence there in 632. See also: Ecclesia; Gerousia; Monarchy; Sparta

Further Reading

Grant, Michael. 1989. The Rise of the Greeks. New York: Collier Books. Jones, A. H. M. 1968. Sparta. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Rawson, Elizabeth. 1991. The Spartan Tradition in European Thought. Oxford, UK: ­Clarendon Press. Xenophon, and V. Gray. 2007. Xenophon on Government. Cambridge: Cambridge ­University Press.

Epidamnus The ancient Greek city Epidamnus (or Epidamnos, and renamed Dyrrachium in 229 by the Romans), began as a colony jointly established in 627 by Corcyra and Corinth. The colony was originally part of Corinth’s expansion under its tyrant, Cypselus. Corcyra was a colony of Corinth that worked with it in its western colonizing efforts. Corinth also supplied the colonists, and its leader, a common practice among the Corinthians, Phaleus, who belonged to the Heraclidae family. The colony of Epidamnus was established on the Ionic gulf, on an isthmus of a peninsula extending into the sea. It had a favorable position that commanded the

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Adriatic, and it had fertile land to help feed its population. With its rich resources, the colony prospered; it soon acquired wealth and its population grew. The city acted as a transit point for trade both along the coast and inland, even reaching to the Black Sea. The term Dyrrachium from the Greek form Dyrrachion appears on Greek coins from the fifth century, appears to apply to the rough and ragged peninsula on which the city was built. The Corinthians believed that their daughter cities, like most Greek cities, had an obligation to respect the mother city. For instance, Corinth believed that Corcyra should show respect and that its granddaughter city, Epidamnus, should as well. Corinth felt that it had a right to interfere in the business of Epidamnus since it had provided its leader. For the most part, however, Corinth did not interfere extensively with its daughter and granddaughter cities. In fact, Corinth and Corcyra were often hostile with each other due to the political refugees that had fled Corinth to escape to Corcyra under Cypselus. Epidamnus had a tight and closed oligarchy, which ruled the city. It had a single magistrate, termed the archon, who commanded its administration. Although this was unusual for the Greek city-states, it was not unique since some other cities also had a single magistrate to oversee the city. The tribes were led by chiefs or phylarchs, who formed a council that kept the aristocracy even closer knit and shielded from outside influence. These phylarchs were probably hereditary, passed from generation to generation. It appears that the middle class of merchants, artisans, and traders were viewed as peasants and not given any political rights. All of this led to occurrences of social and political upheaval. In the period just before the Peloponnesian War, civil war broke out in Epidamnus, with unintended consequences. With the overthrow of the oligarchs by the middle class, who called themselves democrats, the political structure changed. The single archon remained, but the phylarchs were now replaced by a larger senate, elected by the people. The new government was liberal in that it allowed resident aliens to be citizens. The city had always been an important trading center, with contacts far and wide, including east across the mountains to the Black Sea. This trade was crucial for maintaining the wealth of the city. The new government continued the policy of trading with the local Illyrian tribes, controlled by an official agent. This may have been to prevent too much contact and chances for political faction, which in fact occurred anyway. When the oligarchs were driven out of Epidamnus, some took refuge with the Illyrians and exhorted them to attack the city. Epidamnus apparently was not defensively strong, so it appealed for help from its mother city, Corcyra. The city of Corcyra had a powerful navy, but it was also neutral. This neutrality was not necessarily because of any altruistic philosophy—indeed, many Greeks as related by ancient historians indicated that Corcyra remained neutral so that it could continue its age-old practice of piracy. Corcyra had become very powerful and wealthy, with the third-largest navy in the Greek world, behind Athens and Corinth. The ambassadors from Epidamnus were rebuffed in their request for help, in part because Corcyra probably was not interested in becoming involved in the internecine war. Epidamnus at this point sent delegates to Delphi to enquire whether it should appeal to its grandmother city, Corinth, and place itself under

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Corinthian control and protection. The Oracle at Delphi indicated that the city should indeed do this, and so it did. Corinth, which had continual issues with Corcyra, now saw this as an opportunity to become involved even more directly with Corcyra and its affairs. Given its historical ties with Epidamnus, Corinth was only too glad to help, sending troops to help defend Epidamnus against the aristocrats and Illyrians and to insult Corcyra to boot. New colonists were sent by the Corinthians over land to Epidamnus. The aristocrats, who had been thrown out or exiled by the citizens of Epidamnus into the nearby vicinities populated by nomadic tribes, hearing of the arrival of the new Corinthian colonists, sent delegates to Corcyra to complain about their exile and request aid, pointing to their kindred families. At this point, the Corcyraeans decided to help the exiled aristocrats and sent a fleet of twenty-five warships to Epidamnus, demanding that the city rid itself of the Corinthians and accept the aristocrats back. When the city rejected these demands, the Corcyraeans began to besiege it in aid of the local Illyrians and aristocrats. Corinth was promptly notified, and a new force was raised with seventy-five ships and 2,000 hoplites, as well as other light-armed troops, and sent there to relieve the city. At the Battle of Leucimme in 435, the Corinthian relief force was defeated. At the same time, indeed supposedly on the same day, the defenders at Epidamnus were in desperate need and surrendered the city. The Corinthians were held as hostages, with the other settlers sold into slavery or executed. Corcyra was now in a good position to exploit the situation, moving to control the area. The Corcyraeans sailed to Leucas, another Corinthian colony, and plundered the area. They continued to harass the area on the western coast of Illyria. Corinth, hurt in this endeavor, now decided to raise a new force, and Corcyra made overtures to Athens to join the Delian League. The history of Epidamnus was unknown for nearly a century after this event, until in 312, the Illyrian king Glaucias became master of the city, with help from Corcyra. It appears that the city did not remain allied with Corcyra after the events of 435. In fact, the two cities probably continued their age-old animosity, resulting in continual conflict. Epidamnus is an example of how a small city on the periphery of the spheres of power often provoked a greater crisis, in this case a world war amongst the Greeks, the Peloponnesian War. The city was often typical of other Greek cities, in that it suffered from civil strife, usually between oligarchs or aristocrats and democrats or tradesmen. This conflict resulted in a revolution where the defeated party (in this case the oligarchs) were ousted and attempted to revive themselves by inviting a foreign power to help. The result of these machinations was to bring two superpowers, Corinth and Athens, into conflict with each other, which also drew in Corinth’s allies, Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. See also: Corcyra; Corinth; Peloponnesian War; Tyrants

Further Reading

De Ste. Croix, G. E. M. 1972. The Origins of the Peloponnesian War. London: Duckworth. Kagan, Donald. 1969. The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell ­University Press.

Epidaurus 217 For more information about the battle of Sybota and Epidamnus’s position before the Peloponnesian War see the Kosmos Society, “The Battle of Sybota, Part I: The Siege of Epidamus and Embassies to Athens,” January 11, 2021. https://kosmossociety.chs.harvard.edu/the-battle-of-sybota-part-1-the-siege-of-epidamnus -and-embassies-to-athens/ (accessed March 8, 2022).

Epidaurus The Greek city of Epidaurus lies on the Argolid Peninsula. Although influenced by nearby Argos, it was not controlled by it. Epidaurus had a small territory and was bordered on the east by the Saronic Gulf, on the north by Corinth, on the west by Argos, and on the south by Troezen. It was well placed and easily defended because it was on a small peninsula jutting from a narrow plain, with mountains surrounding its landward side. It had a well-protected harbor north of its peninsula, while to the south there was an open roadstead. Ultimately, the town covered both the north and south shores of the peninsula, with its small promontory on the southern side of the northern harbor. The ancient author Strabo indicated that Epidaurus lay in the recess of the Saronic Gulf, shut in by high mountains and looking to the northeast. A road led from the west at Argos, which provided the city with its chief link to the Saronic Gulf and which Epidaurus controlled. The city also lay near the island of Aegina, which it colonized, and the other islands of the Saronic Gulf, as well as being opposite the harbors of Athens. The land was settled by the Ionians, and in this conjunction, several traditions indicate that the non-Dorian Pityreus (Ionians) had surrendered the region of Epidaurus to Deiphontes, the son-in-law of Temenos, king of Argos, during the third migration or invasion of the Dorians into the Peloponnese. Pityreus and his fellow citizens then moved to Athens. The city of Epidaurus was then ruled by kings, supposedly descendants from Deiphontes. Afterward, the city was governed by oligarchs, a common successor to monarchs. The city was then ruled by tyrants who seized control. One of these was Prokles, whose daughter Melissa was married to Periander, the tyrant of Corinth. Periander murdered his wife Melissa, and her father Prokles, who later may have roused the anger of his grandsons against him. The tyrant of Corinth attacked his father-in-law, defeating him, taking him captive, and conquering Epidaurus. Afterward, the city reverted to an oligarchy that governed it throughout the Classical Age. Due to its oligarchic form of government, Epidaurus became an ally of Sparta in opposition to its mother city Argos, which had become a democracy. There were magistrates called Arytnae and a council of 180 members. The city had been a member of the Amphictyony of Calauria, based on the island of Poros. This league was comprised by maritime city-states on the Saronic and Argive gulfs, which included such cities as Aegina and Orchomenus in Boeotia. During the rule of the tyrant Pheidon of Argos, Epidaurus, like Sikyon, Torizen and Aegina, briefly came under its control. Later, during the Peloponnesian War, Argos attempted to take the city but was defeated. What is most famous about Epidaurus was its devotion to Asclepius, the god of healing, with many facilities dedicated to him. Asclepius, the son of Apollo, was

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Temple of Asklepios at Epidaurus. (Sergii Figurnyi/Dreamstime.com)

renowned for being a healer. His sanctuary, the Ascelpeion, was five miles away from Epidaurus and became the most celebrated healing center or hospital in antiquity. The idea behind the curing process was holistic, including religion. The Asclepion was located in a healthy environment to ensure that the human body was well cared for. In addition, patients’ emotional and psychological well-being was crucial, to allow them to help heal themselves. Patients undertook a purification process of bathing and purging, eating an appropriate diet for several days and purging their emotions through contemplation and art. This process was called the Katharsis, and its derivative, catharsis. The next stage was dream therapy, where patients slept in the Enkoimeterion, a dormitory, where they were often given drugs and put into a deep hypnotic state, where they were probably open to suggestion and were supposed to be visited by Asclepius. The idea was that the god would prescribe a regimen of treatment for the patient to undergo. Upon waking, the patient would describe what was revealed to the priest, who then gave the treatment. The site at Epidaurus had mineral springs nearby, which were probably used for healing as well. Epidaurus was also famous for its ancient theater, located near the Asclepion. It was built into the mountainside and looked toward the sea. It was constructed at the end of the fourth century and designed by Polykleitos the Younger. It had an auditorium with a lower and upper seating area that accommodated about 14,000 spectators. The lower section was reserved for important people, and its design afforded excellent acoustics (anyone sitting in any seat could hear the smallest whisper). The circular orchestra created the center of the theater. It was sixty feet in diameter and allowed clear viewing by all spectators. Behind the orchestra was the staging building, which was probably two stories high.

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Ancient theater at Epidaurus. (Stockbksts/Dreamstime.com) See also: Asklepios; Mystery Religion; Olympian Religion; Peloponnese

Further Reading

Burford, Alison. 1969. The Greek Temple Builders at Epidauros; A Social and Economic Study of Building in the Asklepian Sanctuary, During the Fourth and Early Third Centuries B.C. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Hartigan, Karelisa. 2009. Performance and Cure: Drama and Healing in Ancient Greece and Contemporary America. London: Duckworth. Tomlinson, R. A. 1983. Epidauros. Austin: University of Texas Press. For more information on the archaeological site at Epidaurus, see “Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus,” UNESCO: World Heritage Center: Greece, https://whc.unesco.org /en/list/491/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Epirus Epirus, a Greek kingdom in the western Balkans, was bordered by the Aetolian League in the south, Thessaly and Macedonia in the east, and the Illyrian tribes in the north. The region was often held in low regard by the classical Greek authors. For example, the historian Thucydides and the geographer Strabo indicated that the residents of the kingdom were barbarians. Even the Macedonians, who themselves were often derided by the Greeks as “not real Greeks,” viewed them as barbarians. Other ancient authors such as Pausanias, who lived in the second century CE, indicated that the Epirotes were Greek. The language of Epirus was the epichoric Northwest Greek dialect, which differed from the Dorian and Ionian dialects by lacking the dative plural and the third-person imperative and included loan words and grammar from the local non-Greek population.

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It is clear that Epirus was settled by Greek-speaking inhabitants during the Neolithic period, both along the coast by seafarers and inland by hunters and gatherers. Like the Mycenaeans of the same period, the Epirotes buried their dead in tumuli or mounds in shaft graves. It is possible that Epirus and Mycenae shared a common ancestry. Mycenaean remains have been found in Epirus, especially at the main religious sites. Unlike the Greeks on the mainland, the residents of Epirus established themselves in small villages that did not develop a polis. This allowed power to devolve into tribes, and then kingdoms acted as a buffer between Greece and the Illyrian tribes that constantly raided the area. Supposedly, there were fourteen tribes in Epirus. The Dorians (1100–1000) invaded Greece from the north, moving through Epirus and nearby Macedonia into the western region of Greece and then down to the Peloponnese. The original Greek-speaking inhabitants were pushed farther south into the Greece mainland, with some staying in Epirus. By the Classical Age, there were three main Greek populations in Epirus—the Chaonians in the northwest, the Molossians in the center, and the Thesprotians in the south. The Chaonians located next to the Illyrians and were said to be founded by Chaon, a Trojan warrior and the brother of Helenus, the son of Priam of Troy and. Chaon and Helenus went to the court of Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles and originator of the Molossian dynasty. When Chaon died either from a hunting accident or self-sacrifice to appease the gods during an epidemic, Helenus named part of his kingdom (i.e., Northwest Epirus) after him. The Chaonians were able to combine and take over large segments of their neighbors, the Thesprotians and Molossians. They were regarded as the most famous of the tribes since at one time they ruled all of Epirus. The Chaonians constantly kept the Illyrians at bay. Thucydides indicated that their leaders were chosen annually, implying some kind of representative government. South of the Chaonians were the Molossians, who had inhabited the region since the Mycenaean times. In their mythology, the tribe descended from Molossus, one of the three sons of Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles and Deidamia, with Andromache, Hector’s widow and Helenus’s sister-in-law. Molossus inherited the kingdom of Epirus after the death of Helenus. Like the Chaonians and Thesprotians, the Molossians were among the most important of the fourteen tribes. The most famous of the Molossian kings was Pyrrhus (318–272), but probably the most famous Molossian person in general was Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great. When King Philip II of Macedon married Olympias, many Macedonians resented her and her son, viewing them as barbarians and non-Greek unlike the Macedonians and viewed them as uncivilized. The final tribe that controlled the south was the Thesprotians. Homer mentions Thesprotia as being friendly with Ithaca. Most important, the Thesprotians controlled the great oracle at Dodona. Like the Molossians, the Thesprotians ruled all of Epirus after the Chaonians. According to mythology, Odysseus arrived in Thesprotia after setting out on another voyage after he initially returned to Ithaca and killed the suitors of his wife, Penelope. In Thesprotia, he married its queen, Kallidice, who offered him the region. They had a son named Polypoetes, and Odysseus stayed there for several years, until Kallidice died. He then returned to Ithaca and Penelope, leaving Polypoetes to rule.

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Epirus during the Classical Age was consolidated by the Molossians when their dynasty created a central political state in 370. They were able to expand their political control over the region and united with Macedon as they protected northern Greece from the Illyrian tribes. The union of these two northern states was made more possible by the marriage of Olympias, a Molossian princess and niece of the king, Arybbas, to King Philip II of Macedon. Olympias was supposedly a descendent of Achilles, who also came from Epirus. Olympias’s brother, Alexander I, became king of Epirus when his uncle, Arybbas, was defeated and driven into exile by Philip in 342 who then placed Alexander on the throne. Once king, Alexander remained friendly with Philip even after his sister went to him to try to get him to make war on Macedon in retaliation for Philip repudiating her. Alexander declined and even made an alliance with Philip, which was sealed when he agreed to marry Philip’s daughter Cleopatra, the sister of Alexander the Great. It was during this wedding that Philip was assassinated by a Macedonian Pausanias who had been hurt by Philip. The most important part of Epirus concerned its religious history of Dodona. The historian Herodotus indicated that the oracle of Zeus was the second oldest in Greece next to the Oracle of Delphi. The sanctuary was situated in the remote region of Epirus, away from the traditional city-states of Greece. It was situated on the eastern slopes of Mount Tomaros at a strategic pass. The Thesprotians controlled it first, and then it was taken over by the Molossians. Situated in the forests in a sacred grove, the priests and priestesses would receive guidance by listening to the winds and chimes and blowing of the leaves. Local springs and rivers provided abundant water and pasturage for the local population. The site was in existence at least during the Mycenaean or Late Bronze Age. During the Archaic period, evidence exists of bronze offerings from Greek cities, as well as materials from the local Illyrians. During this time, the oracle was used mainly by the upper Illyrian tribes; only after 600 did the lower tribes begin to use it. Deucalion, the son of Prometheus, supposedly established Dodona as an oracle named Zeus Naios, meaning “Zeus of the springs.” Homer in his Iliad mentions the area (Dodona) as Zeus, lord of Dodona which is from afar in wintry Dodona. Clearly, during this time (about 750), Dodona in the far extremity of the Greek world was known. The oracle had priests, but no priestesses are mentioned. Odysseus in the Odyssey is said to have been among the Thesprotians, and he asked the oracle at Dodona whether he should return to Ithaca openly or in disguise; the response was the latter. In the Roman version of the tale of Jason and the Argonauts, the ship Argo had the gift of prophecy due to it being made from a piece of oak coming from Dodona. There were several versions of the Oracle’s origin. In one of them, Herodotus indicated that a black dove from Egypt flew to Dodona and spoke in human form, and the people there created the shrine to Zeus. The earliest worship probably predates the Greeks, going as far back as the third millennium, and was dedicated to the Great Goddess, the goddess of fertility and abundance, a common deity in antiquity. In Greek mythology, this goddess became Gaia or the Earth and resided in the sacred groves.

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It appears that the worship of Gaia took place in the open during the Classical Age. Only after the fourth century, when the League of Molossians took over, did they create permanent temples. The shrine reached its political zenith under Pyrrhus (319–272), when it became the religious and political center of the Epirot Alliance. See also: Dorian Invasions; Geography; Macedon; Scythians; Troy

Further Reading

Eidinow, Esther. 2007. Oracles, Curses, and Risk Among the Ancient Greeks. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hammond, N. G. L. 1967. Epirus: The Geography, the Ancient Remains, the History and Topography of Epirus and Adjacent Areas. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. For the story of Dodona in Epirus, see Sakoulas, Thomas, “Dodona,” Ancient-Greece. org, https://ancient-greece.org/history/dodona.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Etruscans Greek interaction with the Italian region centered on two main cultures, Carthaginian in the south and Etruscan in the north. Contacts with the Etruscans go back to the early post-Mycenaean period, when Greek traders, operating since the early Mycenaean period, continued to trade with the local Italian inhabitants, especially buying tin used in the making of bronze. In northern Italy, the Etruscans became one of the dominant political forces in the region. People’s interactions with the Etruscans varied depending upon the situation and the period. When the Greek states engaged in trade, the Etruscans had good relations with them, but when they began to form colonies in Italy, the Etruscans took that as an attempt to reduce their power, which often led to political and military disputes.

Etruscan tomb painting. (Perseomedusa/Dreamstime.com)

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An Unexplained Language The Etruscan language is an unsolved mystery, with some affinity with dialects in Asia Minor, especially at Lemnos. Their language does not appear to be of Indo-European descent like Greek, but it may have been more akin to indigenous Mediterranean. This development does not allow the version of events by either Herodotus or Dionysius to be favored above the other. The Etruscans may have been driven out of Asia Minor by invaders speaking the Indo-European dialect and moved west into Italy, as related by Herodotus. Conversely, they could have been part of the indigenous population that had a similar language base as those in Asia Minor, but were present already in Italy, as Dionysius of Halicarnassus asserted. The Phoenicians brought their alphabet to Italy, which the Etruscans adopted creating their own alphabet. Ultimately, twenty letters existed in the Etruscan language, which became the forerunner of the Latin, Oscan, and other Italian alphabets. From a language perspective, the Etruscan tongue may have been indigenous or it may have been imported.

The Etruscans inhabited the part of Italy mainly north of the Tiber River to the Arno River, corresponding to the modern region of Tuscany. Their origins are clouded in mystery, with ancient authors differing about where they precisely came from. In the fifth century, Herodotus indicated that they came from Lydia in Asia Minor and migrated to Italy before the Mycenaean or Heroic Age, while during the Roman period, the antiquarian Dionysius of Halicarnassus stated that they were indigenous to northern Italy, a view currently supported by archaeological evidence. The reason for Herodotus viewing them as immigrants stems mainly from their language, which was different than that of the local Latins, forerunners to the Romans. Etruscan language, culture, and political development clearly distinguished these people from the Greeks, and even from other Italians. Archaeology helps explain and elaborates on Herodotus’s view of the Etruscan culture. Their proximity to the coast allowed interaction with the Greeks, and the major Etruscan cities were at Caere, Tarquinii, Veii, Volaterrae, and Vulci. It appears that the Etruscans then moved inland, establishing cities at Arretium, Clusium, and Perugia in modern Umbria in the Tiber valley. They then spread eastward beyond the Apennines. Support for the idea that the Etruscan language was indigenous can be seen from their cultural remains, which were unbroken from the earlier Italian Villanovan or Iron Age culture in Etruria; this attested that their origin was not from immigration from other parts of the Mediterranean. Their tombs, however, show a sudden influx of Greek material or influence, probably from their commercial interactions, and this may show a willingness of the elites to accept new and foreign ideas. It is not clear if the general population followed suit or if Greek culture prevailed. The various cities and tribes were independent during the immediate postMycenaean or Heroic Age, but by the seventh century, they had consolidated into the society now called the Etruscans, where they had developed their own distinct culture and beliefs. Archaeology provides the clearest examples of their cultural remains, especially in tombs that contain jewelry, sculpture, and paintings. These

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paintings, especially from the city of Tarquinii, show a cultural view that differed from Greek culture, where the Underworld is dark and fatalistic. Rather, the Etruscans show scenes of banqueting, music, hunting, racing, and dancing, promoting a general sense of merriment. Herodotus in his description indicated that men and women were often together in public, indicating that the latter had a higher social status than in Greece. For example, Etruscan women were permitted to sit next to their husbands at banquets, own personal possessions, watch sporting events with men, inherit property, and even retain their own surnames when married. These scenes are represented in sculpture and grave paintings and may in fact point to a more liberal view of women by the Etruscans than by the Greeks— one that Herodotus found alien and distasteful. In the area of craftsmanship, their products, especially jewelry, metalwork, and household goods, circulated throughout Italy and were greatly admired. Examples include the famous She-Wolf in Rome, symbol of the Roman state used throughout its history (and even today) and the Chimaera of Arezzo, (a fire-breathing creature), a bronze statue that some art historians have indicated is the best example of Etruscan art; especially noteworthy were their terra-cotta creations, many of which adorned their temples. The Spartans exported pottery to Etruria from the mid-sixth century until the mid-fifth century. After this time, they did not expand on their arts as other cities did. After Sparta’s contact with the Etruscans diminished, Athens took over, supplying the Etruscans with red-figured pottery, reaching as far north as the Po River valley. The Etruscans supplied Athens with metalworks. The Greeks after 600 attempted to establish more colonies in the west, which led them to conflict with the Etruscans. Allied with the Carthaginians, the Etruscans did not wish to see an increase in Greek colonies in central and northern Italy. The Phocaeans, who had colonized Massalia (Marseille), also pushed for more colonies in Spain and on Corsica at Alalia. The Carthaginian and Etruscan fleet destroyed the Phocaean fleet off Alalia in 535; although victorious, the Phocaeans had lost a large number of ships and decided to evacuate the island of Corsica and sought refuge in Rhegion in southern Italy. The Etruscans took over Corsica, while Carthage controlled Sardinia. The Etruscans prevented Greek settlements from moving into the north of Italy, while maintaining trade associations with both Carthage and the Greeks via the southern cities. It was mostly in their political life that the Greeks came into contact with the Etruscans, who had dominated northern Italy by the seventh century and in the sixth century began to move south of the Tiber River into Campania, where they established the city of Capua around 600. Unlike the completely independent cities of Greece, the Etruscans had a confederation of independent cities based upon a common religious system centered at Volsinii. Around 550, they reached the zenith of their power, controlling most of the Italian peninsula from the Po River in the north to Capua in the south; this even included Rome, where they had even taken over the monarchy. The last Roman kings were the Etruscan Tarquins, who were driven out in 509. Their power began to wane soon after a naval battle off Cumae in 474, when the Greek forces of Syracuse and Cumae combined to defeat them. Cumae had been

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founded in the eighth century just south of the Etruscan border and was in constant conflict with the Etruscans. In 504, Cumae defeated the Etruscans, but they still retained power and raised a fleet in 474 to retaliate against Cumae. Hiero I of Syracuse received a request from Cumae, and together with other Greek cities, he moved to keep the Etruscans out of the Bay of Naples. The defeat at Cumae caused the Etruscans to lose their preeminent influence and power in southern Italy. Their power was further depleted by the Romans and Samnites, who pushed them north of the Tiber, and finally by the Celts, who in the late fifth century broke Etruscan power in the north. Their final major defeat occurred when Rome took the nearby city of Veii in 396, ending their threat to the new power in central Italy. The Etruscans were not a consolidated league like Rome and they were not like the independent city-states of Greece, so when Rome began its conquests in the fourth and third centuries against individual cities, the Etruscans could not mount a formidable defense, and Rome ultimately conquered the Etruscans in Etruria and absorbed them. The Etruscans imparted to the Romans many of their religious attributes. For example, the Roman temples differed from Greek temples in that they had a frontal approach, with steps only ascending in the front, as opposed to the Greek style, with stairs all around. The cella (room) contained a cult statue in the back of the temple, which was approached from the front porch. This frontal axis displayed an altar outside the temple, followed by stairs up and through a colonnade, with an inscription overhead naming the god or goddess, and then into the enclosed walled room in the rear. Like the Greek temples, the Roman temples were seen as houses for the gods when they visited and in which their offerings could be stored for later use. The Etruscans acted as a strong transmitter of Greek culture to the Romans before the fifth century. See also: Carthage; Cyme; Magna Graecia; Navy; Rome; Syracuse

Further Reading

Bonfante, Larissa. 1990. Etruscan. Berkeley: University of California Press. De Grummond, Nancy Thomson, and Erika Simon. 2006. The Religion of the Etruscans. Austin: University of Texas Press. Etruscan News Online. n.d. http://www.umass.edu/etruscannews/ (accessed May 18, 2021). For information on Etruscan art, see Hemingway, Colette and Seán Hemingway, “Etruscan Art,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004), http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/etru/hd_etru.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Euboea Euboea is the second-largest island (after Crete) in the Aegean archipelago. A thin island just over 100 miles long, it varies from 4 to 30 miles wide and sits close to the Greek mainland, opposite Boeotia and southern Thessaly in the north and across from Attica and Athens in the south. The Euboean Sea, which separates the island from the mainland, was at one point only about 100 yards wide in the

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Euripus channel, and Euboea became a favorite landing point for vessels because it sheltered them from the rough Aegean Sea, with its rocks and violent currents on the opposite eastern side of the island. The island and its inhabitants are mentioned in Homer’s Iliad as sending ships against Troy. During the Archaic Age (750–500) the two main cities were Chalcis and Eretria on the west coast in the south; they became the two most important cities on the island. These two cities were separated by the rich fertile plain, the Lelantine, containing the Mycenaean city of Lefkandi. This settlement had flourished during the late Bronze Age, about 1150, and possessed rich copper and iron mines. Located on the west coast, the city had a good port and rich agricultural lands, allowing it to prosper. Interestingly, while most of the other Greek sites saw their commerce and society disrupted during the following period, the so-called Dark Ages, Lefkandi did not suffer; it continued its trade with the Near East, as evidenced by goods from Syria and Phoenicia. The city even had goods from Egypt during this period, perhaps by way of Cyprus. Lefkandi became deserted around 700, while the nearby town of Eretria had begun to flourish and increase slightly beforehand. Due to its ideal location as a sheltered region for ships and its rich copper and iron mines, the Lelantine Plain resumed its overseas trade during the period after the Mycenaean Age. This trade with the east allowed the importation of gold and silver objects, and most important, of the Phoenician alphabet at Chalcis. The two cities, Chalcis and Eretria, also cooperated with each other and sent out colonies to the west and north. Chalcis established a colony in Italy at Rhegium before 700 in a strategic location on the Sicilian or Messina Straits. In addition, they had sent the earliest Greek colonies to Sicily itself, at Naxos and then at Leontini and Catana. These sites, rich in agricultural lands and produce, would help its mother city, which suffered from a dearth of sufficient lands back home. At the same time, Eretria also established a colony in Italy at Cumae, near the Bay of Naples. The island of Euboea helped the Greeks to reestablish ties with the western Mediterranean. Chalcis and Eretria, also cooperated with the colonization of the Chalcidice peninsula on the Macedonian coastline. Chalcis established nearly thirty colonies. Again, as in the west, the colonies were developed due to the lack of arable land in the mother city and the need to export excess population to regions with rich agricultural lands. These colonies retained close ties to their mother city, exporting crops and other materials (including slaves) back home. The Lelantine Plain, the only rich agricultural lands in the region, soon sparked warfare between Eretria and Chalcis. The Lelantine War soon encompassed many of the Aegean islands. Both cities were vital for trade in the region, and many of the other Greek city-states awaited the outcome. Chalcis, situated on the narrow Euripus channel, controlled shipping between the mainland and the island, and hence access to the sea, while Eretria controlled the approach to the Aegean and some of the key islands, such as Andros, Ceos, and Tenos. Both Chalcis and Eretria soon had allies backing them. Eretria had the support of Miletus and Megara, while Chalcis was backed by Samos, Thessaly, and Corinth. This war was fought before the advent of the hoplite phalanx. Chalcis, whose name means “bronze-town,” was reputedly known for its strong bronze

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breastplate and reinforced cavalry, including some members from Thessaly. Eretria was also known for its cavalry, as it could put over 600 horse and 3,000 infantry troops on the battlefield. This bitter war became known as the first historical war in Greece. Chalcis did win an engagement with the help of the Thessalian cavalry, but it appears that neither side could claim complete victory. Eretria lost its control of Andros, but Chalcis was soon supplanted by its ally Corinth in commercial activity. It is possible that Eretria was destroyed in the war and then rebuilt, causing it to lose its importance in Greek politics. Both sides probably lost out to other Greek cities, although each continued its commercial endeavors, including colonization. Around 600, the island was controlled by the tyrant Tynnondas, probably from Boeotia and its Boeotian League. Chalcis also seems to have had its tyrants, Antileon and Phoxus, and later they were replaced by the old aristocratic rulers. Around 550, Diagoras ruled over the city of Eretria as tyrant and may have helped Pisistratus in his takeover of Athens. The city was then ruled by oligarchs around 509 for a short time before becoming a democracy by 500. Athens under Pisistratus was friendly with Euboean cities and did not seem to encroach upon their territory or commerce. With the ouster of Pisistratus, Athens began to covet the island for its resources and location as a possible field for expansion. Chalcis, fearful of Athens taking more control over the island, supported Sparta in 507 in its attack on Athens, along with Thebes and its Boeotian League. Athens sent forces to Euboea and Boeotia, which supposedly defeated both armies on the same day. Athens annexed part of Chalcis and established garrison colonies known as cleruchs, who remained Athenian but controlled the region. Eretria meanwhile became closely attached to Athens and its policies. During the Ionian revolt in 499–493, Eretria, as Ionians, sent a small force with the Athenians to help the cities of western Asia. Remembering the support that they had received from Miletus during the Lelantine War, Eretria sent five warships to help the city. With the Athenians, it burned the capital of Sardis, but the Eretrian general was killed and the remaining Eretrians and Athenians went home. More important, they sent a larger force to Cyprus and defeated the Persian fleet, although the island remained Persian. Together with Athens, Eretria earned the enmity of Darius I and the Persian Empire. When Darius attacked Greece in 490, his admiral, Datis, sacked and burned the city, including its recently built temple to Apollo. The male inhabitants were killed, and the women and children were deported to Persia. Those who had fled the city hid in Oropus, on the eastern shore, and returned and reestablished the city. Ten years later, the Persians under Xerxes I returned, and Eretria again defended Greece. The Eretrians took part in the Battle of Artemisium in 480, on the northern cape of the island. The Greek fleet consisted of 271 triremes, and a Spartan army was camped across the straits at Thermopylae. The two needed each other—if the army lost Thermopylae, the Persians could cross to Euboea and attack the navy, and if the navy fell, the Persians could send a force to the rear of Thermopylae. The Greek fleet was able to attack many of the stragglers on the first two days of attacks, but on the third day, the Persians pushed back the Greek fleet, which fled. Although they were not able to hold back the Persians, the

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skirmish did buy time for the Greeks to regroup at Salamis. The following year, the Eretrians sent forces to Plataea to help defeat the Persians. After the war, the island-cities were rebuilt, but their influence had already declined. During the rise of the Athenian Empire, the cities of Euboea were absorbed and paid taxes. Euboea tried to exert its independence by rebelling in 446, but Athens, led by Pericles, retook the island, capturing the city of Histiaea in the north and populating it with Athenian settlers. During its subsequent peace treaty with Sparta, Athens was allowed to keep Euboea. During the Peloponnesian War, Euboea was in the hands of Athens until the general rebellion of Athens’ allies against Athens in 411, when it revolted and joined the Spartans. Athens would once again exert influence in the Second Delian League, holding the Thebans off. Their influence was not absolute, however, as they did not control the island as they had done. Instead, they worked with the local tyrants to keep the island and its cities pro-Athenian. Philip II of Macedon also began to wield influence over the island, and thanks to his support, Callias, the tyrant of Chalcis, became dominant on the island. But when Philip won at Chaeronea, the island under Callias became subject to Philip and Macedon. Euboea enjoyed an initial dominance in colonies and trade for a while in the early period, but its internecine wars resulted in its decline. See also: Aegina; Colonization; Corinth; Lelantine War; Persian Wars; Samos; Sardis and Lydia; Thessaly

Further Reading

Buckler, John, and Hans Beck. 2008. Central Greece and the Politics of Power in the Fourth Century BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Murray, Oswyn. 1983. Early Greece Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Robinson, E. W. 1997. The First Democracies: Early Popular Government Outside Athens. Stuttgart: F. Steiner. Sapouna-Sakellarakē, E., J. J. Coulton, and Ingrid R. Metzger. 2002. The Fort at Phylla, Vrachos: Excavations and Researches at a Late Archaic Fort in Central Euboea. London: British School at Athens. For a history of Eretria’s importance, see Mingren, Wu, “From Mycenaean to Macedon: The Prominence of Eretria in Greek Colonization,” Ancient Origins, October 8, 2019, https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/eretria-0012691 (accessed May 18, 2021).

F Family The disposition of the family in ancient Greece differed in various cities, especially Athens and Sparta, as well as according to gender. In Athens, and indeed in probably every city, a child was examined upon birth to determine if it was healthy. If not, it was permissible to leave the child outdoors in the wild or on a trash heap without incurring religious pollution or sin. The idea was that if the gods desired the child to live, it would be taken care of, like Oedipus in mythology. The child could also be exposed if it was a girl since a family would have to provide for a dowry, and her father may not have desired to do so. In Sparta, the child was examined by the elders (Gerousia), and if deformed, it would be exposed. It appears that the ancients knew of abortion, and some philosophers advocated it to prevent overpopulation. There does not seem to be evidence of contraceptives, although there was probably some form of natural family planning. A child usually had one name, and the son often took his paternal grandfather’s name. Occasionally, the son would have his name followed by his father’s name or place of birth. For example, Cimon was known as Cimon, son of Miltiades. After the child reached ten days old, the father and the rest of the family would accept the child in a formal religious ceremony, and it would be given a name; before then, the child was “not yet alive.” After that point, the child could not be exposed and would be taken care of by the family. There are numerous examples of the sentiment of love within the family in literature. In addition, grave goods show examples of a youth’s toys, dice, etc. When a child died, especially a son, it was a great time of mourning. Most of the information about education comes from Athens. The early rearing of the child until the age of six or seven took place in the home by the child’s mother and, if present, slaves and other family members. Upon reaching school age, boys would be educated in private schools under a schoolmaster. The boy was taken to school by a slave, called a paidagogus, who made sure that he went there and came home, and was not the teacher. In Athens, a boy would continue his education until age sixteen, during which time he learned writing, which was divided into reading and arithmetic. Numbers were represented by letters rather than distinct symbols. He would then learn music, which included the playing of the lyre, which he would put to poetics and musical forms, and it was in this stage that he would learn to sing. Finally, he would learn gymnastics, which included exercising in the gymnasium and palaestra, as well as learning the art of warfare, swimming, wrestling, spear throwing, and archery. In contrast, girls continued to be taught at home, including reading, writing, weaving, and spinning clothing. In Athens, when boys reached sixteen, they began to train for warfare, and their education revolved more around physical sports. They would learn how to ride

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horses, drive chariots, hunt, and wrestle. At eighteen, they then became soldiers’ youth, where they trained for two years not only in military drills but also citizenship. They would live in barracks together, probably within their tribe, wear a uniform, and be trained. They established a miniature government that met in assemblies and elected archons, generals, and judges. This gave them the training for operating in government as they continued their education by learning music, literature, rhetoric, and geometry. At Athens, youths would become full citizens at twenty, and young men became eligible for military service. The young man of this time would begin to make himself known in society. In addition to military service, he may begin to work in his father’s business or another arena. In his twenties, he may begin to experiment in sexual relations including with the opposite sex, with courtesans, or with other men. Prostitution was accepted and recognized by the state as being legal. In Sparta, a boy was taken from his family at seven and raised in the barracks, where he would learn military drills and fighting, as well as how to be stealthy and steal to reinforce this; if caught, he was beaten. Girls in Sparta learned to read and write, exercise in public, and run the home since men had to fight. The boys continued to rise through the barracks, and at eighteen they became eligible for military service. A man was given only one garment, and unlike in Athens, he rarely bathed. In Sparta, men were encouraged to marry but would not be allowed to live at home during his twenties. He would sneak home to have relations. Although he could read and write, they were not encouraged to do so. Spartan girls learned to run, wrestle, and throw the spear as well. She went naked in public dances, unlike in Athens. Young men were permitted to engage in sex with both genders, and prostitution was rare. The Spartan male married by age thirty, and women at age twenty, and celibacy was a crime. Only married men became full citizens. Those without children were not respected. Parents arranged marriages, and dowries do not seem to have been given. Young men would forcibly take his bride from her family to his home. If men still did not marry by age thirty, there appears to have been a custom where young men were put into a room with an equal number of unmarried women and they sorted it out (presumably, the women took the lead). In Sparta, and indeed all of Greece, love came after the wedding. In Athens, a similar pattern of age differentiation followed. Men tended to wait until their thirties to marry while the girls were young, usually around fourteen to sixteen. The parents, and professional matchmakers in some cases, would arrange a marriage. The man would wait until his later years to allow himself to become established. Again, love, if it occurred, would come after the wedding. Marriage was for the propagation of the family and to increase the number of citizens in the city, not for romance. As in Sparta, men in Athens could be fined if unmarried. A married man in Athens could visit courtesans without moral judgment and could even have a concubine at home. Wives were to produce lawful children to pass on the family line and property. While a woman may not like the fact that her husband had a concubine, she was still the legitimate wife, and the concubine remained the household slave when no longer of use. Adultery led to divorce only if the woman committed it. A man may divorce his wife by simply dismissing her

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without cause. The wife had a more difficult time but could divorce by seeking a ruling from an archon that the husband abused her. Divorce was also allowed if it were mutual. In Athens, the home had a variety of inhabitants. There was the husband and his wife; sometimes there was his “second wife,” or concubine. Their unmarried daughters and sons and slaves also lived in the house. Once the sons were wed, they formed their own family unit and were in effect emancipated. Usually when the sons married, they would establish a new home and family, escaping their father’s power. Although old age was feared, everyone knew it would come. Sons were required to take care of their parents when they became sick or incapacitated. Parents were still to be respected, and public opinion stressed a youth’s modesty and respect for the aged. At the death of family members, the family was obliged to bury them with reverence. The family had thus come full circle. See also: Names; Paideia; Sex; Slavery; Social Status; Sparta

Further Reading

Demand, Nancy H. 2004. Birth, Death, and Motherhood in Classical Greece. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Riddle, John M. 1992. Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. For an examination of ancient Greek daily life, see “Daily Life,” British Museum, http:// www.ancientgreece.co.uk/dailylife/home_set.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Festivals The ancient Greeks held numerous festivals, which accorded with the various gods, seasons, and other commemorations. Most of the festivals were closely related to agriculture and the seasons. With the great variety of festivals, some were more political, while others were social and economic. What follows is a brief description of the major Athenian festivals and the occasional mention of other well-known city-state festivals as they related to public celebrations. Major Sparta and Its Festivals The Hyakinthia in Sparta celebrated Apollo and his love for the mortal man Hyacinth, who was killed by a rival of Apollo. The festival lasted for three days and honored the dead. It was probably held in early summer. Also held in Sparta was the Gymnopaedia, a festival for Apollo, Artemis, and Leto lasting ten days and reportedly introduced in 668. It was held in the summertime and commemorated the memory of Sparta’s loss at Hysae to Argos. It was a time when visitors, usually shunned in Sparta, were welcomed. The Karneia was held in honor of Apollo and was celebrated from the seventh to the fifteenth of Karneus, which was associated with Metageitnion (August) in Athens. It was an important celebration to honor the military and agrarian life. This festival resulted in the Spartans not helping the Athenians at Marathon and the Spartan delay of sending forces to help Leonidas at Thermopylae.

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celebrations were in honor of Zeus, Demeter, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Dionysus, and Hephaistos. The summer months and new year began in July/August, during the month of Hekatombaion. Here, the festival to Aphrodite Pandemos was called the Aphrodisia. The festival took place in the sanctuary of Pandemos between the Asklepieion and the Propylaia, on the southwestern slope of the Acropolis. The sanctuary was purified by the offering of doves. It took place on the fourth of Hekatombaion at the beginning of the year. In fact the fourth day of each month was holy to Aphrodite. Also in this month was the festival Synoikia, to celebrate the unification of Attica. The Panathenaia was celebrated on the twenty-eighth of Hekatombaion, Athena’s birthday. Although the festival was enlarged and made prominent by the Peisistratids, it was probably of ancient origin. The name of the month, 100 cows, was in reference to the offerings to Athena. A cult statue was presented to the temple and Athena’s glory celebrated. Interestingly, the next month, Metageitnion or midsummer, August/September, did not have a major festival in Athens. The late summer, with the month Boedromion corresponding to September/October, had several important feasts. On the sixth of Boedromion, the festival of Charisteria, dedicated to the goddess Artemis, commemorated the victory at Marathon, which had been fought a few days later. This was a celebration to Artemis Agrotera, the goddess of hunting and prey, and to Enyalios, or Ares, the god of war. A total of 500 goats were sacrificed; originally the Athenians promised one goat for every Persian dead, but there were so many killed that the number 500 was settled on. During the entire third week of Boedromion and into the next was the celebration to Demeter and the Great Mysteries, initially celebrated at Eleusis but moved to Athens. They are of ancient tradition and probably existed at least from the Neolithic period. There was extensive tradition dating them to the Mycenaean period. The fall or autumn began with Pyanepsion in October/November, when the Stenia and Thesmophoria, two festivals to Demeter, took place. In other cities, this month was called Demetios, indicating the widespread celebration of the cult of Demeter. These festivals were celebrated only by women. On the ninth of Pyanepsion was the festival Stenia, also dedicated to Demeter. It was held at night, and the women insulted each other in order to distract Demeter from the loss of her daughter, Persephone. It appears that piglets were let loose during this festival, to be retrieved a few days later during the next festival. On the seventh of Pyanepsion was Pyanopsia, celebrating the birthday of Apollo. In this celebration, a procession offering fruits and vegetables occurred as in the Thargelia. This time, a young boy with both parents living carried a laurel branch, the symbol of Apollo. It was put above the sanctuary’s doorway as a sign of fertility. On the same day, the Oschophoria, a celebration to Dionysus, was held. As at Delphi, where the two gods shared the oracle and shrine, so too at Athens did the two gods share a festival day. The god was beardless and carried a branch with grapes since the festival fell at the time of vintage and wine pressing. The Chalkeia was a celebration in Athens held on the last day of Pyanepsion, a major celebration for the bronze makers taking its name from copper and bronze.

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The celebration was for Athena Ergane, the goddess of handicraft, especially spinning and weaving. Every fourth year during this festival, nine months before the Panathenaia, a giant loom was set up and maidens weaved a peplos for the goddess, which was presented at her festival. The Thesmophoria on the eleventh was an important festival lasting three days, and its rites were secret, part of Demeter and Persephone’s mysteries. It probably was related to the harvest. In Maimakterion, late November/early December, another rural festival associated with Zeus occurred, the Pompaia, which was probably related to the harvest festivals. Here, a ram was sacrificed. The end of the fall was Poseideon, December/January. In the second half of Poseideon, the rural Dionysia was celebrated in the villages around Athens. There were contests of drama and dancing, and the main procession carried a large wooden phallus with the sacrificial victim, a billy goat. On the twenty-sixth of Poseideon, the Haloa, a winter festival to Demeter, was celebrated. Its name was associated with the circular threshing floor, which may have been used as a dance floor, as still used in rural areas. It was celebrated by women, at least in the first part of the festival, and then later by men in the second part. The winter began with Gamelion, late January to mid-February. In the middle of Gamelion, near the end of January, was the festival Lenaia, dedicated to Dionysus Lenaios. The festival celebrated dramatic contests and dancing. The sacred wedding of Zeus and Hera was commemorated in the Theogamia, near the end of Gamelion. In the second week of Anthesterion in February/March, from the eleventh to the thirteenth, was the festival of Anthesteria. It was the last of the Dionysiac festivals, which had begun with the Oschophoria. This festival celebrated the fruits of the earlier festival of wine pressing as the first drinking of the new wine. On the twenty-third of Anthesterion, the Diasia was held to celebrate Zeus. The festival existed at least from the seventh century but was probably older. The festival celebrated Zeus Meilichios, not the Olympian Zeus but a god of the underworld who appeared as a large snake. From the evidence, it appears that he was a popular god in Athens. His altar was on the road to Eleusis. It is possible that he was a god related to the appeasement of society after bloodshed, and also fertility related to plowing and sowing. The late winter month of Elaphebolion, or March/April, saw Pisistratus create the City Dionysia, the great festival from the ninth to the thirteenth, where the city saw great performances in the theater. A festival to Hephaistos was probably held in Mounichion (April/May) in early spring, celebrated with torch races commemorating his giving the gift of fire to humans. On the sixth of Mounichion was a celebration to Artemis called the Hiketeria. The sixth day of each month was holy to the goddess. On the sixteenth of the month, the Mounychia festival was celebrated to honor Artemis at the Piraeus. As the time of the full moon, the sixteenth also held special meaning to Artemis, as she was originally the moon goddess. This day also commemorated the victory at Salamis, although it was fought seven months earlier in Boedromion. The great festival to Zeus Olympios, the Olympieia, was inaugurated by the sons of Pisistratus on the nineteenth of Mounichion and appears to have been associated with sports and racing. They would gain popularity during the Roman Empire, when Hadrian built the great temple to Zeus Olympios.

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In midspring, May/June, was Thargelion. Here, on the seventh, was the celebration of Apollo’s holy day, the Thargelia. An offering was presented to the god consisting of vegetables and grain. Beginning the day before with the ritual purification of Athens by expelling two scapegoats (men who took all of the evil out of the town), the festival allowed the harvest to ripen. In the last week of Thargelion, the festival of Plynteria was celebrated for Athena. It was a common Ionian festival, the feast of the bath. Here, the cult statue of Athena was washed in the sea a few days after her temple had been cleaned. Since Athena left the city to nearby Phaleron, it was an inauspicious day. This bathing custom was common to many cults for both females and males. The end of the year, in June/July when summer began, was Skirophorion. On the twelfth was a festival to Demeter called the Skira, where grain was harvested and threshed. As in the other festivals to Demeter, piglets were often thrown into the goddess’s cave as her favorite offerings. The festival to Zeus Polias, a title given to Zeus to protect the city (Polias), called the Dipolieia, named for the father of the Athenian Athena Polias, was held in the last month of the year, Skiraphorion, on the fourteenth day. This would have corresponded to sometime in earlyto-mid June. This festival was also called the Bouphonia, named for the slaying of an ox, its main event. The temple to Zeus Polias was on the Acropolis, northeast of the Parthenon. Its origins date to at least the Mycenaean period. The main ritual was the killing of an ox with a double-headed ax, a Mycenaean symbol, whereupon the ax was brought to trial, convicted, and cursed, and then thrown into the sea. The festival may have been related to pre-historic hunting. Also in the month of Skiraphorion, near the end of the year, was the festival Arrephoria, dedicated to Athena and Aphrodite. Like the mysteries of Demeter, this festival to Athena had secret rites. Two young girls would carry secret wrappings down from the Acropolis to the sanctuary of Aphrodite, deposit them, and bring two other secret wrappings to the area near the Erechtheion. It appears to have been a fertility rite. It was a festival not only to Athena but to Aphrodite. See also: Athens; Calendar; Sparta; Temples

Further Reading

Pettersson, Michael. 1992. Cults of Apollo at Sparta: The Hyakinthia, the Gymnopaidiai and the Karneia. Stockholm: Svenska Institutet i Athen. Simon, Erika. 2002. Festivals of Attica: An Archaeological Commentary. Madison: ­University of Wisconsin Press. For a discussion of the festivals of ancient Greece, see “Festivals and Games,” British Museum, http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/festivals/home_set.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Food Like that of all ancient societies, the Greek diet consisted mainly of cereals, with the addition of vegetables, fruit, dairy, and occasionally meat and fish. Cereals provided the majority of the calories during the day, and a variety existed for both humans and animals. The two major cereals were wheat and barley. There were

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Banquet scene from a fresco in Paestum. (Floriano Rescigno/Dreamstime.com)

three major types of wheat, einkorn, emmer, and spelt, which were covered or hull grains, and they required more labor since they did not thresh free of their coverings. Cultivation and hybridization of these types produced new forms with higher gluten content. Einkorn or faro, an ancient type and one of the earliest domesticated grains, is a diploid (two sets of chromosomes, as opposed to modern varieties with six sets) and has high protein content. Emmer, also called faro, an early hybrid, is tetraploid (four chromosome sets) and was more resilient than einkorn, and by the Mycenaean Age it had replaced it altogether. The final form was spelt, a hexaploid with six sets of chromosomes, which was planted in autumn, grown in the winter, and harvested in spring. Barley was probably more common in Greece since it was hardier and could be used for cattle as well. As an early domesticated crop, it could be used in animal feed and drink, as it was used in part of the ceremony for the Eleusinian mystery, where the drink was a mixture of barley and herbs. The whole barley grains or groats, dried and roasted, were mixed into porridge. This probably formed the basic meal for many families; water and herbs were often added, and occasionally grated goat cheese or honey as well, as related in the Iliad and Odyssey. In addition to grain, legumes or plants harvested for their seeds, also called pulses, were important. Some of the common legumes eaten included bitter vetch, most commonly used for fodder but also for medicine; beans, including the fava bean, used extensively and high in protein; chickpeas or garbanzo beans with high protein content and used in hummus and ground into flour; and peas and lentils, among the oldest pulse crops. Common fruits and vegetables included figs, olives, peas, onions, raisins as dessert, and the like. Since legumes could replenish the

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soil, they were regularly planted and became a dietary staple. These foodstuffs were eaten in soups or dried. Although commonly eaten at sacrifices, meat was not a common component of the diet. While sausage was made and sold in the markets, fresh cuts of meat were probably not common. Poultry was probably more common, especially chickens, which had been introduced into Europe only after the ninth century, as Homer does not mention them; but also pheasants, pigeons, and doves were raised or hunted and starlings, jays, sparrows, and other birds were trapped. Fish was probably more common and became a major staple since most Greek cities lay at or near the sea. Tuna, sardines, and anchovies were common and could be pickled and stored for longer periods of time. Dairy products, particularly cheese, were exceedingly common. The Odyssey refers to the making of cheese, and it was probably a common household product. Milk, probably goats’ milk, was drunk by peasants and used to make cheese. The Greeks, like all ancient societies, attempted to spread out their caloric intake across a variety of meals during the day. Akratismós (breakfast) probably consisted of barley bread dipped in a sauce of wine or olive oil and augmented with some olives, cheese, or figs. Some of the early literary works describe pancakes, tagenon, meaning “frying pan.” These were made with wheat flour (the best type) or spelt flour. They were often topped with honey or cheese. In the early afternoon, a lunch or ariston was eaten; it was originally the main meal, but by the Classical Age, it was more of a snack to tide people over until the main meal, dinner or deipnon. This meal was usually eaten at night and consisted of hearty food depending upon one’s status and wealth. Sometimes a snack in the late afternoon before dinner occurred , called an aristodeipnon, “lunch-dinner,” was meant to hold an individual over until the main meal. A typical peasant family probably ate their meals together, but those in the city and from the upper class would be segregated by gender, with the men eating first. The peasant or poor family would have the women and children serving the men, especially the father, while the upper classes had slaves who would wait on the family. Dishes were made of pottery, although for some of the very wealthy, silver was sometimes used. In addition to drinking water, usually gathered from springs, wells, and fountains in cities, another common drink was wine. Grapes were grown throughout Greece, and varieties of red, rosé, and white wines were common. It was common to dilute wine with water. Wine was also used for medicinal purposes; in those instances, women were allowed to drink it, but otherwise, they were generally expected to avoid it. Wine was usually stored and transported in amphorae. The Greek upper class, especially in Athens, engaged in the Symposium, originally meaning “to drink together,” and it was eventually transformed into a banquet. After the meal, it was customary for dinner guests to drink in a social context while listening to music, dance, conversations, and speeches. The institution formed in Athens and other cities, where men gathered for a meal and then engaged in discussions, typically about politics, but sometimes other topics chosen by the host as well. Often, it was the introduction into adulthood for a young man. They could also be used to boast about an athletic victory, or even a military celebration

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by a member of the family. The men would recline on couches or large benches each holding up to three men, with between seven and nine couches holding up to twenty-seven guests, although more could be added to hold even more of the wealthier members of society in the andron or men’s quarter. The celebration not only included drinking but eating as well, while entertainment was also provided. Typically, the Symposium was supervised or presided by a symposiarch, who would determine how strong the wine was to be. Since unmixed wine was viewed as barbaric, it was customary to dilute it with water. The symposiarch would also determine the entertainment, such as music or dancing. While free women did not normally attend, a group known as the hetairai, which loosely translates as “prostitutes,” did provide conversation. A hetaira was usually viewed as a high-class prostitute who had only a few clients, as opposed to a pornai, who provided services in a brothel or in the streets for numerous clients. Some view the hetairai as prostitutes, while others view them as elite women, perhaps noncitizens, known for their literary and cultural knowledge. While they may have “sold” themselves, some believe that they provided not sex, but conversation and companionship other than physical relations. The Symposium in Athens became a favorite topic of gossip among the lower classes concerning the goings-on of the elites and how they were influencing Athenian politics or even normal gossip. In Macedon, the Symposium often led to violence due to overdrinking, as when Alexander the Great made fun of his father, Philip, who was drunk, and he was forced to flee to avoid Philip’s wrath; or when Alexander and his men at a party became drunk and killed one of his friends, Cleitus. The variety of food grown allowed a varied diet, especially among the wealthy. The Greeks were able to create a surplus of goods for their society, which often led to population growth; occasionally, this growth outstripped food supplies, forcing the Greeks to embark on colonization. See also: Agriculture; Economy; Merchant Vessels; Olives

Further Reading

Dalby, Andrew. 1997. Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece. London: Routledge. Dalby, Andrew, and Sally Grainger. 2012. The Classical Cookbook. Rev. ed. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum. Davidson, James N. 2011. Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Hobden, Fiona. 2013. The Symposion in Ancient Greek Society and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wilkins, John, F. D. Harvey, and Michael J. Dobson. 1995. Food in Antiquity. Exeter, UK: University of Exeter Press.

Funerals The end of life has been accompanied by major sentiment for many societies. Examining the individual’s burial and the concept of the afterlife helps explain society at that time and an individual’s place in society. Just as crucial were the

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funeral rites for the deceased, as they provided a bridge between the living and the afterlife and led to the burial. Although most of the evidence of funerals comes from Athens, it is probable that most other Greek cities had similar views. Honoring the dead is a conservative practice with very little change, and Athenian ideology must have had a basis in the pre-Classical period. It is known that the Athenians greatly prized being buried in Attica—hence the desire to bring home the remains of dead soldiers. If an individual could not be buried, it was viewed as a great penalty. The primary rites for the funeral rested with the immediate family, and in fact, it was improper if Grave stele of a child. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Fletcher Fund, 1927) a family member did not perform them. Usually, the son had the primary duty to bury the father. Funerals were expensive, and most of the funds were spent not on tombs, but on the preparation for and execution of burial and funerary rites. Funeral rites provided a way for family and friends to grieve the passing of their loved ones. These rites provided dignity to the individual and can be seen in the Homeric poem the Iliad. Ensuring that the dead were well treated allowed the deceased to pass over to the other world. The role of women in the funeral rites was paramount. In Sophocles’s Antigone, for instance, Antigone is persecuted for performing funeral rites for one of her brothers, who has been ordered to be left unburied because he had attacked the city of Thebes. The play argued that the laws of the gods, expressed in funeral and burial rites, were more important than the laws of men. There were three parts to funeral rituals. The first was the laying out of the body, or the prothesis, followed by the funeral procession or ekphora, and finally the disposition of the body by either inhumation or cremation. These tasks were usually performed by women, usually the spouse or another close family member. The prothesis began when the last breath, the sign of the living’s spirit or psyche, left the body. The first part was the ceremonial washing of the body. Female family members usually performed this task, and afterward they would anoint the body with oil. Usually only those women over sixty, or if none existed in the family, other close family female friends over sixty would perform the rite. They would then dress the body in simple clothes (wrapped in a shroud, or

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endyma) and place it on a high bed (kline) in the house on a thick carpet (stroma), covered with an epiblemata. The head was elevated with proskephalaia (pillows), and the chin was kept shut with othonaie (straps) to prevent the mouth from being opened. The prosthesis would take place at the home and was done on the day following the death. The ritual was only one day long, and Plato indicated that it was to confirm that the individual was truly dead. It was at this point that relatives and friends would pay their last respect and mourn the passing. Numerous pieces of pottery, especially on the lekythos or pottery for storing oil from the Geometric period, show several mourners lamenting the dead. Before the Peloponnesian War, the scenes usually show the multifaceted steps, which were often time consuming and expensive. Several people would be involved in this process. During the war, the time requirements and costs shifted the ceremony from an extensive prospect to a more subdued event, as seen in the lekythos created after the war, with fewer individuals present and funerals no longer being required for the dead to enter the afterlife. This may have been the reaction that Sophocles was attacking in Antigone. Having the prosthesis at home instead of in a public ceremony allowed grief to remain private. The body was then transported to the grave site on the third day (ta trita) before sunrise, led by the men and followed by the women. The second part of the rite, the funeral procession, was normally confined to the side streets, and public display of grief and loud clamor was discouraged. It was to be a private event, not a public spectacle as in Rome. The body was covered with only the head exposed as it was carried by pallbearers or on a cart. Women who took part in the procession were required by law to dress appropriately and were limited to certain ages. For example, women were not permitted to go to a tomb unless they were related to the dead or it was the actual day of internment. In addition, women could not visit a tomb at night unless they rode in a cart with a lamp. When the procession arrived at the grave, the body was lowered into the pit without ceremony. Athenian law forbade the sacrifice of oxen, although there was probably a small sacrifice or ceremony over the grave to ensure that the dead was received and the land was purified so it could continue to be used by the community as passageways, sanctuaries, or even workshops. One such ceremony was the choai (drink) offering; often found at the grave and in the tombs were drinking vessels for this last libation for the departed. The funeral party then returned to the home of the dead, which had a notification of the death containing a warning of the miasma (pollution) that resided in the house. When the mourners returned, they celebrated the perideipnon, or commemoration meal. This was not done at the grave, but rather in the house of the dead. It was probably a time for the family to commemorate the memory of the dead one last time and for others to offer sympathy to the family. A basin of water was placed outside so that mourners leaving the house could cleanse themselves of the miasma. Water was always important to the Greeks for purification and cleansing. When people knew that they were going to die, they often did the ritual bathing themselves, as Socrates did to save women the trouble. In mythology, Alcestis, knowing she was about to die, bathed and put on her funeral dress. Oedipus likewise bathed and offered the ritual drink. The vessel of water placed on the

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outside of the house on the day of the funeral was not only for cleansing of the mourners, but also to purify the house. It also appears that at the grave site, mourners may have performed a ritual involving water in order to purify themselves. On the ninth day after the burial, the celebration of the ta enata took place at the grave site. Family and friends gathered to perform this customary rite. Although nothing is known of the rites or celebrations, they were noted in the law courts, so that they were probably well established and required. There appears to have been a final ceremony, although when it was done is not clear. The ta nomizomena was where the family celebrated the return to normal life and no longer was in mourning. After the immediate funerary rites, the family commemorated the dead annually. These celebrations appear to have been more important than the actual burial or the ninth-day celebration. These annual ceremonies were performed by the son, and some references make it clear that adopting a son was done to ensure the annual commemoration of the dead took place. One such celebration was the Genesia, whose name comes from the word gene, meaning “family,” which Herodotus mentioned but did not describe. It must have been known to his readers, though, since he mentioned it in reference to an annual celebration of the dead. The Genesia is also mentioned by other writers as a festival. This celebration may have been the annual festival of commemorating the dead in Athens. The family visited the tomb annually and left trinkets such as flowers to show their appreciation of the departed. At home, the family celebrated the “ancestral objects” handed down from generation to generation. They were obviously important, since one needed to show that they had these objects in order to hold public office, and they were to be kept safe so as not to bring disaster upon the family. The funerary rites allowed the living to honor the dead, and they were seen as a way to keep the person’s memory alive. The rituals were highly prescribed, indicating that they changed little over time. This also allowed each generation to have a connection to the past through ceremonies that were common. Unlike the Romans, who had lavish funerals and public ceremonies, the Greeks viewed the funerary rites as a private matter that allowed families the opportunity to honor their departed simply and nonostentatiously. See also: Afterlife, Burials; Festivals; Mystery Religion; Olympian Religion; Religion; Social Status

Further Reading

Kurtz, Donna C., H. H. Scullard, and John Boardman. 1971. Greek Burial Customs. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Mirto, Maria Serena, and A. M. Osborne. 2012. Death in the Greek World: From Homer to the Classical Age. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Vermeule, Emily. 1979. Aspects of Death in Early Greek Art and Poetry. Berkeley: University of California Press. For a discussion on death, burial, and the afterlife in ancient Greece, see the Department of Greek and Roman Art, “Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2003), https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

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Furniture A Greek home would seem bare compared to modern households when it came to furniture. Modern houses contain a variety of pieces, often duplicating each other, and often a variety of knickknacks, utensils, and other commodities as well, and this would have seemed cramped and constricted to the Greeks. Many pieces of furniture in a Greek home had multiple uses, compared to modern times. The major types of furniture included chairs, tables, and beds, as well as other pieces used for storing items. The pieces would be painted and often have inlaid decorations. There would be covers and pillows to provide comfort. During the Minoan and Mycenaean ages, the precursors to Classical Greek furniture existed. Many of the forms were based on examples from the Near East, and especially Egypt. At Cnossos was a famous throne with a high, perpendicular back and a slightly concave seat on four legs. This was placed on a small, raised platform that also acted as a footstool. There were varieties of thrones during this period, usually classified based on the type of legs. In addition, there was a type of throne with a rounded back and three legs. Opposite the throne, with an upright back, were stools or backless seats, including what may have been folding seats. Benches, which provided seating for more than one individual, also existed, such as at Cnossos, where they are made of stone. Associated with all of these types of seats were footstools, which may have been used as seats as well. There are some representations of couches or beds, but they are not well described. They seem to have had short legs. There were several types of tables; one shows a round table-leaf on three legs with some fragments discovered; a round table with a central support is also represented, while a rectangular table with four legs is found on a sarcophagus. Finally, homes contained

Vases, furniture, and objects discovered at Herculaneum, 1777, by Pierre-Adrien Pâris (1745–1819). (The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles)

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chests with either flat or gabled lids and four legs, used to store items. While the Minoan-Mycenaean furniture shows a variety of shapes, it does not show any development. The furniture of the Minoan-Mycenaean periods does not show a close relationship with the Archaic Greeks and their successors, although some motifs continued. It is with the Classical Greeks that more development and evolution of furniture occurred. As in the earlier period, the Greeks after the Mycenaean period had a variety of chairs. The throne continued to be used; for example, in the Iliad, Homer describes Zeus sitting on his golden throne, and in the Odyssey, the suitors of Penelope sit on thrones. But thrones were also used for persons of honor or guests to sit on, as a sign of respect. Herodotus records Midas as sending a royal throne to Delphi. The term throne is also used by later writers, usually in the context of the gods or wise men. It is used several times in the treasury accounts of the Parthenon in the fifth century, and one description mentions three thrones with backs inlaid with ivory. This would seem to indicate that during the Classical Age, thrones were common enough to be given as gifts to Athena and to the city-state of Athens. Thrones were also in private homes, especially of the wealthy, as witnessed in the inventory of the Athenian politician Alcibiades’s household and in images on vases. There appear to have been four types of thrones: legs ending in animal feet, turned legs, rectangular legs, and solid sides, each of which went through various stages of development. The animal-feet type was popular in the Archaic period, while the turned and rectangular types appeared during the Classical, and the solid-side type were in the Hellenistic period. The animal-feet type had its roots in the Egyptian predecessors of the Egyptian New Kingdom in about 1300. During the Archaic Period, representations of thrones with the animal feet are seen on vase paintings. The turned-leg type during the Archaic period also shows connections with the Egyptian thrones with turned legs of the same period. During the late Archaic period, the Greek form developed, with more clearly defined legs and proportions. During the Classical period, the designs show more refinement, with sophisticated armrests. The rectangular legs for thrones also appear in the late Archaic period; there are various examples showing development of rectangularleg thrones, but by the fifth century, they had become a constant form, with intricate designs on the back. Associated with thrones, but more common in the Greek home, were chairs. In the first form of chairs, a curved back dominated and was usually undecorated. The chair was not as formal as the throne but was more comfortable than the stool. This chair, or klismos, appears to have been a Greek invention without parallel in Egypt or the Near East. Its meaning and definition referred to a comfortable chair with a back for support. It probably was descended from the throne early on, and unlike the throne with animal legs, the klismos had plain, curved legs. Homer mentions the klismos as being appropriate for the gods, showing that it must have been commonly known and comfortable enough. It was popular during the Archaic and Classical periods, as represented on numerous monuments. In some monuments, the klismos had cushions for comfort and support.

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Opposed to the klismos was the diphros, or stool. It had four legs and no back. Although it was often used for lower-class individuals, this was not always the case, as Hector sits on a diphros next to Helen as mentioned in the Iliad. It therefore was probably just a chair used by anyone, and was not as comfortable or luxurious as a klismos. It was made of wood and was lightweight so it could be carried. The seat could be round (the most common design) or square. The legs could be plain or highly decorated, which attested to the status of the owner. In the type of stool called the diphros okladias, the legs were not perpendicular, as in the diphros, but rather were crossed, allowing them to be folded up. It had a light seat and could be easily carried and was for general use. They could be taken out in public so that a person could use it for a seat rather than worrying about seats being available. There were two major types of legs—those that were curved and ended in animal feet and those that were straight and plain. The more common animal-foot design featured lion’s paws turned inward; another design had hooves turned outward. The seats appear to have been made of leather to allow the chair to collapse. If plain, the legs tended to end in points. Additional options included boxlike seats, often decorated. The chair was meant to seat one person, while the bench, with or without a back, could seat more than one. The bathron was a bench, while the ikria was a platform or theater seat. The thranos was a specific type of bench for rowers on ships. Stone benches have been found at theaters and stadiums. If benches have backs, they are perpendicular and undecorated. There were also footstools in ancient Greece used for resting one’s feet and as a stepping stool to get on to a couch or bed. They are mentioned in the Iliad as a place for the gods to rest their feet. They could have legs, sometimes ornately decorated, or be boxlike. The next type of furniture was the couch or kline, which could also be a bed (which sometimes seems to be the original meaning). Some beds are mentioned by name, such as from Delos or Meletus. The Greek beds had a frame resting on four legs with interlacing, where the upper part was raised as a form of headrest. Sometimes a lower part was raised as well. Depending upon the wealth of the individual, beds may be made of metal, but commonly were of wood. They could be ornately inlaid with silver and other material. On top of the interlacing were the bedclothes, acting as mattresses, covers, and pillows, although sheets do not seem to have been common. Blankets and rugs were used as covers. Pillows were used to provide comfort for individuals. Like chairs, couches had legs with animals, turned, and rectangular. Their history and design were similar to chairs. Animal and turned legs show an association with Egypt, while rectangular legs show no connections with Egypt or the Near East. As in modern homes, tables existed but were not used in the same ways. Today, tables support and display a multitude of possessions, while in Greece, they were more confined to use for meals. There were few books or newspapers to sit on a table, and other items, such as mirrors and cups, sat on a shelf or hung on walls from pegs. Since tables were used for serving food and drink for meals, they were temporary and could be removed without difficulty. They could be placed under the couch for storage. Tables often had three legs, two at one end placed near the couch. There were some tables with four legs as well.

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There were also chests, boxes, and caskets used for storing materials. Chests were used to store clothes and small articles such as tools and jewelry. Typically, a chest, with a flat or gabled lid, was rectangular and large enough to hold a multitude of clothes. Shelfs attached to walls could hold cups, tools, and other materials. The shelf was on two supports spanning across several feet. There were also sideboards capable of holding dishes and other eating materials. Although the Greeks did not have upholstery compared to modern times, they did use loose materials and coverings such as pillows and blankets. They could be made of delicate wool with fine thread; they might glisten and be colored such as purple, sea-green, green, or scarlet; they might be decorated with flowers, animals, or stars. The chief materials were linen and wool, but they could also be leather or sheepskin. Many of the materials were made at home, such as portrayed by Helen weaving battle scenes or Andromache weaving flowers in the Iliad. Weavers could also work in shops, producing a variety of fabrics. There were mattresses, pillows, and stuffing for both, as well as other draperies and covers. Tables, chairs, chests, and beds were most often made of wood since that was the easiest and cheapest material to obtain; but other materials such as metal and stone were also used. The most common woods employed were maple, beech, willow, oak, fir, and holly, with the most prized being citron, an expensive wood. The ancient carpenter used tools commonly found today, including the axe, saw, plane, hammer, chisel, lathe, screwdriver, and file. They also used the level, compass, ruler, and plummet. All of these tools were of ancient origin. The joining of various pieces of furniture was accomplished with wooden dowels and tenons, and less frequently with metal nails and glue. The material was often decorated with carvings or plating with ivory or metal. Bronze plating was a common feature for couches. The Greeks also practiced veneering and often portrayed mythological scenes on their furnishings. Furniture in ancient Greece allowed individuals to use their space within their homes in a harmonious fashion. Households tended to be places of refuge, with the majority of time spent outdoors. The Greeks tended to move their social settings from indoors to outdoors, whether in the agora or the assembly. See also: Chronology; Houses; Minoan; Mycenae

Further Reading

Andrianou, Dimitra. 2009. The Furniture and Furnishings of Ancient Greek Houses and Tombs. New York: Cambridge University Press. Richter, Gisela M. A. 1966. The Furniture of the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans. London: Phaidon Press. For examples of different styles of furniture, see “Ancient Greece Furniture,” Furniture Styles, http://www.furniturestyles.net/ancient/greek/ (accessed May 10, 2021). For detailed examination of Greek furniture and a description of the Greek house, see Lahanas, Michael. “Furniture and the Greek House, Part 1,” Hellenica World http://www.hellenicaworld.com/Greece/Ancient/en/Furniture.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

G Games In ancient Greece, there were a variety of organized games or athletic competitions. Originally, they were games played in preparation for and commemoration of war. Since the early Minoan and Mycenaean periods, games were an important element of religious festivals, which in turn created interest in political patronage for the state through games. In the earliest period, the games were reserved for men, although in Sparta, women had their own games. The games in Greece, at least from the fifth century, were played in the nude, when both practicing and participating. Some events, such as running, horse racing, and chariot racing, focused on the individual defeating his opponents through speed and technique. Other competitions were combat oriented, such as wrestling and boxing, while still others, such as discus and javelin, were skill and strength based. All of these games can be traced to martial qualities needed by soldiers. Chariot racing and running were part of the normal duties of armies marching to and from the battlefield. Combat sports clearly were associated with military life and training; and sports such as jumping and javelin were likewise associated with military events. The pentathlon was made up of five events (throwing the discus, jumping, throwing the javelin, running, and wrestling) that clearly combined the martial qualities. The events all took place in one afternoon and were as much a test of endurance as of skill. Individuals participated in several types of games. One of the earliest games was a running competition. The earliest area for such contests was a rectangle, 600 feet long, where athletes could start on either end. One length was a stadion. At either end was a turning post. When athletes ran the diaulos or double, they would make a turn around this post and run back in the opposite direction. The long-distance race was comprised of 12 laps, or 24 stadia, or 4,800 yards. By the fifth century, the starting point was a mechanical gate to prevent cheating. Often, the runners had to run in full military armor but ultimately it was reduced to just a ceremonial helmet and shield. This act was to remind everyone that the competitions were military in origin. A further development of this idea came about in chariot racing, where competitors raced with two- or four-horse chariots. The chariot race seems to have been one of the earliest Olympic events. Later, horseback races also took place. A competitive combat sport was boxing. According to mythology, the Athenian king Theseus invented boxing, in which two men sat facing each other and pummeled each other to death. This was changed to where they stood and the boxers used gloves with spikes. Boxing was a traditional sport found in Homer’s Iliad where athletes participated during funeral games. The competitors would fight

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continuously without breaks or rounds until one gave up or died, or both were too tired to continue and agreed to call it a draw. Wrestling became another popular sport, especially with its association with Heracles and his feats. To win a match, a competitor had to score three points against his opponent. If an opponent touched the ground with shoulder, back, or hip, a point was scored. Likewise, if he forced his opponent out of the ring, he would win a point, or if he put the individual in a hold from which he could not escape. The typical contest would have wrestlers compete in single-elimination matches until one individual was left who would be crowned the victor. An early Olympic sport dating to 708, wrestling also was held in the pentathlon event. The wrestlers were prohibited from gouging the eyes or attacking the genitals. Associated with wrestling was the Pankration, which combined boxing with wrestling. A sort of mixed martial arts competition, it was known for being brutal where anything was allowed, such as gouging and even strangling. Fighters could use a variety of moves, and many developed their own techniques. Discus throwing also dates to the early Olympic Games in 708. Made of metal and sometimes stone, the discus was thrown in a spinning motion. A test of strength and technique, throwing the discus was seen as the embodiment of grace. The event has remained relatively unchanged since antiquity. Similar to the discus was the javelin throw. The athlete would run to a point where he threw the javelin, and the goal was to throw the farthest. The javelin was about the height of a man, and in antiquity, a leather loop was attached at the point where the javelin was held so it could be hurled with additional force to provide more acceleration and distance. Another sport was the jumping competition. As with the other events, it was probably associated with ancient warfare since soldiers had to be able to jump across streams and ravines. Athletes would hold weights or halters so that when they jumped, the weights would give them more power and allow them to go farther. An athlete would have accoutrements needed for the games. One important tool was the strigil, which was used in cleansing. The athlete would apply oil to the skin to pick up dirt, sweat, and dead skin, and then he used the strigil to scrape the oil off. After his bath, the athlete would then use perfume contained in an unguentarium to complete the cleaning process. A tomb from 500 at the city of Taras contained the athlete Ikkus’s strigil and unguentarium. In addition, it contained the prizes he won, such as a pot that would have been filled with olive oil, worth a considerable sum. One analysis indicated that he was about five feet six inches tall and in good condition; Ikkus was robust but seemingly was not a boxer since his upper body was not overly developed. Given his strong skeletal system, he was probably not a charioteer either. Most likely, the young man was a pentathlete, where he competed in all of the sports and was an overall athlete. An analysis of his teeth showed that he had a specific diet mainly of vegetables with the occasional consumption of meat that helped in his athletic training and competition. The games these athletes participated in were part of the overall society of ancient Greece, which promoted not only the excellence of the individual, but the status of the city-state. The games would not only honor an individual athlete and bring him awards but allow a city to boast of the achievements of one of its own.

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In this way, games have remained the same since antiquity, praising an individual’s accomplishments while providing a city visibility. See also: Athletes; Gymnasium; Horse Racing; Olympic Games; Panhellenic Games; Stadium

Further Reading

Valavanēs, Panos. 2004. Games and Sanctuaries in Ancient Greece: Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia, Nemea, Athens. Los Angeles: Getty Publications. Young, David C. 2004. A Brief History of the Olympic Games. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. For an overview of the Olympic Games in Greece, see “Olympic Games,” Khan ­Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art /beginners-guide-greece/a/olympic-games (accessed May 18, 2021). For the brutality of the games, see Hale, John R. 2017, December 1. “Games of Ancient Greece—The Life and Death of a Greek Athlete,” The Great Courses Daily. https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/games-of-ancient-greece/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Gardens Much of Greece, especially in the south, is unsuitable for the growing of trees and vines, with most areas growing only shrubs and used only as pasturage for goats. Athens provides evidence of the gardens and other flora that existed in antiquity. Since the shallow, dry soil was not conducive to growing trees, Athens was forced to import lumber from abroad, in particular from the north, even Russia, to build its fleet. The types of trees that grew in Athens included the olive tree. Its fruit was harvested in the winter for food and oil. Another tree was the plane, which resembles a sycamore and grew near streams and springs since it needs water but provided shade. The oak, revered for Zeus and his oracles, occasionally grew, and the cypress, with its finely grained wood, was prized and used for temples. Evidence exists for the palm growing in Attica, without bearing fruit, as well as the blackand-white poplar, again requiring plentiful water. The laurel, sacred to Apollo, grew throughout Greece, and its leaves were chewed by the Delphic priestesses and its branches used for purification. The myrtle also grew in Athens. There were gardens laid out throughout Athens, especially around streams and springs. Near the Ilissos River were gardens dedicated to Aphrodite. The Schools of Philosophy were usually held in gardens where teachers and students could enjoy the relaxing environment. Plato’s Academy was in the valley of the Kephissos, which was well watered and had shady walks. The Garden of Epicurus, which cost 7,000 drachmas where 1 drachma equated to one day’s wages, was near Plato’s Academy. The garden was created by Cimon. Epicurus willed the garden to his fellow philosophers, and it was used throughout antiquity. The Lyceum, outside the northeast part of the city, was a park where Socrates taught, and throughout antiquity, it was constantly used as a location for teaching. These gardens required water, of course, and where springs, pools, and streams existed, the flora in Athens thrived. Some watering sites were further developed

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by patrons who provided the city with green spaces. Temple precincts may have also had gardens. There is evidence that the Temple of Hephaestus in the agora had trees planted on all sides except the front. These were planted in the early third century, with the extension of the aqueduct. A large number of plant species existed in Greece, perhaps more than 6,000. Several flowers from antiquity are still seen in modern times, including the crocus, violet, anemone, iris, tulip, and rose. The rose appears to have been the only flower intensively cultivated and grown throughout Greece. The island of Rhodes took its name from the rose, and the flower was portrayed on its coins. The flowers were commonly used for fragrance, and its petals were crushed to create a pleasant scent. Fennel was common, and it served as a staff for ivy and vines. The asphodel, associated by Homer with the underworld, was planted on graves. Greece produced a variety of fruits, the most important being the olive, grape, and fig. Olives and grapes were also crushed to produce oil and wine. Dried figs were a popular delicacy. Pomegranate was also known. In addition to apples, other types of fruit were grown in Greece, such as pears, plums, and cherries. In the fourth century, the peach was imported from Persia, although it was rare until late antiquity. Nuts were also common; the most used was the almond, which could be eaten as is or ground into a paste for cakes. The gardens and associated plants helped create green spaces for cities and encouraged the variety of flora and fauna in antiquity. See also: Athens; Economy; Food; Olives

Further Reading

Carroll-Spillecke, Maureen. 1992. “The Gardens of Greece from Homeric to Roman Times.” Journal of Garden History 12, no. 2: 84–101. Conan, M. 2007. Sacred Gardens and Landscapes: Ritual and Agency. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Thompson, Dorothy Burr and Ralph E. Griswold. 1963. Garden Lore of Ancient Athens. Princeton, NJ: American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Gleason, Kathryn L. 2013. A Cultural History of Gardens in Antiquity. London: Bloomsbury. For a selection of passages by ancient authors concerning gardens, see “Gardens in Ancient Greece” in The Role of Women in the Art of Ancient Greece, https:// www.rwaag.org/garden (accessed October 23, 2021).

Gela Gela was a Greek colony on the southern coast of Sicily; it was established about 690 jointly by colonists from Rhodes under Antiphemus and Crete under Entimus, with the blessing of the Delphic oracle. Gela was the earliest colony on these shores and lay just west of the River Gelas, which was sacred in antiquity. Although the site did not have a harbor, just a beaching station, it did lie upon a long, steep hill, which provided it with good protection and access to a fertile plain. Gela was originally established by the Sicans during the Bronze Age. The colonists fought them in a long war before finally pushing them off the inland plain.

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The Geloans then used the inland plain to breed horses for their cavalry and provide agricultural produce to feed its growing population. Gela continued its inward expansion against the local Sicans by gaining control over several native villages. In addition, it expanded westward by establishing a colony, perhaps with some other Rhodians, at Akragas or Agrigento in 580. Gela became known for its temple to Athena, decorated with polychrome terra-cotta statues. The city prospered during this early period, developing a rich trade network and becoming a crucial trading center on the island. In its early history, the city followed its mother city, Rhodes, in its social and political development. It was an oligarchy, where power rested in the hands of a few important families or clans that controlled the political, religious, and judicial systems. This resulted in a civil war in 600, supposedly the first in the West, when poor residents without political rights rebelled. The poor abandoned their city and moved to nearby Maktorion for refuge. Teline, the ancestor of the commander Gelon, convinced the poor to return to the city, and he was rewarded with the priesthood of Demeter, whose cult spread across the island. Like other Greek cities on Sicily, Gela underwent a period during which tyrants controlled the city and attempted to expand their dominions. The aristocratic government, common with the established Dorian colonies, promoted its horse-racing endeavors so that Pantares, one of Gela’s leading citizens, not only owned but drove a four-horse chariot to victory at the Olympic Games in either 512 or 508. The city, which had already achieved a strong reputation for its cavalry army, now won a religious and athletic victory at the Olympic Games, increasing its prestige. This victory opened the door for other Sicilian nobles and rulers to race their horses in the Panhellenic Festivals. The sons of Pantares, first Cleander and then Hippocrates, used their father’s prestige to seize control of Gela and drive out the aristocratic government. Cleander abolished the oligarchic constitution in 505 and drove out many of the aristocrats; there had previously been some civil strife in Gela, resulting in some of the defeated citizens fleeing inland to Mactorium, one of the Sican villages conquered earlier. Cleander now established himself as tyrant until he was murdered seven years later and his brother, Hippocrates, took over. Hippocrates, known for his ruthlessness, ruled Gela for another seven years and made the city the most important and powerful force on the island. Both brothers set about increasing the defensive nature of the city by establishing on the northern rim of the hills above it new and stronger fortifications for further protection. Hippocrates increased the size and importance of the cavalry, making it an integral part of his army. He expanded east by plundering the cities of Naxos, Zancle, and Leontini and setting up tyrants there who would be favorable to him and to Gela. It appears that he planned to use these allies in his greatest feat—an attack on Syracuse. Since Gela had no harbor, it lacked the associated industries needed to build and outfit a fleet. Without a fleet, it could not expand beyond its local region, and this may have been one reason for Hippocrates’s attack on Syracuse—to gain its fleet, harbor, and installations. Without a fleet, Hippocrates would have to go over land to attack Syracuse. At the River Helorus, Hippocrates defeated the Syracuse army and marched toward the city. A peace treaty brokered by the Corinthians

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and Corcyraeans gave Hippocrates control over the city’s interior region with native Sicels. Hippocrates tried to make these natives Greek, and in the ensuing war, he was killed at the Battle of Hybla (491). His cavalry commander, Gelon, took over and established a new dynasty, the Deinomenid. Gelon in 484 conquered Syracuse and moved his government there, and his brother, Hiero, was given control of Gela. When the Carthaginians landed in 482, Hiero and his brother joined forces and defeated them. After his brother died in 478, Hiero moved to Syracuse and took over, while leaving Gela to his brother Polyzelos. It is probable that after this, the city underwent a revolution, ousting the tyrants and establishing a more democratic system. Gela could not counter the power of Syracuse. During the Peloponnesian War, a conference held at Gela in 424 led to a weak Pan-Sicilian alliance to prevent the island’s domination by Athens. One of the results of the conference was a united force that defeated the Athenians in their First Sicilian Expedition of 423. In 406, after the Carthaginians had landed and destroyed Agrigento, they marched on its mother city, Gela, and attacked it. Help from Syracuse did not arrive after being requested, and Gela was destroyed, with most of its population fleeing to Syracuse. Although its inhabitants returned in 397, it was only fortified in 337 during the time of Timoleon, who controlled Syracuse. The city lasted until 282 when Phintias, the tyrant of Akragas, destroyed it. See also: Akragas; Rhodes; Syracuse; Tyrants

Further Reading

Berger, Shlomo. 1992. Revolution and Society in Greek Sicily and Southern Italy. ­Stuttgart: Steiner. Griffo, Pietro, and Leonard von. Matt. 1968. Gela: The Ancient Greeks in Sicily. ­Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society. Holloway, R. Ross. 2000. The Archaeology of Ancient Sicily. London: Routledge.

Geography The geographical regions of Greece varied greatly and contributed to the unique position of the Greek city-states. The area was dominated by mountains and valleys, as well as bays and gulfs that created islands, isthmuses, peninsulas, and other outposts. Greece had completely different features from other peninsulas in Europe, such as Spain, Italy, and Illyricum; it was not a square like Spain or a wedge like Italy. Illyricum is similar to Spain, but without Greece attached as an appendage. The most notable feature is the Gulf of Corinth, which effectively divides central and southern Greece into two parts, creating in essence the island of Pelops, joined to the rest of Greece by a narrow isthmus. The Gulf of Corinth gave access to the sea by otherwise inland regions on both sides, as well as making the coastal lines even more pronounced. Likewise, the Aegean Sea in the east created connections and hindrances for the Greeks. On the one hand, the sea allowed easy access to the islands and then to the western coast of Asia Minor, while on the other hand, it created a deterrent for easy movement requiring ships.

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Regions of ancient mainland Greece. (Michelle Bridges/Dreamstime.com)

The Greek world can conveniently be divided into four major regions, each with subdivisions. The major regions were mainland Greece, the Greek islands, Ionia or Asia Minor, and the west, which included modern Italy, North Africa, and southern France. These regions not only interacted with one another, but with other non-Greek regions. In all of these regions, the Mediterranean Sea played an important factor in their development and peculiarities. The Mediterranean provided means of transport between all of these regions and produced a moderate climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. This climate allowed enough

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rainfall for a variety of farming, usually not involving irrigation. As one moved away from the sea, the climate became less moderate and even, with temperature and humidity variances, and extremes with summers often becoming hotter and the winters colder than the coastal areas. The Mediterranean region is ringed by a series of mountains that break the lands into small units easily isolated from one another. Although not terribly high, and usually not maintaining snow on them during the summer, the mountains created flat lowlands capable of farming, with higher lands more associated with forests and shepherding. These forests had an abundance of wildlife no longer seen there, such as bears, wild boars, lions, and even pigmy hippopotamuses. The area is geologically unstable due to tectonic plate movement producing earthquakes and volcanic activity. Although most ancient Greek literature dealt with cities, wars, and politics, the hinterland often influenced society more than usually recognized. The mainland can be divided into upper, middle, and lower Greece. The upper region creates the main peninsula, where water surrounds the land on all three sides and has over 70 percent mountains. These mountains not only created trade problems, but also isolated many communities so that they developed into small city-states supported by the limited amount of land. The mainland is also lacking large rivers, which made travel within the hinterland even more difficult. These problems led to Greece being politically fragmented. The upper or northern part of Greece contained the Pindus Mountains, which separated the region into two main areas, Thessaly in the east and Epirus in the west. Thessaly was the largest plain, with mountain peaks such as Olympus and Iolkus. In the west, Epirus was mainly a mountainous region that was often viewed by the Greeks as only semi-Greek. Thessaly contained the Aeolians, so named for the region’s name during the Homeric Age. The great plain of Thessaly stretched from Mount Olympus south to the Spercheios Valley, with its river flowing into the Malian Gulf near the Pass of Thermopylae and about ten miles south of Lamia. This region produced cereals and other grains and allowed horse-rearing. The region produced several city-states and occasionally was controlled by one kingdom, but usually not for long. One of the most famous kings was Jason of Pherae, who ruled just before Philip II of Macedon during the 370s. Middle or Central Greece represented the region south of Thessaly to the Peloponnese. This narrow region contained areas such as Boeotia, with the city of Thebes; Aetolia; Attica, with Athens; and Acarnania. Acarnania in the west lay along the Ionian Sea west of Aetolia and was the entry into the Gulf of Corinth. This mountainous region was made up of smaller villages in the Acarnanian League, usually united against Corinth, which had taken many of their best ports as their colonies. To the east lay Aetolia, where the Achelous River formed its western boundary with Acarnania. Lying on the north of the Corinthian Gulf, the Locrians in the east were their neighbors. This region was also wild and fiercely independent. They did not participate in the Persian Wars, although they vocally supported the Greek cause, and declared their neutrality during the Peloponnesian War not taking sides with either. When Athens attacked in 426, the league successfully pushed it back.

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East of Aetolia was Locris and Doris to the north. Locris, also called Ozolian Locris or Western Locris, was not only mountainous but mainly unproductive. The most important city was Amphissa and its port at Naupactus, on the Gulf of Corinth. Thucydides mentions Amphissa for the first time, indicating that it was a semi-barbarous tribe resembling the Aetolians and Acarnaians. After the Aetolians pushed Athens out in 426, they submitted to the Spartans. Doris, to the north, claimed to be the original home of the Dorians. The area lay between Mount Oeta and Parnassus and had the Pindus River flowing through it. It was a small area with four towns. The region submitted to Xerxes and the Persians. It was a member of the Delphic Amphictyony and was a strategic area leading to the north. Phocis, with the city of Delphi, lay east of Locris and Doris and west of Boeotia. The Parnassus ridge divides the region into two districts. Although the region did not have natural wealth, it did claim the Delphic Oracle and derived much of its importance from this religious site. When the Persians attacked, they at first helped the Greeks at Thermopylae (480), but with their defeat, they were taken over by Persia and fought the Greeks at Plataea the next year. To the east lay Boeotia, with its important city of Thebes. Although it lacked good harbors, the region was crucial as the intermediary between Thessaly and Attica. Unlike Athens, which incorporated the towns of Attica into its political system, Thebes could not achieve this same result with its outlying cities. Although during times of crisis, the cities came together in a united defense, unlike with the Arcadians, their constant distrust of each other did not allow much cohesion. During the Persian Wars, Thebes sided with Persia. Sparta supported Thebes in its efforts to resist Athens during the 450s, and although Athens briefly controlled the region, Thebes fought Athens during the Peloponnesian War. After the war, Thebes broke the power of Sparta and became the prominent power in Greece. Its loss at Chaeoneia to Macedon ended Greek independence. The remaining area of Central Greece was Attica and Megara. Attica is a triangular peninsula, with the Cithaeron mountain range separating it from Boeotia in the north and in the west with the narrows to Megara and into the isthmus to Corinth. Attica had plains rich in agriculture and mountains, which produced silver. Athens, its chief city, was able to unify the entire region under its control by the fifth century. The western coast of Attica lies along the Saronic Gulf’s eastern coast. The Aegean forms the eastern termination of Attica, with Cape Sounion as its tip. To the west lay Megara, which was north of Corinth. It was the capital city of the Megaris, a small but populous region linking Central Greece to the south, the Peloponnese. The region originally controlled the island of Salamis, but it was lost to Athens in the seventh century. Southern Greece, or the Peloponnese, was another mountainous region. It consisted of Corinthia in the northeast, coming from the Isthmus, and Megaris, with Corinth as its chief city; Argolis in the east, jutting out into the Aegean, with Argos as one of the driving forces; Laconia in the southeast, with its broad, fertile plains, which was controlled by Sparta; Messenia in the southwest, with its plains and hills, which was put under the control of Sparta early and whose population was enslaved, creating the helots; Elis in the northwest, fronting the Ionian Sea with Olympia; Achaea, in the north between Elis and Corinthia on the southern

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coast of the Gulf of Corinth, with its confederation of twelve cities led by Patras and Dyme; and in the interior, the mountainous region of landlocked Arcadia, with its cities of Mantinea and Tegea. In the Aegean, the islands of the Cyclades make a circle around Delos, the ancient sacred island, providing a link between the mainland and the western coast of Asia Minor. Associated with their early history was the large island of Crete in the south, with its Minoan culture based at Cnossos. To the southeast of this line of Greek islands lay the large island of Cyprus, which became the point of interaction or the melting pot for Greek, Phoenician, and Asia Minor. During the Classical Age, most of the islands were allied with Athens through its Delian League. Farther east lay the important region of Asia Minor, also known as Anatolia, which included many Ionian cities, as well as cities to the north, which were Aeolian, and in the southern part, which were Dorian. The coastal region had numerous Greek cities, which naturally looked to the west and Greece rather than to the east and their landlocked regions. These cities were the colonies that were established during the Dark Ages, and which in turn established colonies on the coast of the Black Sea to the north. They were conquered by the Persians in the sixth century and earned their freedom during the fifth before being conquered again by Persia in the late fifth to early fourth centuries. Chief among these cities included Miletus, Ephesus, Chios (an island off the coast), Smyrna, and Samos (an island off the coast). Finally, the western colonies of Greece, primarily from Corinth, were established. Beginning with Corcyra off the coast of western Greece, Corinth established a series of colonies in Sicily and southern Italy. The chief city was Syracuse, and others included Gela, Akragas (Agrigento), Selinunte, and Zancle in the west. These colonies made contact with Carthage in North Africa and the Etruscan cities in Italy. Associated with the colonies in Sicily, the city of Cyrene in Libya, established by Thera, provided connections with both Egypt and Carthage on the northern coast of Africa. In southern France, the city of Massalia was founded by colonists from Phocaea, a Greek city on the coast of Asia Minor. The Greek world, therefore, was a complicated system of city-states distributed across the Mediterranean. These entities provided a way for Greek culture, which was not homogenous, to spread throughout the region and influence other societies. As for the Greeks, they never lost their identity as residents of small city-states in mountainous regions close to the sea. Their colonies tended to be located in coastal areas, reviving their native geography. See also: Achaea; Attica; Corinth; Cyclades; Epirus; Macedon; Peloponnese; Persia; Sardis and Lydia; Scythians; Sinope; Sparta; Syracuse; Thessaly

Further Reading

Adams, C. E. P. and James Roy. 2016. Travel, Geography and Culture in Ancient Greece, Egypt and the Near East. Oxford, UK: Oxbow Books. Cary, M. 1949. The Geographic Background of Greek & Roman History. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.

Gerousia 255 Roller, Duane W. 2015. Ancient Geography: The Discovery of the World in Classical Greece and Rome. London: I. B. Tauris. Talbert, Richard J. A., and Roger S. Bagnall. 2000. Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. For a general discussion of Greek archaology, see “Geography, Environment, and Archeology,” Ohio State Archaeological Excavations in Greece, The Ohio State University, https://greekarchaeology.osu.edu/arch-edu/archaeology (accessed May 18, 2021).

Gerousia The Spartan constitution was viewed as a model of checks and balances in antiquity. The two kings represented monarchy, or the executive branch, the apella or assembly reflected democracy or rule of the people, and the Gerousia was the republic or oligarchy. All three worked together to ensure that the Spartan way of life continued. The Gerousia was the council, and its members were called gerontes, from the Greek meaning “old”; its representatives had to meet certain qualifications. It ultimately would mean city elders, and it was found not only in Sparta, but in other societies as well, such as in Judea, where it functioned as a court, and other Doric states, such as Crete. Lycurgus, the great Spartan lawgiver, created the Gerousia in the seventh century, and it was his first major innovation in the government. It appears that Lycurgus wanted the body to represent the collective wisdom of the state. There was a total of thirty members on the Gerousia or council, twenty-eight of which were elected for life from the citizen body (apella) and had to be over the age of sixty. The remaining two were the two kings of Sparta, who could be younger than sixty. Apparently, the candidates would appear before the assembly and then, according to Plutarch, a group of men would be sequestered in a nearby building and the gerontes were elected by a voice vote of the people in the popular assembly. The sequestered people would not know who the candidates were; they would determine the winner by the level of shouting, where the loudest would win. ­Aristotle would call this process childish. It appears that many of the Gerousia were from royal families and other aristocrats or nobles. Aristotle indicated that holding office was a reward and prize of virtue for those who had distinguished character and position. Like all Greek cities, Sparta kept a tight control over who became citizens. Individuals who were Spartiates, or full Spartans, had the most power and responsibility for duties of the state. Over time, many of the original Spartiates lost their standing due to their inability to supply the state and the famed mess halls with sufficient supplies. Although still Spartan, they were now called Inferiors and stripped of some of their rights. Although they seem to have been able to serve in the military, they no longer had the right to vote in the assembly or hold office. The Gerousia debated proposals and all matters of importance to the state, prepared resolutions to put before the citizens, and then presented the motions to the assembly. Unlike in Athens, where the council often just kept the agenda and determined how motions might be presented, it is clear that the Gerousia could

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Lycurgus and the Establishment of Order The Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus realized the need for balance if Sparta were to thrive. He recognized that the executive branch or king could create a tyranny, and that the democratic branch or assembly could produce a tyranny of the populace, swayed by emotions. He therefore conceived a middle group, the senate or Gerousia, which would act as brakes on either group. The following extract from the Greek writer Plutarch (Life of Lycurgus), written during the Roman Empire, describes the Gerousia and its membership: Amongst the many changes and alterations which Lycurgus made, the first and of greatest importance was the establishment of the senate, which, having a power equal to the kings’ in matters of great consequence, and, as Plato expresses it, allaying and qualifying the fiery genius of the royal office, gave steadiness and safety to the commonwealth. For the state, which before had no firm basis to stand upon, but leaned one while towards an absolute monarchy, when the kings had the upper hand, and another while towards a pure democracy, when the people had the better, found in this establishment of the senate a central weight, like ballast in a ship, which always kept things in a just equilibrium; the twenty-eight always adhering to the kings so far as to resist democracy, and, on the other hand, supporting the people against the establishment of absolute monarchy. As for the determinate number of twentyeight, Aristotle states, that it so fell out because two of the original associates, for want of courage, fell off from the enterprise; but Sphaerus assures us that there were but twenty-eight of the confederates at first; perhaps there is some mystery in the number, which consists of seven multiplied by four, and is the first of perfect numbers after six, being as that is, equal to all its parts. For my part, I believe Lycurgus fixed upon the number of twenty-eight, that, the two kings being reckoned amongst them, they might be thirty in all. Source: Plutarch and John Dryden. Corrected from the Greek and revised by Arthur Hugh Clough. 1906. Plutarch’s Lives: The Translation Called Dryden’s. Boston: Little Brown and Co., Volume 1, p. 90.

prevent a motion from being presented to the assembly during its debate. This allowed the council of elders to have a determining say over the political life of the city. In addition, the Gerousia could overturn a decision by the assembly. This gave its members a tremendous amount of power to check the democratic part of the government. The Gerousia also acted in court cases. They could punish individuals with death or civil disenfranchisement arising from in criminal matters. They also had the right to act as censors over the lives and manners of the Spartan citizens. It appears that this latter aspect may have brought the Gerousians in conflict with the Ephors, who also acted as censors. The council also acted as a supreme court, allowing it power to overturn newly made laws if needed or desired. To ensure that the power of individuals did not put them above the law, the Gerousia could try anyone, even the Spartan king. This power of law allowed the council to act a check on the monarchy. They would later associate Ephors with them in their court. The Ephors later curtailed the power of the Gerousia, as they had done previously to the kings. In his Constitution of Sparta, Aristotle criticized the Gerousia, or Council of Elders. According to him, one of the most serious issues was that, as elected for life, the members of the Gerousia could grow senile or physically incapacitated.

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He indicated that many Spartan elders were known to have taken bribes, which in turn undermined their judgment, especially if it involved overturning a measure approved by the assembly. While the Ephors could provide a check, Aristotle indicates that this was not necessarily successful enough to solve the issue. In addition, he indicated that how they were chosen, often after campaigning, was not the best; rather, he indicated that they should have been appointed based upon merit. Nevertheless, the Gerousia was an important counterweight to the monarchy and the democratic functions of the Assembly, and even the Ephors. See also: Ecclesia; Ephors; Monarchy; Sparta

Further Reading

Cartledge, Paul. 2003. The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece, from Utopia to Crisis and Collapse. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press. Cartledge, Paul. 2002. The Spartans: An Epic History. London: 4 Books. Jones, A. H. M. 1968. Sparta. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Gymnasium The ancient gymnasium in Greece served many purposes, all of which were related to training youth to become better citizens. While it was primarily a place for training for athletic competitions, which could also be used for the military, it was also a place to train the mind and imbue political, ethical, and moral guidance to future citizens. The idea was that a complete individual needed to exercise not only the body, but also the mind. Only adult males were allowed to use the gymnasiums.

Stadium and gymnasium at Messenia. (Elgreko74/Dreamstime.com)

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The ancient Greeks viewed exercise as part of their daily ritual. While this applied mainly to the citizens, it allowed them the opportunity to combine exercise and study in a holistic environment. The place where this activity came together was the gymnasium, whose name comes from the Greek word gymnos meaning “naked.” Here, Greek men exercised in the nude since they would compete naked in athletic competitions. For the Greeks, the idea of education meant not only intellectual stimulation, but the physical preparation of the body, especially for war. The gymnasium allowed both aspects to be addressed. After the end of the intellectual or schooling part of life, gymnastics would continue well into advanced age. Most cities had a gymnasium established except at Sparta, since all males were engaged in constant physical training for military life from the age of seven; in other words, their entire adult life was essentially a gymnasium. As a public institution, the gymnasium had officials who oversaw its function and upkeep. These individuals, known as gymnasiarchs, ensured the proper training of youth in sports and the games celebrated at public festivals such as the Panathenaea. This also involved directing the schools, including discipline, correct form, and overseeing the competitors. Those who had direct contact with the athletes as teachers, trainers, and coaches were the gymnastai. Since the competition and training of athletes constituted a communal event, and since it was expected that the men participate, the gymnasium were originally large outdoor areas, not the enclosed areas of today. The outdoor experience also allowed for the citizens to enjoy a variety of competitions simultaneously, such as running, discus, and javelin. These practices then evolved into athletic competitions, which became part of the political, religious, and social life of a city. In Athens, Theseus is said to have started the gymnasium. During the political reforms of the sixth century, several steps were taken by Solon, and later by Cleisthenes. These reforms probably had to do with the staffing of the gymnasium since it was such an important element of the political and social life of Athens. A particular aspect was the oiling of the body, which became expensive and thus needed oversight. In Athens, after Cleisthenes’s reform, ten gymnasiarchs were appointed, one from each of the ten tribes, and they served in that post for a year. These were public institutions, and the city paid for their upkeep, as well as for the trainers and coaches, drawing on the public treasury to do so. They were managed by an official who in Athens was elected for a year; this was an expensive undertaking, as he provided free oil for the competitors and also might have to pay for the rest of the undertakings. Athens had at least three gymnasia, where the Lyceum, the Academy, and the Cynosarges met and became schools for philosophy. This was because many of the youths (it should be stated that the middle and upper classes were the most common visitors) were present to exercise, and the philosophers and sophists attended to lecture and drum up support for their schools. It was not uncommon for youth to exercise and then relax, listening to teachers and debating ideas about current politics. The Lyceum was a grove and gymnasium outside of Athens that was sacred to the god Apollo Lyceius. Here, Aristotle would teach, and the Lyceum often

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became associated with his school. It was near the Ilissus River, east of Athens. The Academy was on the western side of the city near the Colonus Hill, and it was sacred to Akademos, which gave its name. Here, the gymnasium was surrounded by gardens and trees, and Plato established his school here. Ultimately, the gymnasium had an extensive library that continued until Athens was sacked by the Roman general Sulla in 86. The Cynosarges stood outside the city of Athens in an area sacred to Heracles and was reserved for Athenians of pure blood. The philosopher Antisthenes began teaching here. Later gymnasia were often more self-contained. At Delphi, there was a fourthcentury building complex that had an exercise yard (palaestra) and associated buildings for changing and bathing. It was surrounded by porticoes, which divided the associated rooms. These were identified as a pool room, changing rooms, and fighting rooms. Traditionally, this was a place where young men were taught to box and wrestle under a master (poedotribes). There was a xystos, a covered portico that ran about 560 feet long and 30 feet wide and was probably used for athletes to train sheltered by the sun. At Olympia, the gymnasium was a large area surrounded by Doric columns used by runners and other athletes, while the nearby Palaestra was about eighty square yards used by boxers and wrestlers. With the expansion of Greek culture under Alexander the Great and his followers, the gymnasium became a central feature of the new Greek life, or Hellenism. Throughout the Greek world, new structures were constructed to house these exercise places. The gymnasium had an open arena or court used for wrestling and other contact sports, as well as a running track associated with it. These two components became the central parts of the gymnasium. As time went on, additional facilities were developed, such as jumping pits and throwing areas for the discus and javelin. Often around the arena were colonnade walkways (stoa) used for shelter and teaching. Off of these walkways were other rooms for changing, oiling, and dusting for the gymnasts, bathrooms, baths, rooms for weights or playing ball, and teaching rooms for the philosophers. See also: Athletes; Officials; Social Status; Socratic Method; Stadium

Further Reading

Kalligas, Paulos, Chloe Balla, and Effie Baziotopoulou-Valavani. 2020. Plato’s Academy: Its Workings and Its History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Potter, D. S. 2012. The Victor’s Crown: A History of Ancient Sport from Homer to Byzantium. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rutland, Jonathan, Adrian Sington, and Bill Stallion. 1979. See Inside an Ancient Greek Town. New York: Warwick Press. Tzachou-Alexandri, Olga. 1989. Mind and Body: Athletic Contests in Ancient Greece. Athens: Ministry of Culture. For a discussion and plans of the gymnasium, see “Gymnasium and Palaestra,” Travels Through Greco-Roman Antiquity, Villanova University, https://exhibits.library. villanova.edu/ancient-greece/cities/olympia/gymnasium-palaestra (accessed May 18, 2021).

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H Helot Individuals in antiquity could normally be classified as free or slave. A free person in a city might be a citizen or a foreign resident, the latter normally being protected from abuses. A slave was an individual who could be bought or sold, usually without any rights. An individual might be born into slavery, a child of a slave, captured in war and made a slave, sentenced to slavery for committing a crime, or even sold by a relative to pay a debt. As property, they could be abused. Most cities would have state slaves, individuals who like personal slaves were owned and had no rights. A major intermediary between free and slave was the helot in Sparta. In many Greek cities, individuals like them were called what some Greek authors described as between “free men and slaves.” The helots were probably descended from the original inhabitants of Sparta when the Dorian invasion occurred after the fall of the Mycenaean kingdom. It is clear that the helots were non-Dorian and they had been conquered by the Spartans. It is probable that they were the local farmers who had arrived in Greece even before the Mycenaean leaders had taken over during the fifteenth century. These inhabitants were then made subservient to the Spartans, although not as personal slaves, but rather as public slaves, who were more like serfs. Early in their history, the Spartans after subjugating the helots probably made a compact with them so that both sides benefited—the Spartans got workers, and the helots were not subjugated as slaves proper. In this arrangement, the helots would provide half of their produce as tribute to individual Spartan citizens (Spartiates) from their estates in exchange for not being sold or forced from their land. In fact, the Spartiate could not free the helots or sell them. Here, the Spartans agreed to abandon the idea of slavery that existed in other cities, where a slave could be bought and sold; instead, the helot family would not be broken up or sold and have to leave their homes. The helots were permitted to keep the other half of the produce for themselves and even hold land within their family, and apparently within a broader communal system. The helots also served their individual masters on military campaigns and could fight as light-armed troops or oarsmen, but the Spartans were very careful about arming helots in case of rebellion. The helot population greatly expanded when Sparta achieved a victory over Messenia in western Laconia in the First Messenian War (740–720) and fused the Messenians with the preexisting helots. This increase in rich, fertile land committed the Spartans to a mainly agricultural life, which allowed a large, professional army to be supported. The helots were similar to later medieval serfs, in that they were not completely free and tied to the land but could not be bought and sold like a slave.

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In Messenia, the helots greatly outnumbered the Spartans. The historian Herodotus indicated that there were seven helots for every Spartan. Although this figure may have been exaggerated, it is clear that the helots were more numerous than the Spartans in both Messenia and Laconia. Even in Laconia, where there were other free individuals who did not have citizenship, such as the perioeci, the helots probably were the majority of the population. Because of this outnumbering of the Spartans by the helots, the Spartans lived in continuous fear of rebellion, especially after the First and Second Messenian Wars of the eighth and seventh centuries. The Spartans were loath to leave the Peloponnese in fear of a helot uprising. This shaped their political evolution during the Classical Age, as they did not venture out, preferring to wage a defensive war if needed. The Spartans did attack Argos in the Peloponnese, but until the Peloponnesian War (432–404), they did not desire to move north except in rare cases. Their fear of the helots resulted in Pausanias, one of their greatest generals and the victor over the Persians at Plataea in 479, to be put to death in 469 for supposedly plotting to give citizenship to the helots who had fought at Plataea. During the Third Messenian War (465–461), the helots did rebel, and Sparta even asked Athens for help; it sent the general Cimon, a friend of Sparta, in response. Sparta then sent him home because they feared Athens had helped with the rebellion, thus ending Spartan and Athenian coexistence after the Persian Wars. And when the Spartans in the Peloponnesian War were defeated at Sphacteria (Pylos) in Messenia, they feared another helot rebellion; to forestall it, they freed 2,000 helots who had fought for them, only to then secretly assassinate them to remove any potential rebel leaders. The Spartans developed a series of policies and organizations to keep the helots under control. For example, every year the newly elected Ephors would declare war on the helots. While this did not mean that the Spartan army marched into Messenia or Laconia to fight the helots, it did allow the Spartans to kill a helot at any time if they believed that he would be a problem without penalty and not incur the polluting sin of murder. To help control the helots, the Spartans created the krypteia, or secret police, which removed any helot who seemed to be particularly troublesome. The Spartans began to establish other classes of inhabitants in Laconia directly related to the helots. One was the neodamodeis, who were freed helots who had served in the military and were allowed to become citizens. They were usually sent overseas to prevent creating trouble back home, but they still provided the Spartans with soldiers. Another group, part of the Inferiors (individuals who had lost their social rank within the Spartiates or full Spartans) were the mothones, some of whom appear to have been children of Spartan fathers and helot mothers. Ultimately, Sparta lost control of its helots when Thebes liberated Messenia in 370, but they continued to have them in Laconia until the end of the Greek period. See also: Achaea; Messenia; Perioeci; Slavery; Social Status; Sparta

Further Reading

Cartledge, Paul. 2002. Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History, 1300–362 B.C. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. Grant, Michael. 1989. The Rise of the Greeks. New York: Collier Books. Pomeroy, Sarah B. 2002. Spartan Women. Oxford: Oxford University Press.



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Heraclea Minoa A town on the southern coast of Sicily about fifteen miles from Akragas or Agrigento on the River Halycus or modern Platani in Sicily, Heraclea Minoa had two foundation myths. Although the city was founded in the mid-sixth century according to archaeological finds, its first literary history comes from Herodotus, who indicated that it was a colony of the Greek city Silenus and bore the name of Minoa. In 510, Dorieus, the half-brother of the Spartan king Cleomenes and elder brother of the later king Leonidas, arrived to retake the region in the name of his ancestor Heracles. According to Diodorus, Dorieus waged a war with the Carthaginians and Segestans and was defeated and killed in battle, although Herodotus indicated that he was killed at Sybaris, in southern Italy. Herodotus later tells the story that followers of Dorieus came and battled at Segesta, and most of them died except for Euryleon, who became the leader of Minoa and probably also gave the city its full name of Heraclea Minoa. The story of its mythical foundation brought into being the concept of heroic leaders establishing Greek outposts throughout the Mediterranean. Many stories about the colonies can be reconciled with the competing myths, but that of Heraclea Minoa cannot. One story has Heracles defeating the local hero Eryx in a wrestling match. Eryx was king of the city named for him and was the son of Aphrodite and either Butes the Argonaut or Poseidon. In either case, Eryx was a demigod, or half god/half man, like Heracles. Virgil in his Aeneid recounts the match between the two superheroes and Eryx’s death. Heracles then claimed all of western Sicily for his descendants. Doreius used this story to justify his aggression against the region. The other myth concerns Minos, king of Crete, who arrived in search of Daedalus. Minos, the son of Zeus and Europa, was the first king of Crete. Minos occurs in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Thucydides related that Minos had built a great navy controlling Crete and the islands before the Trojan War, and it is from this story that the idea of a Minoan thalassocracy, a naval empire, arose, in which Crete and Minos controlled all of the Greek islands. The story was further enhanced and expanded, since in mythology Minos ordered the Athenians to send seven boys and seven girls to Cnossos into the labyrinth, created by Daedalus, which housed the man-eating minotaur. Minos pursued Daedalus, who had fashioned wings and flew to Sicily to Kamikos, ruled by King Cocalus. Minos arrived and demanded that Daedalus be handed over, but Cocalus convinced Minos to bathe first, and while doing so, Cocalus’s daughters poured boiling water over him, killing him. His remains were returned to Crete and the city in southern Sicily was named for him. The two stories show how ancient cities attempted to reach back to the mythological period to justify their origins and claim descent from great heroes. The history of Heraclea Minoa shows how an invading force, Dorieus and Sparta, used a previous story of Heracles as justification for their aggression. The Spartan prince Dorieus, who had lost the throne at home, arrived in Sicily after being defeated by the Carthaginians in Libya and expelled. He colonized Eryx, about a mile from the sea near Drepana (modern Trapani). He then marched north

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to the city of Segesta to take it over but was defeated by the Carthaginians, who were helping Segesta. The defeat and death of Dorieus, along with most of the Spartans, forced the survivors under Euryleon to retreat to the south, taking over Minoa. After the takeover by Euryleon and the Spartans, the town was usually called Heraclea but occasionally given the further attribute Minoa to distinguish it. The town apparently grew in prosperity after Euryleon. Akragas (Agrigento), Gela, and Selinus then attempted to beat back Carthage, perhaps in the early sixth century around 500. It was probably at this time that the Spartans under Dorieus’s brother Leonidas (later at Thermopylae) was asked for help, a plea that he ignored. During this war, Heraclea Minoa may have been sacked by Carthage since it is not mentioned in the great First Sicilian War in 480. It could also have already been under Carthaginian control. After the war and peace treaty, Heraclea probably received its freedom as the Carthaginians withdrew to the far western part of the island. The city may have recovered sufficiently to pose a threat to the nearby city of Agrigento. The two came into conflict, and ultimately Agrigento succeeded in controlling the city and region. The city appears to have been reduced in power and stature, since Diodorus mentions that the regions of Selinus, Akragas (Agrigento), and Himera, which must have included Heraclea Minoa (although it is not mentioned), paid tribute to Carthage after the peace treaty of 405. The Carthaginians continued to control this region during the fourth century, with only a few exceptions. The city was an important strategic site on the River Halycus as the boundary between the Carthaginian West and the Greek East. The Carthaginians, although they controlled the city, did not convert it into a Punic settlement, but they probably controlled the local Greek council. See also: Akragas; Carthage; Colonization; Magna Graecia; Minoan; Syracuse

Further Reading

Bosher, Kathryn. 2012. Theater Outside Athens: Drama in Greek Sicily and South Italy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wilson, R. J. A., and A. Leonard, Jr. 1980. “Field Survey at Heraclea Mino (Agrigento), Sicily,” Journal of Field Archaeology 7, no. 2: 219–239.

Himera Himera stood on the northern coast of Sicily between Panormus (Palermo) in the west and Cephaloedium (Cefalu) in the east. The upper town or acropolis was well defended and stood on the rim of hills at the mouth of the Himeras River (the modern Grande in Sicily). The lower town was beside the river’s estuary and the harbor. Founded in 648 by emigrants from Zancle and exiles from Syracuse, it had a Doric dialect and Chalcidic organization. This area was a rich and productive territory that allowed access to the interior via the river, and to the west with Carthage and the Elymians. Together with Selinus in the south, Himera provided access to the west and the Phoenician colonies there. Although Thucydides stated that Himera was the only Greek city on the north coast of Sicily, he probably meant that it was the only one that was independent, since Mylae was already

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there, but it was a part of Zancle. The city produced coinage featuring a badge of the cock, derived from hemera, a pun of the name Himera. Himera was the first Greek city east of the Carthaginian-controlled portion of western Sicily. The tyrant Theron from Agrigento ousted Terillus from Himera, who then asked Carthage for help in retaking his city, leading to the Carthaginian invasion of 480. Although the Carthaginian general Hamilcar indicated that gaining control of Himera was his objective, the size of his army and planning clearly showed that he intended to take the whole island. Since Himera was close to the Carthaginian Panormus, it would have been a natural objective to safeguard the rear, and with civil discord already existing, the city was a tempting target. Hamilcar and the Carthaginians were defeated in the great Battle of Himera in 480, viewed by the Sicilians as equal to the Battle of Salamis, supposedly occurring on the same day in the east. The victor, Gelon of Syracuse, who arrived with a large army and excellent cavalry, destroyed the Carthaginian army, killing the general Hamilcar and forcing the rest to surrender. The battle saved the western Greeks from domination by Carthage. Theron settled many colonists from other parts of Sicily in Himera, which now became a Doric city. After the death of Theron and his son’s ouster, the city permitted exiles to return and no longer had civil dissension. In 415, Himera promised to help the Spartans and Syracuse against the Athenians in their ill-fated expedition. The city refused to allow the Athenians under Nicias to land and supported the Spartan general Gylippus, who arrived at the city to march across the island in relief of Syracuse. The period of peace and prosperity from 470 to 409 ended when the Carthaginians launched another great expedition to Sicily. Carthage planned to help its neighbor and ally Segesta, to the west of Panormus, against Selinus in the south. The Carthaginian general Hannibal Mago destroyed Selinus and then marched against Himera, which was caught off guard and poorly defended. After a desperate defense, the city was stormed and taken, suffering great losses. Hannibal executed 3,000 prisoners in memory of his grandfather Hamilcar, who had been defeated seventy years earlier. Hannibal then destroyed the city completely. After the peace treaty, the refugees returned and established a new city, Thermae, some eight miles away. Notable achievements of Himeran citizens and residents included the sixthcentury poet Stesichorus (whose name means “choirmaster”), who was born in Tisias and excelled in the choral song with the lyre and other musical instruments. He established the heroic narrative tradition using this system. Born in Zancle in the late seventh century, Stesichorus moved to Himera and except for his travels resided there. He died in Himera in the mid-sixth century at an old age. Although only fragments of Stesichorus’s works survive, he was renowned throughout the Greek world, and as a western Greek, he allowed Sicilian cultural achievements to be on par with the Greek mainland. He wrote on a large variety of Greek mythology and was praised for his plots, nobility of the heroes, and elevating the heroes as true models of society. His works continued the epics of the Iliad and Odyssey, known as the Epic Cycles. He wrote the Sack of Troy, with an account of the wooden horse built by Epeus and the return of other heroes from the Trojan War.

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In his work Helen, he wrote of her willing abduction to Troy, but in a later work, Palinode, he indicated that Helen did not go to Troy at all, and that Homer invented this story (in a second Palinode, he blamed Hesiod). His work Oresteia, probably written to curry support from Sparta, attributed the death of Agamemnon to Sparta. He wrote about the problems of tragic love in the Europa, describing Eriphlye, the unfaithful wife of Amphiaraus, who was killed by their son, Alcamaeon. He wrote about the Argonauts and the Black Sea, with its important trade connection in the Funeral Games of Pelias. He also warned Himera against calling in the tyrant Phalaris for help against nearby native cities including Vessa. His work Geryoneis, was about the tenth labor of Heracles in northwestern Sicily, perhaps as a warning about a future Greek and Carthaginian conflict. Himera provided an important cultural city to the Greeks in Sicily and was a valuable outpost against Carthage. See also: Carthage; Magna Graecia; Sicilian Expedition; Syracuse

Further Reading

Grant, Michael. 1989. The Rise of the Greeks. New York: Collier Books. Lewis, Virginia M. 2020. Myth, Locality, and Identity in Pindar’s Sicilian Odes. New York: Oxford University Press. Nicholson, Nigel James. 2016. The Poetics of Victory in the Greek West: Epinician, Oral Tradition, and the Deinomenid Empire. New York: Oxford University Press. For a discussion of the wars in Sicily, see Lee, John W. I., “The Fight for Ancient Sicily,” Archaeology Archive, January/February 2011, Volume 64, https://archive. archaeology.org/1101/features/himera.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Homeric Epics According to one view, the author Homer wrote two works, the Iliad and the Odyssey, in about 800, describing events that had occurred three to four centuries earlier. The other view is that a series of authors composed two epic poems handed down through oral tradition until finally coalescing into these two works. Modern scholars also believe that although the two poems were composed at about the same time, they were probably written by two different authors, perhaps one named Homer, the other unknown. The debate, however, is far from over and will probably never be settled. In antiquity, Homer was said to be a blind poet from Ionia or the western coast of Turkey. Other ancient authors have it that he was from Chios and was a wandering poet. While these stories about Homer are fictitious, the ancients made Homer into a semidivine person who understood society, politics, and warfare. The poems are a mixture of Ionic and Aeolic dialects and contain words, phrases, and morphology from different centuries, with eastern Ionia dominating. The poems were transmitted orally at first, and many of the phrases show examples of stock formulas and words, often repeated, such as words for war, honor, individual combat, and lineage. The name Homer then should be seen more as a way to celebrate the culmination of the Iliad and Odyssey being written down rather than an individual writer who composed the final version.



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Odysseus returning to Penelope. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Fletcher Fund, 1930)

The two works were the earliest textbooks for ancient students. In particular, the Iliad was used more by teachers in antiquity, especially during the Hellenistic and Roman eras. His works were used by succeeding generations to describe the education and philosophy of the pre-Classical Greeks, with Homer even being seen as a philosopher. In the modern period, scholars hold that the two poems were not produced by the same author due to extensive differences in the treatment of the gods, ethics, geography, terminology, and politics. Each poem, however, shows unity within itself, indicating that they were probably each created as a distinct entity rather than merely a compilation of smaller poems put together to tell a story. Although in antiquity, the audience thought that Homer was an eyewitness to the events described, it is now known that the differences between the two works and the events afterward show that the final authors lived several centuries after the Trojan War and relied on a tradition of oral stories passed down. In the pre-twentieth century, many individuals even doubted whether the events took place at all,

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but Heinrich Schliemann in 1873 showed that there was indeed a Troy in the area described by Homer. While Schliemann’s archaeological dig may have misidentified the particular ruin, it has been shown that a series of wars took place at the site over several centuries, with some corresponding to the period from 1250 to 1000. The current theory is that the Iliad was written shortly before the Odyssey, with Homeric formulas preserving earlier materials than the contemporary poems. They were written in heroic hexameter poetry or unrhymed dactylic hexameter. This type of poetry used quantitative meter rather than stresses. The dactylic hexameter has six feet, where each foot would be a dactyl composed of one long and two short syllables, although with the spondee (or two stressed or long syllables) in place of the dactyl. This system helped the poet extemporize due to a continual repetitive structure, and the poems could be memorized based upon the story and structure of the language. The Iliad concerns itself with war, particularly the fighting that took place before the wall of Troy. Multiple stories are interwoven in the poem, telling about events that occur over only four days in the tenth year of the war. Taking its name from Ilion, another name for Troy, the poem is about the “wrath of Achilles” and how the Greek leader Agamemnon avenged his honor. During the war, a plague descends upon the Greek army due to the daughter of a priest of Apollo, Chryseis, being taken by the great king. If he returned her, it is said, the plague would be lifted. Agamemnon assents, but he takes in her place Briseis, Achilles’s slaveconcubine. Achilles refuses to accept this affront and does not participate in the fighting, so the Greeks are bested. Although Agamemnon attempts to make amends, Achilles continues to brood. When the Trojans attack and burn the Greek ships, Achilles’s friend Patroclus puts on Achilles’s armor, with Achilles’s blessing, and goes to meet Hector, prince of Troy. Hector kills Patroclus, thus bringing Achilles out of his despair; he meets the Trojans, killing Hector and then abusing the corpse by tying it to his chariot and dragging it through the dust. The poem ends with the funeral games of Patroclus and the Trojan king Priam begging Achilles for the body of Hector. After his anger subsides, Achilles pities the old king and allows the body to be returned. The poem also describes the court life of Troy. The aged monarch Priam and his wife, Hecuba, witness so many of the Trojan warriors and their own sons being killed (especially their favorite son, Hector) in battle. The poem also shows the interplay between Hector and his wife, Andromache, with one scene where Hector, readying for battle in his full armor, frightens his young son when he wears his helmet. The poem also explains the story of Helen, wife of the Greek king Menelaus who was taken by Paris, Hector’s brother, to start the war. The poem originally shows Helen willingly leaving Menelaus for Paris, but now she despises the Trojan prince. The poem includes various other subplots that contribute to the background of the war. One of the most important sections for Greek development includes the catalogue of Greek Ships and catalogue of Trojan forces, which occupies most of Book 2 of the Iliad describing the forces on both sides engaged in the great war. This section provides an understanding of historical powers both in the eighth century, when the work was written, and the thirteenth century, when the war was supposed to have taken place.



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The differences in the poem show itself in a variety of fashions. For example, the warriors in the poem are cremated, as was common in the eighth century, not entombed in shaft graves as in the Mycenaean period. The weapons described by Homer are forged of iron, which was inexpensive in his time but costly in Mycenaean times, when bronze still dominated. On the other hand, Homer describes the cup of Nestor, which was decorated with Minoan art motifs found in Mycenaean sites, and a helmet that had gone out of style before Mycenae had even fallen. It is in the Catalogue of Greek Ships that one finds the greatest difference between the Mycenaean and Homeric periods. The Odyssey, like the Iliad, is written in twenty-four books that cover the wanderings of Odysseus after the Trojan War. While the actual time in the poem is only the last six weeks, Odysseus relates his story and adventures from even earlier. After Troy’s destruction, Odysseus sails to Thrace and engages in piracy; then to the Lotus-Eaters, where his crew becomes placid due to eating the lotus; and then to Italy and the land of the Cyclopes. Here, he kills Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon, earning the sea god’s enmity. He and his crew are then entertained by Aeolus, who gives him a bag filled with all of the adverse winds so he could sail home without incident, but his crew opened the bag since they believe it holds treasures. This act drives his ships to the land of Laestrygones, cannibal giants who destroyed eleven of his twelve ships; and then to Aeaea, where the witch Circe turned Odysseus’s men into pigs. After Odysseus has forced Circe to restore his men by threatening to kill her, she instructs him to go to the underworld to consult Teiresias about how to return home. There, he meets his mother and other heroes, including Achilles. Teiresias tells him how he would be able to return. Odysseus and his crew then sail past the Sirens and between Scylla and Charybdis mythological creatures which destroyed ships in the Strait of Messenia off Sicily, probably rocks and a whirlpool, respectively, and then to Thrinacia, where his crew kills the sacred cattle, prompting Zeus to destroy his ship and crew. Odysseus then makes it to Ogygia, where Calypso takes care of him for seven years before being ordered by the gods to set him free. Odysseus next sails to Scheria, where he is found by Nausicaa, the daughter of King Alcinous. He finally returns home to Ithaca, where his palace has been invaded by suitors aggressively wooing his wife, Penelope. During the time, Odysseus has been gone (ten years at Troy and ten years wandering), Penelope has been true. Raising their son, Telemachus, she has been the model of wifely virtue. When Odysseus does not return after the war, she is pressed to marry again. She is able to put off the request for a while by indicating that she had to finish the burial cloth for Odysseus’s father, Laertes, before considering remarriage. Every night she undoes the work of the day until her deception is discovered. Telemachus visits Nestor at Pylos and Menelaus and Helen at Sparta, attempting to discover where his father is. With Odysseus returning as a beggar, and after being abused by the suitors, he reveals himself to Telemachus. Penelope is instructed to give a task to the suitors—whoever can string O ­ dysseus’s bow and shoot an arrow through twelve ax heads can wed her. After all of the suitors fail, the old beggar asks and successfully strings the bow and shoots the arrow. He then proceeds with Telemachus’s help to kill all of the suitors and hang

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all of the women of his household who had become their lovers. He finally convinces Penelope that he is her husband by describing their wedding bed. Athena prevents any further blood feud by stopping the families of the suitors from attacking to seek revenge. The poems relate the society of both the Mycenaean world and the Dark Ages. Social structures exist but are often at variance. For example, the Iliad refers to Agamemnon as “Wanax,” a term for “king” not used much in the Dark Ages. The fighters in the Iliad use chariot to bring them to the battlefield like taxis but the chariots do not play any part in the actual battle. The Greeks use the spear as a throwing weapon, even though it was used as a thrusting weapon during the Mycenaean period. These differences stem from the fact that the poems underwent dramatic changes during the 300 years of oral tradition before being written down. There are also differences such as terminology, the use of aristocratic councils in the Odyssey, and the role of the gods. In the Iliad, the gods are at odds with each other and take sides, while in the Odyssey, they act more as spectators, with the exception of Poseidon and Athena. The Homeric Age, as related through the Iliad and the Odyssey, describe the continual evolution of Greek society from the Heroic Age of the Mycenaean through the Dark Ages before the creation of the polis. They describe the lives of kings and the emerging aristocrats, rooted in military conflict. See also: Achaea; Literature; Mycenae; Pylos; Slavery; Social Status; Sparta; Thebes; Troy; Weapons

Further Reading

Fowler, Robert (ed.). 2004. The Cambridge Companion to Homer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Graziosi, B. 2019. Homer: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rayor, D. J. 2004. The Homeric Hymns. Berkeley: University of California Press. West, M. L. 2017. The Making of the Odyssey. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hoplite Previously during the Heroic and Dark Ages, the armies fought in individual combats spread out across the battlefield. At some time during the eighth to seventh centuries, Greek warfare changed from an individualistic fighting style to a communal model. This new style has been termed the hoplite model or revolution. In Homer’s Iliad, heroes such as Achilles fought individual duels with other leaders, which often decided a particular battle. The battles allowed individuals to seek glory and lead their men into small-scale battles they were never in the form of a concerted force but rather these exchanges should be seen akin to raids, involving fewer than 1,000 men. As cities grew and the population became more significant after the Dark Ages, the style of warfare also changed. During the Archaic period, this type of fighting continued with aristocratic warriors fighting from a distance, throwing spears and fighting on horseback. The change in warfare from individual to communal also resulted in a change in armor and tactics where the men were armed in similar fashion and fought as a concerted unit.

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The term hoplite took its name from the hoplon, a large bronze or leather shield with a bronze blazon. This shield could protect a soldier from arrows and pellets, as well as spears and swords from multiple combatants, as opposed to earlier shields that were usually effective only in individual combat with swords. This shield was augmented by a helmet, which may have ranged from a sophisticated bronze to a simple leather cap. Another style of helmet was usually made of bronze and often had a crest of horsehair or feathers to make it distinctive. The soldier would have a breastplate made of bronze in two pieces, covering the neck down to the waist. An apron, or mitra, also composed of bronze, was worn near the waist had a semicircular pattern; it probably protected the midsection and groin and was attached to a belt. Also hanging down were thigh pieces that provided protection. The soldier would also wear a greave to protect the tibia bone, which is close to the skin and vulnerable to attack. Shielding this bone prevented wounds that could debilitate the warrior. Finally, there were ankle guards to protect the feet. All total, the weight of well-made bronze pieces would be around seventy pounds. The two throwing spears of the earlier period were now replaced with the single thrusting spear. With the shield no longer strapped to the body but rather held on the left side, it not only provided more maneuverability, but could also be used as a weapon if needed. The change to metal protected the soldier from the enemy’s onslaught. What was crucial was that the changeover allowed the army to become more systematized and democratic. No longer was warfare confined to the aristocrats; with mass production of armor and weapons, the general citizenry could be equipped. This allowed the middle class the opportunity to play an important role in the development and protection of the state. No longer was the army confined to the elites; now it could be expanded to the middle class. The early tyrants realized this important change and began to outfit the middle-class citizens who would support them. With this new group at their command, the tyrants could overpower the aristocrats. On the battlefield, the normal pattern for the hoplites was to mass the soldiers to allow a general pushing match to take place. Both sides usually marched out to a selected battlefield, which was usually flat so as not to give either side any particular advantage. Often, the battlefield was even agreed upon in advance by both cities. The battle was seen as not only a military contest, but a political battle as well. Usually, whoever won the battle would win the war. While cavalry and light infantry, including archers, were used, they were usually not crucial. Typically, the phalanx, as it was called, was rectangular, about eight to ten rows deep, covering an area about a quarter of a mile wide. The two battle lines would close in upon the other, each one often trying to move in such a way as to have its left side extending farther than the enemy’s right in order to protect it and attack the enemy’s weak side without a shield. The opposing force would often move either to the right to prevent this envelope or to the left to overextend the enemy’s right. This often produced a semicomical situation in which the battle line of one side could exchange its orientation from looking north to looking south, and the other side south to north. When the two lines came close to each other, the front two rows would use their spears to stab while the remaining lines would hold their spears vertically and push the rows in the front to hold

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them steady to keep from retreating from the enemy push. At some point, the phalanx would begin its move against the enemy, the othismos, and the front lines would try to push them back. There seems to have been periodic pushes organized en masse to produce bouts of energy to break the enemy line. If the enemy soldiers panicked and broke, they would often flee the battlefield. The cavalry and lightly armed troops would give chase, while the hoplites remained on the battlefield and erected a trophy to signify their victory. Most Greek cities did not have a professional army. Their citizenry was organized and trained throughout their lifetime, but they did not have the extensive training of Sparta, where the men were constantly trained as professional soldiers. Many states did have a small group of citizen-soldiers who would form a type of professional army, acting as the core for the rest of the citizen army. The hoplite army allowed each Greek city-state to create a citizen army to defend itself. Having an army composed of nonprofessionals gave citizens access to the government since they voted for policies, such as war or peace, which they directly participated in. This also promoted the idea of community responsibility since they made decisions that directly impacted their own lives. The hoplite army would remain the standard for nearly four hundred years. See also: Army; Persian Wars; Phalanx; Social Status; Sparta; Weapons

Further Reading

Everson, Tim. 2004. Warfare in Ancient Greece: Arms and Armour from the Heroes of Homer to Alexander the Great. Stroud, UK: Sutton. Hanson, Victor Davis. 1990. The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece. New York: Oxford University Press. Kagan, Donald, and Gregory Viggiano. 2013. Men of Bronze: Hoplite Warfare in Ancient Greece. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Matthew, Christopher Anthony. 2012. A Storm of Spears: Understanding the Greek ­Hoplite at War. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Military. Roisman, Joseph and J. C. Yardley. 2011. Ancient Greece from Homer to Alexander the Evidence. Hoboken: Wiley. For a discussion of resources for hoplites, see “Classroom resource: Hoplites” The British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/learn/schools/ages-7-11/ancient-greece /classroom-resource-hoplites (accessed October 25, 2021).

Horse Racing Among the more exciting and expensive sports featured in the ancient Greek games was horse racing. At the Panhellenic games, these events could bring great honor to the families that entered them. Usually, the races were limited to those who could afford to raise, transport, and outfit the horses (so, mainly the nobility). While the owners did not ride the horses or drive the chariots themselves, they nevertheless received the recognition and awards for winning. The races would take place in a hippodrome, a racetrack for horses. Measuring four stadia, or 800 yards long, the one at Olympia was located near the running course or stadion, originally a unit of measurement 200 yards but also used to



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Carving of Greek chariot racing from Athens. (iStockPhoto.com)

describe the course. The hippodrome featured a large, flat field with a column at either end for marking the turns. At Olympia, the site had a natural hill for viewing on the north side and artificial hills on the south and west. The spectators stood on the hills and viewed the race below, which could include a large number of horses and riders. There were a variety of horse races with four chariots, which were the most prestigious and expensive, those with two horse chariots, and those with single horses. While all of the types of horse racing required a great deal of time and money, the four-horse chariots required the most money and time to train. As the first horse racing event, the four-horse chariots were introduced in 680. These chariots would run twelve laps, or rounds. The two middle horses were attached to the yoke, and the outer two horses were attached to the inner horses by a rope. Since the chariots always made their turns to the left, the outer right horse had to run further and therefore had to be the strongest and fastest. The inner two horses had to respond to the driver’s commands, so it needed the most training. The two-horse chariot race had a more interesting evolution. Originally, there was the chariot race for two mules, starting in 500 at Olympia. This race did not seem to catch on as well as the four-horse type of race, and its prestige ebbed over time. Some viewed the races as beneath the dignity of the racers, and the event with mules was canceled in 444. The two-horse chariot race, with eight laps, began only in 408. Single-horse racing with a rider began in 648 at Olympia. Since the ancients did not have saddles or stirrups, the rider had to have good balance and grip to keep from falling off. A peculiar form of the racing was the kalpe, from 496–444,

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where the rider jumped off the horse, a mare, and ran beside it for the last lap. The length of these races was about one mile. At Olympia, the hippodrome was located between the stadion and the Alpheios River Valley. The structure was fairly simple. The riders would race from one end to the other, and at the end of the track, a column acted as a turning point where the riders turned around. Later hippodromes became more elaborate, with an interior spine (called a spina in the Roman period) so the turns were more gradual. In the ancient Greek hippodrome, the spectators would have been on a nearby hill or slope. In later times, stands were built for the spectators. At Olympia and other sites, an elaborate mechanism existed to ensure that no chariot had an advantage over the rest. A rope was strung between the two starting edges with a Dolphinshaped weight in the middle of the rope to form a V, with the outside chariots at the back of the V and the inside chariots at the intersection of the V facing the racetrack. When the signal for the race to begin occurred, the Dolphin was dropped and the ropes released. Since the ropes at the outside of the V closest to the walls fell first, these chariots would start first. Since this gave them an advantage, they were farthest from the starting line. By the time the ropes fell at the Dolphin where the lines of the V intersected, the chariots would all be in a single line at the same point. Although the outside chariots would have had the benefit of going at a faster rate than the inside chariots, this advantage was reduced since the inside chariots were in the best position for making the turns. The starting positions for all of the chariots were determined by lot so no one had any advantage. Pillars marked the turning points, which were the most dangerous part of the race since racers would attempt to get as close to the pillars as possible to make a tight turn. If a wheel struck a pillar during a turn, it could upend the chariot, throwing the driver to the ground and scattering the horses. The Hippodrome at Mount Lydaion was about 350 yards long and 150 yards wide , smaller than the one at Olympia. A racecourse of about 200 yards long was enclosed within it; other sites included Memea also in the Peloponnese in ancient Argolis which held the Nemean Games beginning about 573 and finally Olympia. Some of the hippodromes in Greece were at Delos, a religious site to Apollo; ­Delphi, which was not only a great religious center but the site of the Pythian ­Panhellenic Games; and Isthmia, on the Isthmus of Corinth, where the Isthmian Games were held. Also, Aristotle mentioned that Lykaion in Arcadia in the Peloponnese had games, and this locale contains the only surviving ancient hippodrome. See also: Athletes; Games; Olympic Games; Panhellenic Games; Stadium; Thessaly

Further Reading

Finley, M. I., and H. W. Pleket. 1976. The Olympic Games: The First Thousand Years. New York: Viking Press. Johns, C. 2006. Horses: History, Myth, Art. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Kyle, Donald G. 1993. Athletics in Ancient Athens. 2nd rev. ed. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill. For a description of horse racing in the ancient Olympics, see Clarysse, Willy and Sofie Remijsen. 2008, “Horse Races,” Ancient Olympics, Leuven, Belgium, http:// ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TC008EN.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

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House The houses of the ancient Greeks were meant as largely outdoor environments that could afford safety and protection to the family and their possessions. The Greek house during the Classical Age was modeled on the Homeric palace plan and changed over time. The Homeric palace had a courtyard or aula, with an altar to Zeus in the center, and a megaron, or central hall, off the courtyard containing a hearth or family fire in the center. Off the megaron were rooms for the family. In the historical period, the aula continued as it was, while the megaron became the andron, or reception hall. The houses of well-to-do Greeks probably had a similar plan. The houses did not have the ostentatious design of modern times; rather, they went mostly unadorned. The houses looked inward. The outside walls were plain, made of sun-dried but not burned brick. They probably presented a blank surface. The walls did not have windows on the ground floor, and on the second, they had windows protected by lattices or shutters rather than glass. The windows let in air, but not light. Roofs were made of hardened or sun-dried mud, or tiles in wealthy homes. These tiles were often used for weapons, such as when Pyrrhus, an Epriot general, was hit by a tile thrown from a roof when he attempted to conquer a city. One entered a house through a door in a wall, usually at ground level from the street. The door usually opened inward and had a knocker so visitors could signal their arrival. The individual came into a corridor. Off to one side was a small room for the porter, who opened the door, announced visitors, and protected the family. On the other side was the entrance to a shop, which was either owned by the family or rented out. Farther down the corridor, behind these two rooms,

Queen’s megaron at the palace of Cnossus. (Arsty/Dreamstime.com)

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would be the servant quarters. The corridor then led into a square aula, with columns supporting an open roof that allowed light to enter the home. Opposite the corridor, behind the courtyard through a doorway was the andron. A large room, the pastas or prostas, faced south to catch the afternoon light. Around this room were the major rooms for the household. One side would have rooms for the women, separate from rooms for men on the opposite side. If the house had an upper floor, these rooms were also living quarters, often for extended family members or more servants. During the day, the aula was occupied by the women. The floors of most houses were made of concrete, with some simple coverings of mosaics, although later they became more elaborate. The interior walls were made of stucco and probably were painted. With the exception of a central hearth in the andron, heating was probably supplied by portable braziers with charcoal. The furniture was probably simple and not extensive: beds, couches, round tables for serving food, chests for storing clothes, and chairs. In addition, there were probably a variety of earthenware vessels and tableware. Amphorae were commonly used to store of wine, oil, and grain. See also: Architecture; Furniture; Sex; Social Status

Further Reading

Ault, Bradley A., and Lisa C. Nevett. 2005. Ancient Greek Houses and Households: Chronological, Regional, and Social Diversity. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Rider, Bertha Carr. 1964. Ancient Greek Houses: Their History and Development from the Neolithic Period to the Hellenistic Age. Chicago: Argonaut. For a description of the Greek house, see Lahanas, Michael, “Furniture and the Greek House, Part 2,” Hellenica World, http://www.hellenicaworld.com/Greece/Ancient /en/Furniture2.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

I Inscriptions and Papyri The transmission of ancient documents has occurred through several main sources, namely inscriptions, papyri, and literary works preserved in medieval manuscripts. Inscriptions, or epigraphy, usually refer to any writing preserved on a durable material such as stone or metal. The writing may be impressed, cut, or scratched; and it may be a public or private document. Papyri are written with ink on the papyrus plant, and there was also a subsidiary form on pottery or pieces of pottery called ostraca. While engravings on coins can be considered inscriptions, they are usually associated with the study of numismatics. The earliest inscriptions from the Greek world come from the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations, with incised tablets containing Linear B and Linear A writing. Linear B has been shown to be an early form of Greek, while the even earlier Linear A has not been deciphered. After a period of about three centuries corresponding to the Dorian invasion or the Dark Ages, the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, adapting it to their language and creating their own form of script. The earliest inscriptions are seen on clay pots, featuring names and occasional comments. Many of the names represented on the pots are those of heroes or the manufacturer or potter. The next phase became more expansive, and by the seventh century, there were public inscriptions, usually in the form of dedications to gods on temples or names on gravestones. Like the Phoenicians, the Greeks would write from right to left, or retrograde. If a second line was needed, they would write under the first one, but now it went left to right. This form of writing is known as boustrophedon, meaning “as the ox turns,” coming from bous meaning ox, strophe to turn, and don meaning like in a manner, and it allows the reader to continue to scan the line ­without a break. The letters were Inscription from Athens. (The Metropolitan also turned in the appropriate Museum of Art/Fletcher Fund, 1926)

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direction to ensure that the reader could follow them. If a third line was needed, it again would run from right to left, and so forth. Some inscriptions from the seventh to sixth centuries were also written vertically. It is possible that different writers had their own styles and mannerisms. When the Greeks began to set up formal and public documents, they again altered their form and began to write all their lines from left to right, abandoning both the boustrophedon approach and the Phoenician system of writing. It was also during the sixth century that the Greeks, mainly the Athenians, adopted another format, stoichedon, meaning “in a line.” Here, the letters were aligned exactly horizontally and vertically and were of the same size. This allowed symmetry, which the Greeks admired and strived to achieve. This type of system continued during the Classical Age, but by the end of the third century, during the Hellenistic Age, stoichedon had disappeared, probably due to the continual new influences from the east and new Greek speakers and writers. Scholars can use stoichedon to help determine a missing letter or words. Many of the Greek inscriptions provide important legal and economic material for the study of history. For example, during the Athenian Empire and Delian League, the Athenians set up tribute lists. These inscriptions from the Acropolis of Athens recorded the finances of the empire, specifically what member-cities paid in the form of tribute or taxes. These particular inscriptions record the payment to Athena and accounted for one-sixtieth of the tribute; therefore, it is possible to determine what each city paid in total. The inscriptions date from 454 to 406 (with some interruptions), when the treasury was moved from Delos to Athens. Also dating from this period is the so-called code of Gortyn, which was a law code from Gortyn Crete. The code enumerated many of the city’s laws at that time, but it also included many of the laws that existed before the Classical Age. It deals with a variety of topics, including slaves, family law, property rights and trial procedure. Another fragmentary inscription, the Parian Marble, recorded in chronological order events beginning with Cecrops, the first king of Athens, from 1580 to 263, and it included a variety of history, religious, and military events. Different types of inscriptions include those found at Greek temples. Some of these inscriptions laid out the rules and regulations for sacrifices. The temple inscription at Delos laid down the amount of property held by the temple (which was significant). Often, these inscriptions also indicate how much wealth a temple might receive in the future, such as the Delian League’s treasury. Other inscriptions, such as at Delphi, recorded gifts made to the god Apollo by city-states in offers of thanksgiving. Some inscriptions record the various types of priests and the rituals they undertook when offering sacrifices. Other inscriptions were on votive offerings made by individuals to show how they were cured, to give thanksgiving, or to ask for help. In the realm of political inscriptions, a variety of types exist, such as the commemoration of the victory at Salamis by the Athenians and inscriptions set up to show how colonies were established. Many inscriptions are dedications for buildings made by the state or by individuals. These were created to honor the individual or family, affording political and social benefits. A series of inscriptions relate to the ephebic system at Athens, which was created to train



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young men to become citizens; it was reserved for a specific age group and encouraged the city and its inhabitants to foster ideal behavior. Allied with inscriptions are papyri. This branch of writing is based on the papyrus plant, grown in Egypt. Having a long history dating to the First Dynasty of Egypt, it became one of the chief forms of written communication in the ancient Mediterranean. Papyri have been found as early as 2500, the time of the Great Pyramid at Giza. The Egyptians maintained a monopoly on the production of papyrus, but they clearly wanted to ensure that it was available so they could export it in sufficient quantities. In the manufacture of papyrus, the papyrus plant has the outer layer removed, leaving the inner fibrous pith, which then was cut into strips of about one and a half feet long. These wet strips were placed side by side with their outer edges overlapping, and other layers were placed at right angles over the first layer and the two were glued and hammered together, turning the two sheets into one. The sheets were dried under pressure and then polished by rubbing them with a stone or other round object to make them smooth. Sometimes the sheets were cut into small pieces and glued together into a roll. These rolls had the horizontal strips of the papyrus on the front side (recto) and the vertical ones on the back side (verso). The recto side would be written on first, and when the papyrus was reused (a common phenomenon) the verso often would be written on. These sheets were often wrapped around two sticks so that they could be rolled and unrolled at will. Since papyrus is a hardy plant and its cellulose is resistant to rot, it survived well in the hot, dry Egyptian desert. Many finds have been made that document over 3,000 years of use. There are very few examples of papyri surviving in Europe from this period due to the humid climate. Inscriptions and later papyri allow many nonliterary materials to be known and help scholars corroborate or refute the literary records and examine the evolution of Greek life. See also: Alphabet; Linear B; Literature; Minoan

Further Reading

Diringer, David. 1982. The Book Before Printing: Ancient, Medieval, and Oriental. New York: Dover Publications. Osborne, Robin and P. J. Rhodes. 2017. Greek Historical Inscriptions, 478–404 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rhodes, P. J., and Robin Osborne. 2003. Greek Historical Inscriptions: 404–323 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press. For an overview of Egyptian papyri, see Abercrombie, John R. 1978, “Egyptian Papyri,” Expedition, volume 20, Penn Museum, https://www.penn.museum/sites /expedition/egyptian-papyri/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Ionian League The evolution of the Ionian or Panionic League is shrouded in myth concerning the Ionian Migration and its aftermath in Asia. The mythic view is that when the Dorians arrived in Greece, remnants of the Mycenaean population, together with other indigenous groups, migrated from Greece to Asia Minor and settled on the

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western coast, with one group mainly coming from Attica in the area of Ionia. These settlers then established cities or colonies, which were augmented by later arrivals from Greece who were forced to emigrate due to its overpopulation. They had a common language, which allowed them to celebrate common customs and create a unified league. The reality is much more complicated than the mythic version. The region already had outposts from the Greek world that were settled during the Mycenaean period. These sites were probably settled as trading posts. They continued past the fall of Mycenae and other Greek cities during the so-called Dorian invasion. The new colonists did not set out all at once, as portrayed in the myths; rather, they traveled as a general and gradual movement, which resulted in new cities being built or established near many of the former Mycenaean outposts. While many of these cities had similar backgrounds, such as linguistic developments and shared experiences, they should not be seen as homogenous movements with common practices. Instead, the migration of population probably followed similar patterns, in which groups set out from a particular region in Greece and settled in Asia Minor. Once settled, they would inform their home or mother region of the promising outlook, which probably then started another wave of migration. These new immigrants would either augment the existing city or perhaps establish a new city. Ultimately, by the eighth century, a large number of cities existed with sufficient population to allow the region to be identified as Ionian, or Aeolian to the north and Dorian to the south, where similar trends existed. The great Ionian migration, then, was more of a gradual migration over several centuries. While these new cities had some shared ideas, they should not truly be seen as allies; rather, each was independent. During the ninth and eighth centuries, a common identity based upon their linguistic characteristics began to emerge, and although the cities were not entirely Ionian, they had similar religious sentiments. The initial Ionian League was established during the Geometric and Archaic periods. The league did not necessarily include all cities in the geographical region of Ionia or those who professed to be Ionian. While it initially indicated that the members were all Ionian, that actually was not the case. During the seventh century, a group of cities on western Asia Minor and the nearby islands in the eastern Aegean formed a group that also was known as the Ionian League. These city-states traditionally celebrated a religious festival, the Panionia, dedicated to Poseidon Helikonios, at Panionion on the Mycale peninsula. The members prided themselves as “the Ionians,” which the historian Herodotus, who was hostile to the Ionians, described as pretentious. In later times, the league became a center of resistance to Persia against the kings Cyrus (546–540) and Darius (499–493). While political and military functions occurred later, it seems that the earliest reason for the creation of the Ionian League was religious and ethnic. It is possible that the league’s initial development, which was probably gradual, also occurred with the successive Ionian migrations. It is not necessary to view the creation of the league as instantaneous due to a preconceived idea of Ionian brotherhood; rather, the league developed gradually from a common religious ideology and



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then from political necessity based on geographical realities. Herodotus, the chief historical source, said that the league celebrated the Panionia to its chief deity, Poseidon, at the Panionion, and this act was the primary reason for the league, as a religious amphictyony, to exist. He does not describe any other business occurring there except in the late period against Persia (499–493) and even here, he does not state that the business was associated with the Panionia. The league was initially composed of twelve cities: Miletus, Myus (Myos), and Priene, all of which were in Caria in the southern area extending to Lycia in the south and Phrygia in the east; Ephesus, Colophon, Lebedos, Teos, Clazomenae, and Phocaea, which were in Lydia and extended farther inland and whose residents spoke a different dialect then the others; Samos, an island with its own dialect; Chios; and Erythrae, an island and a coastal city with its own dialect. The league initially refused Smyrna admittance since it was Aeolian, but this may have been due to the league being in place a long time before the application was made (it clearly existed before the seventh century). Smyrna was ultimately allowed to join. Smyrna had been captured by the Ionians by Colophon, and this probably brought it into the Ionian fold. Colophon may have had control over Smyrna, so it was thought to be a dependent of the Ionian city. Although they touted themselves as “the Ionians,” not all the cities were Ionian in origin. Chios, Phocaea, Clazomenae, Erythrae, and Samos appear not to have been primary Ionian settlements, and they were seemingly brought into the league during an initial period of expansion and growth. Samos, for example, appears to have been conquered by Ephesus and was then brought into the league by force. The cities of Miletus, Myus, Priene, Ephesus, Colophon, Lebedos, and Teos probably formed the original Ionian core, and Samos was added early due to the war with Ephesus. This makes sense since these cities were all around the sacred site of Panionion on the Mycale peninsula. The Melian War created the final division between Caria and Ionia on the Meander River. It appears that Melite and its lands Melia was a Carian city, and members of the league destroyed it. During the Melian War, the Ionian League broke up the city and its lands so that the league could expand. The destruction of this so-called thirteenth member of the league probably misrepresents a local war between Samos, Priene, Miletus, and Colophon in which Melite was the main loser between Samos and Priene and the land was distributed by a treaty among the cities; some lost and others gained, but the Ionian League was not involved. Although there may have been a war, it may have been not at Mycale, the supposed site, but against Melia in Caria, which was not Ionian. If Melite was indeed part of the league, it may have been viewed as more Carian and less Ionian, and may have been an outlier that had to be dealt with. The league was meant to unify the Ionians, where a small set of cities and islands around Mycale came together to worship Poseidon Helikonios at Panionion, a god brought from Boeotia who remained as the Ionian national god. As the league grew, it took over non-Ionian states such as Chios and claimed them as Ionian so they would fit into their scheme of ethnic and religious identity. The inhabitants intermingled with the local native population but retained their Greek identity, which the league and its religious functions promoted. During the course

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of migration, the group at and around Mycale retained their strong identity and influenced the new migrants, who also now identified as Ionian. This Ionian migration as a strong Athenian force after the fall of Mycenae is definitely overblown, but the seeds of migration, even if it was gradual, are clear. The names of Attic tribes transplanted to Ionia clearly support a general picture of migration from the Greek homeland, especially around Boeotia and Attica. The Panionion was found on the slopes of Mount Mykale, where a fourth-century monumental altar was built. It was close to a bouleuterion, a building used for meetings. This structure was built over a destroyed seventh-century settlement and points to the earlier cult being important. With the expansion of Lydia, and then Persia, the league began to take on more of a political nature in the hope of stopping incursions. Perhaps when Croesus of Lydia attacked the coastal cities of Ionia, Thales of Miletus urged the Ionians to create a more unified and centralized league to resist the incursion. This did not happen. When Cyrus in 546 captured Sardis and defeated Croesus, the Ionians faced a threat once again. Cyrus rejected the political overtures made by the Ionians, except for Miletus, which fell under Persian rule, and the Ionians now faced the choice of either fighting Persia or surrendering to an unknown foe under uncertain terms. The league met at the Panionion and decided to send envoys to Sparta for help. The result must have been negative, since during the Persian operations against the Ionian cities, the league is not mentioned as being active. Apparently, the Persians had decided not to dissolve the league because league representatives met and heard a proposal by Bias of Priene in that the league’s cities should abandon their homes, sail to Sardinia, and establish a united city of Ionians. His proposal was rejected, presumably on several grounds—the logistics, normal fear of the unknown, and local patriotism. The tyrant Aristagoras of Miletus took over the direction of the league and at a meeting decided to send a fleet to Cyprus to help Onesilos during an Ionian revolt in which he overthrew his pro-Persian brother as the ruler of Salamis Cyprus. Here, the fleet was under the command of each city’s captains rather than one leader, Aristagoras. The fleet was victorious, although Onesilos would later die in battle. Finally, the league met to discuss the actions needed in the Ionian revolt in 494, when the Persians massed a large force and engaged in the Battle of Lade defeating the league and the Ionian cities. These meetings presumably were allowed outside of religious gatherings, an apparently extraordinary occurrence. It is unclear who called these meetings. There would normally be two possibilities—either some kind of central authority or an individual state that was powerful enough to hold sway over the other states, such as Sparta. From the evidence, it does not appear that one city-state had enough power and clout to call a meeting outside of the normal times. What is more likely is that as a religious amphictyony, an association of nearby cities formed around a religious center, it had a powerful, centralized body of priests who may have had enough clout (or at least religious authority) to call a meeting. This was known to exist at Delphi, where the priests could issue summons for the delegates in the Delphic Amphictyony to come to a meeting.



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Not Asking the Right Question The following excerpt from Herodotus Histories relates Croesus’s hope in finding out what would happen if he went to war with Persia. The Oracle of Delphi responded, and it appeared to favor Croesus, saying that the result would be the destruction of an empire. After going to war, Croesus was defeated, and when he reproached the Oracle for giving him bad advice, the Oracle responded that it had spoken the truth; an empire did indeed fall—his. If the king had wanted to know which empire was being referenced, he should have asked his question differently. The power of Oracles was strong but did not provide an easy or direct response. The messengers who had the charge of conveying these treasures to the shrines, received instructions to ask the oracles whether Croesus should go to war with the Persians, and if so, whether he should strengthen himself by the forces of an ally. Accordingly, when they had reached their destinations and presented the gifts, they proceeded to consult the oracles in the following terms: “Croesus, king of Lydia and other countries, believing that these are the only real oracles in all the world, has sent you such presents as your discoveries deserved, and now inquires of you whether he shall go to war with the Persians, and if so, whether he shall strengthen himself by the forces of a confederate.” Both the oracles agreed in the tenor of their reply, which was in each case a prophecy that if Croesus attacked the Persians, he would destroy a mighty empire, and a recommendation to him to look and see who were the most powerful of the Greeks, and to make alliance with them. Source: Herodotus. George Rawlinson, and Edward Henry Blakeney. 1912. The History of Herodotus. London: J. M. Dent. Volume 1, p. 24.

It seems then that the Ionian League was a religious organization that developed a political agenda rather than a symmachy, which had a subordinate religious function. The league was not organized as an alliance with treaties among the city-states to act together politically, as in a symmachy, where one state was recognized as leader, or hegemon. This is clear from the attempt of Aristogoras to control the league in the Ionian revolt, where he seemingly could not get the citystates to agree on a concerted plan, which ultimately doomed them. These emergency meetings were held at the Panionion, and so it seems that as the sanctuary of Poseidon, it was a religious official who issued the summons. Since the religious officials during the Roman period at the Panionion were from Priene, and since strong traditions kept the system going, it is probable that the priest and religious officials were Prienians. In Caria, the cities Miletus, Myus, and Priene were located near the Maeander River. Miletus, on the coast near the mouth of the Maeander River, was the greatest and wealthiest city in the league. Situated on a large bay, it was the most important city of this region while nearby were Myus and Priene Both the latter probably took their political direction from Miletus. Myus was said to have been founded by Cyaretus and was situated on a small peninsula near the Maeander River. It ultimately became part of Miletus, as it was fairly small and did not have sufficient population to continue as an entity in its own right. When Themistocles fled Athens, the Persian king gave him three towns to control, one of which was Myus. Nearby was Priene, on the coast about four miles from the Maeander near

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Mycale. It was not exceedingly large, but it did have two harbors and probably trade connections, which made it wealthy. The cities in Lydia were Ephesus, Colophon, Lebedus, Teos, Clazomenae, and Phocaea. Ephesus, on the coast, was an early city built upon the native Hittite capital. The large city had the great temple of Artemis and was known as a center of trade. Colophon was probably one of the earliest cities in the league between Ephesus and Lebedus. It had a strong army and controlled the region until Gyges of Lydia conquered it. This led to a loss of power, a vacuum that Ephesus and Miletus filled. Lebedus, west of Colophon, was near Teos and Clazomenae. It was built on a small peninsula and was originally inhabited by Carians before the Greeks took it over. It did not have a good port and was one of the smallest cities in the Ionian League. Teos was founded by immigrants from Orchomenus, Attica, and Boeotia and had two good harbors. When the Persians attacked, the Teans immigrated to Thrace and abandoned their homeland until after the rise of Alexander the Great, when many returned. Clazomenae, on the coast, issued silver coins early. It had been attacked by the Lydians in the sixth century. It was a member of the Delian League, but it revolted in 412, only to be recaptured within a short time, less than a year. Phocaea, also on the coast, was famed for establishing the colony of Massalia (modern Marseille) in 600. It was on the boundary of Aeolis, in the northern part of Ionia. With its two harbors, the city quickly grew as a commercial naval power during the Archaic period. Croesus conquered the city, and later it fell under Persian rule. Many of its inhabitants emigrated from the city before the Ionian Revolt. Phocaea became a member of the Delian League. Near and opposite the island of Chios was Erythrae, also on the coast. It was an important religious site known for its Erythraean Sibyl or prophetess. It was not a large city, but later it was a member of the Delian League. Chios was an important and large island-city developed along the lines of a democracy. It had the largest fleet of the Ionian League, although it could not defeat the Persians at Lade in 494. It would become an important member of the Delian League. Likewise, Samos was an important island-city and member of the league. It was a leading center for trade, and its economy was based on its position for both land and sea routes. It built a trireme, but it lost its superiority to Miletus in the seventh-century L ­ elantine War in Euboea. Polycrates overthrew the aristocracy and established a tyranny. They deserted the league’s naval force at Lade, which probably led to the league’s defeat. Smyrna was originally an Aeolic city, but it was probably defeated by C ­ olophon and made a part of the Ionian League. The Ionian League, as a religious center, had some successes in creating a common Ionian ideology, but it could not transform that accomplishment into a political system. The major reason for its inability to create a political system was the mistrust that many of the cities felt toward each other. Samos and Miletus were never able to cooperate, which in turn drove a wedge between the other cities of the league. This mistrust led to the disaster at Lade, which destroyed the Ionian League’s power.



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See also: Caria; Festivals; Ionian Revolt; Miletus; Persia; Persian Wars; Rhodes; Samos; Sardis and Lydia; Sinope; Sophists; Tribes; Tyrants

Further Reading

Holland, Tom. 2007. Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West. New York: Anchor Books. Lazenby, J. F. 1993. The Defence of Greece, 490–479 B.C. Warminster, UK: Aris & Phillips. Mac Sweeney, N. 2013. Foundation Myths and Politics in Ancient Ionia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Roebuck, Carl. 1955. “The Early Ionian League.” Classical Philology 50: 26–40.

Ionian Revolt The cities of Ionia increasingly had come in contact with political entities in the interior of Asia Minor beginning in the seventh century. The first major power that the Ionians had to deal with was the kingdom of Lydia, which had its capital at Sardis on the River Hermus. The kingdom had advanced westward and faced the independent cities of Ionia by 675. Since the Ionians were only loosely allied in a confederation, known as the Ionian League, based mainly on religion, the political response was fragmented. The ruling power of Lydia had been in the Heraclid

Beginnings of Tyrants King Candaules ordered his commander Gyges to watch Candaules’s unnamed wife undress and see how beautiful she was and therefore how lucky Candaules was. Gyges at first resisted, but under pain of death, he complied, but she spotted him. She in turn ordered Gyges to kill her husband or else she would have him executed. Gyges assassinated Candaules and cemented his power by marrying Candaules’s widow. Because he rose to power outside the law (i.e., not being of royal blood or elected as a magistrate), the Greeks referred to him as a tyrant; as in this case, and in most other cases, tyrants came to power through a military coup. Gyges had contact with the Greeks, presenting gifts to Delphi in an attempt to curry the god Apollo’s favor for his murder and coup, thereby absolving himself of guilt of murdering the king. He broke the power of the Ionian city Colophon with his cavalry forces. He attempted to conquer Miletus, and although he was successful militarily on several occasions on the battlefield, he could never fully take the city; instead, he forged an alliance with them. Gyges was killed in battle by the Cimmerians. His great grandson, Alyattes (617–560), successfully defeated the Cimmerians and created the Lydian Empire by expanding east toward the River Halys, coming into contact with the kingdom of the Medes, and westward toward the Aegean, capturing Smyrna and entering an alliance with Ephesus by marrying his daughter to its tyrant, Melas. He too attempted to curry the favor of the Greeks by sending gifts to Delphi. Although he was not able to break the Ionians, he did enter alliances with several of their cities. His son, Croesus (560–546), continued to favor Delphi and became known for his great wealth. He became more involved with the Ionian cities, even helping Ephesus rebuild its Artemisium, or great temple. Ultimately, he controlled all of the Ionian cities and was known as the first non-Greek to become master of the Greek cities.

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monarch Candaules, who was overthrown by Gyges (685–657), founder of the Mermnad dynasty. The Lydian kingdom had been established by Gyges and existed until 546, when King Croesus and his army was defeated by Cyrus, king of Persia, who captured Sardis, eliminating the kingdom. Sardis now became the capital of Persia’s satrapy in Asia Minor. The Ionians then came into contact with Persia under their king, Cyrus, who used Sardis as his staging ground for the conquest of Ionia and other Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor. Governor Harpagus attacked and conquered all of the cities on the western coast of Asia Minor except for Miletus, which remained favored, as it had been under Croesus. The Persians were able to take over cities on Cyprus as well. Many of the intellectuals in Ionia fled west to mainland Greece, taking with them their literature and philosophy. Even the tyrant of Samos, Polycrates, was executed by a Persian governor, but then the governor in turn was executed by the Persian king Darius, perhaps for upsetting potential alliances on the Greek islands. The Persians installed local tyrants or leaders in many cities, and the Ionian cities under them prospered in the late sixth century. When Athens kicked out its last tyrant, Hippias, he took refuge with Darius, who had succeeded Cyrus’s son, Cambyses, after his assassination in Egypt. The leaders of the Greek cities in Ionia had made themselves part of the new Persian bureaucracy. The seeds of the revolt were planted in the expedition that Darius had launched into Thrace in 512 to subdue the region south of the Danube and to control Thrace and Macedon. During this expedition, which was only partly successful, Darius was helped by many of the Greek cities along the coast of Asia Minor. In the process, he subdued and conquered the Greek colonies around the Hellespont and the coast of Thrace. One of the Greek commanders who helped him was Histiaeus of Miletus, who received the town of Myrcinus on the Strymon River, near the place of the future Amphipolis. The region was rich in minerals and other natural resources, which caused the local Persian governor to fear a Greek city being in such a strategic place. Darius received his governor’s report and ordered Histiaeus to join him in Sardis on the pretext of needing his aid and advice, but he took him captive and imprisoned him for the next twelve years. Histiaeus’s son-in-law was Aristagoras, who now controlled Miletus. He received a group of oligarchs from the island of Naxos who had been expelled by a recent democratic rebellion and desired Aristagoras’s help in putting down the populace and restoring them to power. Aristagoras viewed this as an opportunity to expand his own power, but he needed Persian help. He convinced the Persian governor that it would be wise to conquer not only the Cyclades, but Euboea as well, and the first step was to control Naxos. The Persian governor, with Darius’s permission, placed 200 warships under the command of the Persian admiral Megabates, but soon a fight broke out between Megabates and Aristagoras. Megabates then warned Naxos of the impending attack, and it withstood a four-month siege before the Persians retreated. Perhaps fearing being blamed for the loss, Aristagoras decided to incite a rebellion against Persia. Most of the cities were probably eager to throw off the Persian-controlled despots and return to a form of independent democracy.



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To accomplish the rebellion, the tyrants needed to be expelled and democracies set up. Aristagoras, realizing this need, voluntarily resigned at Miletus, and the other tyrants were replaced without bloodshed except at Mytilene, where the tyrant was stoned to death due to populace’s general hatred toward him. The Ionian cities realized that they would need help to defeat Persia, so Aristagoras went first to Sparta, which refused to send aid. He then went to Athens and Eretria. Athens sent twenty ships and Eretria five, which later would be the cause for war between Greece and Persia. Some in the Ionian cities tried to dissuade the movement toward war. The geographer Hecataeus of Miletus suggested that war was futile, and when he was ignored, he advised the rebels to seize the treasury at Didyma and make themselves master of the seas but was ignored again, with disastrous consequences. Hecataeus also suggested that they sail to Sardinia, a common idea to escape the troubles in Asia Minor, but it was also ignored. Aristagoras, with the Athenian and Eretrian ships and soldiers, attacked and burned Sardis, the Persian capital. On their return to the coast, they were attacked and defeated near Ephesus by a Persian army. The Athenians then decided to return home, and for the rest of the rebellion, they did not help. The destruction of Sardis became the Persian rallying cry to destroy Greece. The Athenians had interfered in the workings of the Persian Empire and had to be punished. One of Darius’s slaves was tasked with telling him to “remember the Athenians.” Although the story is probably not true, it created a nice moral for Herodotus as he related the events of the wars. The revolt was successful in the south in Caria and at Cyprus. The rebel fleet controlled the seas, but the Cypriot army was defeated and the island once again fell to Persia. In Caria, the rebels were successful in defeating a Persian army but failed in the Hellespont region. But as the Persians began to take the initiative, Aristagoras feared for his survival and fled to Myrcinus in Thrace, where he soon died in the siege anyway. Histiaeus was allowed to escape Persian captivity, with the goal of putting down the rebellion, but he defected to the cause at Chios. He turned to piracy at the Hellespont, but in 493 he was taken prisoner and executed by the Persians. In 494, the siege of Miletus became the focal point of the rebellion. The Persians, with 600 ships, blockaded the town; the rebels, with 350 ships off Lade, were ill trained and demoralized due to the constant propaganda from the expelled tyrants and tales of Persian successes. At Lade, the two fleets met, but the rebels were deserted by the Lesbians and Samians. Meanwhile, Chios fought gallantly, but with too few ships, so he failed. Miletus was taken and the women and children enslaved, while the Temple of Apollo at Didyma was destroyed. Darius does not seem to have ordered it destroyed, as he had respect for the oracle. After the capture of Miletus, the rest of the revolt collapsed. Caria was reduced and the Persian fleet regained control of western Asia Minor and the Hellespont. The only bright side for the Greek world after the defeat was the seizure of Lemnos and Imbros by the Athenian Miltiades, tyrant of the Chersones, who had sympathized with the rebels. The disaster of the Ionian Revolt led to the collapse of the Ionian cities and their independence and the emigration of Ionians to the

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west. More important, the Athenians had earned the enmity of the Persians, which in turn dragged the rest of the Greeks into a series of disastrous wars. See also: Athens; Persia; Persian Wars; Phoenicia; Sardis and Lydia; Scythians; Tyrants

Further Reading

Hanson, Victor Davis. 1999. The Wars of the Ancient Greeks. London: Cassell Military. Holland, Tom. 2007. Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West. New York: Anchor Books. Lazenby, J. F. 1993. The Defence of Greece, 490–479 B.C. Warminster, UK: Aris & Phillips. For an examination of the revolt, see Nielsen, Logan, “The Ionian Revolt,” Department of History: ehistory, The Ohio State University, https://ehistory.osu.edu/articles /ionian-revolt (accessed May 18, 2021).

Istrus and Olbia The city of Miletus sent some of its residents into the Black Sea region supposedly in 657, where they established several colonies on the west and north coasts. One of the first was at Istrus (Histria) in modern Romania Dobruja, which is just south of the Danube River delta. The new colony was on the extremity of the island or peninsula in a gulf that later became the Sinoe sea lagoon and is now Sinoe Lake. An oligarchy controlled the city, and at first it was merely a conglomeration of small, one-room stone houses on marshy ground near the harbor. Evidence from excavations show the growth of the colony, as evidenced by a number of temples, including one to Aphrodite. The colony of Istrus, whose purpose was to provide trading goods to the locals from Ionia and transport goods back from the interior, also helped in the further establishment of colonies in the Black Sea region. These other Milesian foundations included Apollonia Pontica, which was surrounded by two hostile Thracian forts, Odessus and Tomis (modern Constanta in Romania). These new colonies were independent, like Istrus from Miletus, but they provided their mother city with important goods. Istrus also established emporia, or small markets that were extensions of the colony, along the northern coast of the Black Sea, near the colony of Olbia. One of the hallmarks of these colonies was their strong trading relationship with the local inhabitants. From archaeological remains, it is evident that the local indigenous populations continued to live separately in established suburbs to the colony at Istrus. Here, the local population, aided by the Istrians, exported into the interior of Europe oil and grain in local amphorae and received in return slaves and hides. The Istrians also established an emporium at Braila, at the bend of the Danube inland, to facilitate their access to gold and silver from the region north of the river. In 500, the city was sacked by Scythian raiders. It not only recovered but even grew, but the threat of foreign invasion only increased. Shortly after the establishment of Istrus, more colonists from Miletus and other Greek cities under the auspices of Apollo from Delphi established the colony at Olbia on the north coast of the Black Sea. Here, at the farthest northern edge of the



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Black Sea where the west bank of the Hypanis (Bug) River flowed into the great estuary gulf, and twenty-three miles west of the Dnieper, the colony was situated. Olbia could control the commerce and waterways of the two great rivers, the Dniester and Dnieper that flowed from Russia and provided its citizens with access to the rich grain fields that already existed in antiquity. The colony had a lower city on the bank of the Hypanis and the sea, while 120 feet above it was a plateau with the upper city. The lower town, now under water, probably had a population of 6,000 to 10,000 inhabitants. The upper town has remains dating to 550 and included temples to Zeus and Apollo, next to an agora near a private merchant’s house, which exceeded those found in contemporary Greece and Ionia. From material remains, especially jewelry, there are strong Scythian connections, and Herodotus reported intermarriage between the Scythians and Greeks. Olbia had a wall surrounding and protecting the city, but it was not strong and it appears that the Scythians helped protect it. Some stories tell of intermarriage with the ruling elites, and although it is not known for sure, there was certainly close relations between the city and nearby Scythian tribes. The city used both land and river routes into the interior, as far as 200 miles inland, where Greek pottery remains have been found. It traded mainly wine and olive oil from Greece and returned with grain to the Aegean. Grain was the main commodity from the Black Sea colonies, and their trading with the Ukraine and Moldavian plains was crucial. In addition, other agricultural products came from the region, including cattle, furs, timber, and slaves. The colony grew in power and ultimately controlled a large amount of territory and cities on the Black Sea coast. One colony, Tyras on the Tyras River (Dniester), lay between Olbia and Istrus and had close relations with both Olbia and Istrus. Olbia also controlled the modern city of Berezan on a peninsula controlling the Rivers Borysthenes and Hypanis, which met together at the Black Sea estuary. The oneroom houses were set low to the ground to protect them from the harsh winter winds. These colonies flourished during the sixth century, but at the end of the century, Darius’s Persian expedition moved north into the Danube region, threatening to curtail the colonies. The region underwent upheavals with Istrus being sacked by the Scythians in 500 after Darius had retreated. Even Olbia and Berezan were probably anxious, due to Darius potentially cutting off their access to the western markets (notably Transylvania). From the colonies on the western and northern shores, they were perhaps afraid that what had happened on the southern coast with Persian control would mean that the Black Sea might become Persian. The defeat of Darius allowed the colonies to once again flourish, and during the time of the Delian League, they provided Athens with its grain. Its true importance can be seen in the fact that so long as Athens controlled the Black Sea grain market and trade routes, the Delian League would survive. It was only after the routes were cut off did the Athenians lose the Peloponnesian War. Farther east of Olbia, the Milesians established other colonies. On the Cimmerian Bosporus was Panticapaeum (modern Kerch), established in 600. It too had a strong acropolis, but it also had good relations with neighboring Scythian tribes. They were ruled by hereditary leaders of the Archaeanactid family from Miletus

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and ultimately established the Bosporus kingdom, which lasted through the Hellenistic period. See also: Colonization; Miletus; Persia; Scythians; Sinope

Further Reading

Boardman, John. 1999. The Greeks Overseas: Their Early Colonies and Trade. 4th ed. London: Thames and Hudson. Grant, Michael. 1989. The Rise of the Greeks. New York: Collier Books. For an overview of the region, see “the Archaeological site of Histria” Histria, http:// www.cimec.ro/web-histria/index_eng.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

K Koine When Alexander the Great’s army advanced into Asia, his soldiers, a mixture of Macedonian and Greeks from the mainland, were soon supplemented by Greeks from Ionia on the western coast of Asia Minor. In essence, all of these Greeks spoke different dialects and soon were using Greek to communicate with the conquered non-Greek areas. Many of these areas had some exposure to Greek, but now it became a common occurrence due to the conquering army. After Alexander’s death in 323, his generals established kingdoms stretching from Egypt to India. The Greek language that developed became known as koine, or common language. Typically, when nonnative speakers acquire a new language, it is modified and made simpler. For example, in classical Greek, the dual and optative forms were generally dropped, although they still occur in written text. In addition, sentences are usually simplified, and this is seen in the postclassical writings of Polybius, Plutarch, and the New Testament Greek. Here, the sentences in the New Testament are easier to analyze than Classical authors such as Thucydides. For example, New Testament Greek was influenced by the Hebrew and Aramaic languages, where the verb is placed first in the sentence. Other local influences occurred as the various dialects began to merge into a standard form. Koine Greek became the language of the marketplace, not academic schools or tutors. Since the language was used by everyday individuals, it spread quickly and became the normal language used throughout the eastern Mediterranean so that individuals from a variety of areas could speak a common tongue. Individuals may have known several languages—koine Greek, local language such as ­A ramaic, Hebrew, or Egyptian, and perhaps even languages of neighboring regions not under Greek control. Koine allowed the inhabitants to effectively communicate and in time be governed. Originally, it was thought that koine came from Ionia and was influenced by mainland Greek. It is now seen that it originally had its roots in Attic Greek, the language of the Athenians. This dialect was then influenced by other local traits. In Asia Minor, Ionian became the major determinant, while in the Peloponnese and southern islands, it was Doric. It is probable that Ionic became the major admixture for koine, especially in the east. Modern Greek has retained many of the forms and dialects of koine. Koine spread throughout the Mediterranean with the Romans, who found that using it allowed them to communicate effectively with their conquered areas in the east. In addition, many Roman elites would learn not only koine, but classical Greek as well. The form became the language of the Byzantine Empire and ultimately found its way into modern Greek. See also: Athens; Language

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Koine

Colvin, Stephen. 2014. A Brief History of Ancient Greek. Chichester, UK: Wiley Blackwell. Handberg, S., and A. Gadolou. 2017. Material Koinai in the Greek Early Iron Age and Archaic Period. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press. Horrocks, G. C. 2014. Greek: A History of the Language and Its Speakers. 2nd ed. ­Chichester, UK: Wiley. For the description of koine, see Lehmann, Winfred P., and Jonathan Slocum, “New ­Testament Greek Online,” University of Texas at Austin Linguistics Research Center, https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/ntgol (accessed May 18, 2021).

L Language The development of the Greek language through its history involves a separation into geographical and chronological entities. The earliest evidence for the Greek language comes from Crete, evidenced with Linear B script found on clay tablets from Cnossos around 1400. This script is also found on the mainland. An earlier as-yet-undeciphered script is Linear A from about 1700, which was probably associated with the original Minoan civilization and was then incorporated with the mainland language of the conquering Mycenaean group to produce a hybrid script, Linear B. The Mycenaean language was probably present on the mainland since the intrusion of Indo-European tribes around 1900. The language developed so that by 1450, with the conquest of Crete by the mainland tribes producing the earliest form of Greek seen in the Linear B script. It is not necessarily possible to call the Mycenaean script Greek; rather, it displays elements of later Greek. The destruction of the Mycenaean civilization occurred during the general upheavals of the late Bronze Age throughout the eastern Mediterranean, seen, for example, with the Hyksos in Egypt, leading to the establishment of the New Kingdom. The invasion of the late thirteenth century brought about a new set of dialects. It is difficult to ascertain if there was truly an invasion, a term that usually meant a sudden eruption of the tribes into an area. Rather, it probably was a series of migrations from the north by groups with similar ethnic and linguistic identities. There is evidence that a major threat from the north occurred with the building of a wall at the Isthmus of Corinth at this time, as well as the contemporary destruction of Troy. At the same time, the population of the Peloponnese did not increase, implying there was no great migration. During the Dark Ages that followed the destruction of Mycenae, the various regions of Greece splintered into the pre-Classical geographic regions. The end result is that the Dorian invasion, as it has been called, at this time produced a separation of various tribes in Greece based upon a series of dialects, with the Dorian, Ionian, and Aeolic being the main but not the only dialects. These dialects during the Classical Age are seen in epigraphic (inscriptions) and literary records. The differences among the dialects were slight, but sufficient for each city-state to recognize persons from other city-states. These dialects were understandable by other Greeks and reflected the migration patterns that existed during the post-Mycenaean period, not only on the mainland, but also on the islands and the west coast of Asia Minor. It appears that the dialects stabilized into regional areas quickly once the migrations came to an end. There were two major divisions, West and East Greek, each with subdivisions. West Greek was divided into the North-West Greek dialect spoken in areas such

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as Aetolia, Elis, Locris, and Phocis, while Doric was spoken in the Peloponnese and their colonized areas of Crete, Rhodes, southern Asia Minor, and their colonies in Sicily and southern Italy. The North-West or Northern Greek has some similarities to Doric, and some believe that the two dialects are related. It is possible that they came from the same ancestor tongue in Epirus and farther north. There are some linguistic differences between North-West Greek and Doric. For example, the Northwest used en with the accusative instead of eis with the accusative; or used ar instead of er. The Doric in the south was further subdivided into Laconian, spoken at Sparta; Argolic, spoken in the old Mycenaean region of Argos, Mycenae, Epidaurus, and even Aegina; and Corinthian, spoken on the Isthmus of Corinth, in Sicyon, and in the colonies of Corinth, such as Corcyra, Syracuse, and Ancona. The distinction between Doric and Ionic can be seen in the use of a long a in Doric to a long e in Ionic (Attic). Another example is the contraction of a and e from the proto-Greek ae to the Doric e to the Ionic (Attic) a. East Greek was subdivided into Ionic, spoken in Ionia or the western coast of Asia Minor, Euboea, and islands in the Aegean colonized by them; and Attica, where Attic, a further subdivision of Ionic, was spoken by the Athenians. Ionic became the major language of literary Greece, with early writers such as Herodotus being the most noted. Homeric Greek, a form of Old Ionic, and Herodotus as New Ionic, are famous examples of Ionic. The Athenians reformed their alphabet in 403, replacing their Attic script with the Ionic script. This became the standard Greek alphabet and was used by succeeding generations. A second subdivision of East Greek was Aeolic, spoken on the island of Lesbos and on the opposite shore of Asia Minor. The major authors in this language were the poet Sappho and Alcaeus of Mytilene. Some differences with Ionic included a lengthening of consonant clusters such as the Aeolic emmi instead of the Ionic emi (for “I am”); or a loss of h, as in aelios instead of the Ionic helios (meaning “sun”). In addition, Aeolic and West Greek formed another subdialect spoken in Thessaly and Boeotia. Yet another dialect was spoken in the interior of the Peloponnese in Arcadia, and also on Cyprus. This has led some modern scholars to suggest that there was another subdivision of East Greek into an Arcado-Cyprian dialect based on the premigration Greek of the mainland, used by the Mycenaean peoples. The Mycenaean Greeks spoke an early form of Greek before the migrations, and it is conceivable that some of their successors in isolated regions retained their native speech. A peculiar attribute of the language that survived into the Classical period is that the form of Greek for a particular piece of literature remained in the dialect from which that genre of literature originated rather than where the author was from or what dialect the author may have used. For example, choral lyric and pastoral poetry came from the Doric region of the south, and all forms of choral lyric poetry were written in Doric, even though Pindar, one of the greatest choral poets, was from Boeotia; or when it is part of Attic tragedy, it was still composed in Doric and not Attic. Pastoral poetry was written in an artificial Doric form, with some local words, some imported from Aeolic, and others made up. Homeric Greek was not spoken, as it was a combination of Ionic and Aeolic. It appears that this language type, epic poetry, came from an Aeolic-speaking



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region joined to an Ionic-speaking region. For example, Hesiod, also from ­Boeotia, wrote in the meter of Homer from Ionia, in hexameters, so that the two are identical. This remained the same even in the Argonautica, written by ­Apollonius Rhodius in the third century some 500 years later. The Athenians developed comedy and tragedy so that both genres were in the Attic tongue except when the choral lyric was added in Doric. Histories were created in the Ionic region of Western Asia Minor, as shown and used by Herodotus. When Thucydides wrote his work, he did not write solely in Attic, but also continued to use some of the Ionic dialect. At the end of the Classical Age, when Greeks were serving across the ­Mediterranean, a new dialect emerged, the koine (or common tongue). The work of the Athenian writer Xenophon is the earliest example of the dialect being used, and koine soon became the common dialect after Philip of Macedon and ­Alexander the Great established the Macedonian Empire and the subsequent Hellenistic kingdoms. Attic was the foundation of koine, which Philip adopted in preference to his native Macedonian dialect, which may have been related to Aeolic. Koine became the standard within two centuries, and it was the language in which the Septuagint and Greek New Testament were written. The Greek dialects were distinctive enough to show where individuals came from, but common enough to be understood by most people. Unlike Latin in the west, which became the progenitor of the Romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese), Greek did not formulate different languages, just the precursor to Modern Greek. Instead, Greek became the medium through which the Bible was spread, and ultimately, it became the foundation for the Cyrillic alphabet used by Russian and other Slavic languages. See also: Alphabet; Dorian Invasion; Inscriptions and Papyri; Koine; Linear B; Phoenicia

Further Reading

Horrocks, G. C. 2014. Greek: A History of the Language and Its Speakers. 2nd ed. Chichester, UK: Wiley. Palmer, Leonard R. 1980. The Greek Language. London: Faber & Faber. For a detailed description of the Greek language, see Lehmann, Winfred P. and Jonathan Slocum, “Classical Greek Online,” University of Texas at Austin Linguistics Research Center, https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/grkol (accessed May 18, 2021).

Law Courts Athenian law courts differed from modern law courts, which look to legal rules that have been passed and precedents in cases. In other words, many court cases are an attempt to dissect and parse the laws enacted by governments to determine what should be done. In addition, precedents have helped shape the particular situation and how a law has been applied in the past. In ancient Athens, the trials did not focus on enacted laws, which were often few and not related, or precedents, although they were potentially mentioned, but not with the impact on a case that modern courts give them. Instead, the trials in Athenian courts focused more on how the litigants presented their case to their fellow citizens.

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Another difference lay with the officers of the court. Modern American court settings, especially for criminal cases, have a judge who rules on the admissibility of evidence and attempts to ensure that both sides present material that is germane. In doing so, the judge often rules on how questions are asked, whether material outside the case can be presented, and determining if certain precedents can be used. In addition, the case is determined by a panel of impartial individuals, typically twelve, often called a jury. In these modern cases, a person accused of criminal crimes can be found guilty only if everyone agrees—even one dissident can produce a hung jury, requiring the case to be either dropped or retried. In ancient Athens, there were no independent judges, as in modern times, and juries acted as the judges. In addition, the number of jurors was an odd number in order to prevent ties, and there was no need for the jurors to be unanimous; a simple majority was enough. In modern cases, especially in criminal courts, the state pursues prosecutions. The idea is that for the protection of society, the state puts together a case based on the evidence and attempts to bring about a successful conviction. In ancient Athens, except for arson and patricide, cases were not handled by the state; rather, individuals brought forward a charge. Typically, the family or close friends of the family would bring a charge against the defendant. The state was the one to bring charges for arson and patricide because these crimes were seen as crimes against the state, and no regular criminal would commit such an act. In other words, the defendant was unbalanced, an idea that in some ways led to the modern idea of being criminally insane. Trials in modern times can extend for weeks, or even months, while in Athens, they were limited to just a day. Finally, in modern law courts, there are two teams or individuals advocating, one for each side. Here, lawyers argue their cases before the judge and jury using legal precedents and evidence. Professional lawyers advocate for both the state and the defendant. In Athens, each side advocated for its position through a series of speeches, with the occasional use of witnesses to attest to the speaker’s point— no lawyers. In Athens, the cases were personal and revolved around how well either side could convince the jurors of their position. Since the number of jurors on a case was large (at least 201), a complicated process was created to select them. The hallmark of the Athenian system was being chosen by lot, or sortition. The Athenians believed that this would ensure having a cross-section of the citizen body. Whereas in modern court systems, jurors are not supposed to know about the case or the individuals, there was no such policy in Athens. Indeed, it would have been difficult for most Athenians not to know the individuals, or even the circumstances, of any case since it had a small population compared to modern cities. The Athenians would begin the process of juror selection by enrolling 6,000 citizens over the age of thirty, nearly one-fifth to one-seventh of the citizen body as jurors, or dikastai. These individuals would then be able to serve in the courts as needed throughout the year. If selected for a court trial that day, the juror received a payment of two obols, later increased to three, which for a day laborer was about half to two-thirds of a day’s pay. On days when the courts were in session (some days were reserved for festivals or declared as nonbusiness days), the jurors would arrive and be given a ticket to



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determine if he was needed for a trial. A machine with color handles to match the courtrooms and black and white balls to determine if the juror candidate was to be used were then employed. The ticket for a juror would be placed in the machine, and if selected, the juror would be sent to one of the three courts; in addition, the person could also be selected for a task related to the trial, such as paying jurors or watching the water clock to monitor the time for speeches. This fact that this process was done by lot not only prevented a juror from being bribed, but also gave an allure to being chosen by the gods since they, not city officials, knew the randomness of the selections. It also lent the jurors prestige since they could claim that no one determined the process except for the city as a whole and the gods. The process, therefore, prevented anyone from either canvassing to be on a jury or from being selected by either litigant. In many ways, it allowed the jurors as a whole to be a cross-section of the population and unbiased. This did not mean that the case was subdued or conducted in a respectful manner; on the contrary, since there was no judge as in modern courts; and magistrates could not expel a noisy juror, it was common for jurors to heckle and berate the litigants. In some of the speeches that survive, a litigant often beseeches the jurors to not interrupt or shout at him. The jurors may have not been averse to discussing the merits of the case openly, either—again, something not seen in modern cases. The courts were not a free-for-all, where anyone could bring forward a case before the Athenian people. If, for example, an individual was attacked in the street by another, there was no police to get involved; rather, defending himself or a friend and hoping bystanders would help, the aggrieved party would gather the names of those who agreed to be witnesses and would institute the proceedings. No one was arrested; rather, the aggrieved would give a summons to his opponent to come to court. Once the aggrieved was wronged, he could attempt to get justice by his own acts or threats, which were often risky. He and the other party could submit their respective cases to a binding private arbitration or go to court. The two types of legal cases were private, which included cases of murder, called dikai, and public, called graphai. Graphai appear to be crimes or cases that affected the whole community, such as malfeasance or impiety. These cases were typically allotted a longer trial and a heavier fine, 1,000 drachmas (1000 days’ wages) if the prosecutor did not get a conviction, or at least one-fifth of the vote; the fine went to pay for the cost of the trial, payment to jurors, for example. The Athenians were concerned that someone might bring a frivolous lawsuit in hopes of extorting a settlement (these individuals were called sycophants), and if convicted, a heavy fine was imposed. If going to court, the aggrieved drew up a summons and personally delivered it to the opposing party, requiring them to appear before the magistrate. In addition, he would give notice to witnesses to appear before the magistrate as well. On the specified day, the aggrieved or the prosecutor delivered his charges to the magistrate, who collected the fees and set in motion the preliminary hearing. It appears that this hearing was where each side put forward all of the documentary evidence, such as wills, contracts, pertinent laws, and other evidence, which was placed in a sealed jar. Both sides would now know what evidence each side planned to use. These magistrates did not rule on the admissibility of the

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evidence or decide if the case should go forward; rather, without any formal training themselves, they probably ensured that both sides knew the process and submitted the necessary materials. If the amount was small, then the magistrate through public arbitration could decide; ultimately, in private cases, public arbitration was required, although either or both sides could reject it. This nonbinding arbitration nevertheless probably reduced the number of cases coming before the law courts. If a case went to court, and after the jurors were selected, the individuals bringing the charge or the prosecutors stated their cases. While not under the rules of evidence as in modern cases, the prosecutors would provide details to back up their charges. While they may have used hyperbole and perhaps even dragged up old issues and charges, they needed to convince the jurors that there was a real issue. They were limited in their presentation by time, controlled by monitoring a water clock. A simple device, a jug or amphora, would have a spout in the bottom, and the water was released into a lower jug. Once the water emptied from the upper jug, the time was over. Presenters could judge how much time they had left by the force of the water flow. Once over, the defense presented its case, again limited by time with the water clock. They could bring up matters that may not have been directly germane to the case, such as the credibility of the prosecutors or the very act involved. After both sides presented their cases, the jurors voted by placing a white or black marble in a jug. If the person was found guilty, then the two sides entered the penalty phase. The prosecution would present their punishment, perhaps arguing for a fine, exile, or in severe cases death. The defendant would then give his side, perhaps a smaller fine instead of a steep one, or if the prosecution was arguing for death, perhaps exile or a heavy fine. The jurors would then vote for the side they favored, with a simple majority winning, and the sentence was carried out. If not guilty, the individual was freed, and in some cases, the prosecution could be fined. One of the most famous cases in Athens was the trial of Socrates. Living during the Peloponnesian War, the famous philosopher was brought up on charges in 399. He was charged with corrupting the youth of Athens and impiety, or not believing in the gods of Athens. The first related to his friendship with Alcibiades, a nephew of Pericles who had continually heaped disasters on Athens by his policies. One of them was the disastrous Sicilian expedition in 415; another was his defection to Sparta, giving them the Athenian plans. Alcibiades then returned to Athens at the head of the democratic faction but was pushed out again after the Battle of Notium at Ephesus in 406, when the Athenian fleet was destroyed. He was then assassinated in 404. Another charge related to Socrates and his association with the Thirty Tyrants, a group of oligarchs who ruled Athens in 404–403. Although some were students of Socrates, most had already fallen out with him, probably because he did not believe in their cause. The final charge was that he did not believe in the gods of Athens. He argued for a personal spirit, but he did not believe that it was all encompassing. His accuser was Meletus, and in his trial, there were 501 jurors, about 300 of which voted against him. It was a relatively small margin; if only 50 or so of the jurors had changed their vote, he would have been acquitted.



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In the penalty phase, Meletus urged death, while Socrates suggested that perhaps he should get a pension or pay a fine of 100 drachmas (one-fifth his estate), although ultimately, he raised it to 3,000 drachmas, which his friends said they would pay. He was then found guilty and sentenced to death, with the penalty vote being even more than the first. Although urged to flee, he did not; instead he committed suicide by drinking hemlock. In many ways, the trial of Socrates was an attempt to purge the city of its disasters by Alcibiades (such as the loss at Sicily or the battle of Arginusae), who could not be charged since he was already dead. By going after his teacher, the leaders sought to show that someone would pay for his crimes. The trial showed Athens at its best (the concept of democratic trials opened to all)—and its worst (being motivated by past political issues and trying to find a scapegoat). Nevertheless, the Athenians did not believe that their system, even here, was limited or corrupt. See also: Democracy; Officials; Police; Punishment; Social Status; Socratic Method; Sophists

Further Reading

Brickhouse, Thomas C., and Nicholas D. Smith. 2002. The Trial and Execution of Socrates: Sources and Controversies. New York: Oxford University. Cohen, David. 1995. Law, Violence, and Community in Classical Athens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harris, Edward Monroe, and Lene Rubinstein. 2004. The Law and the Courts in Ancient Greece. London: Duckworth. For an examination of the legal system, see Bers, Victor and Adriaan Lanni, “An Introduction to the Athenian Legal System,” in Adriaan Lanni, ed., Athenian Law in its Democratic Context (Center for Hellenic Studies On-line Discussion Series). Republished in C.W. Blackwell, ed., Dēmos: Classical Athenian Democracy (A. Mahoney and R. Scaife, eds., The Stoa: A Consortium for Electronic Publication in the Humanities [www.stoa.org]) March 15, 2003, http://www.stoa.org/demos /article_intro_legal_system@page=1&greekEncoding=UnicodeC.html (accessed May 18, 2021). For a discussion of Athenian democracy and the law courts, see “Popular Courts,” American School of Classical Studies, http://www.agathe.gr/democracy/the_popular _courts.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Lelantine War In the eighth century, the cities of Chalcis and Eretria on the island of Euboea became embroiled in the Lelantine War. Thucydides called it a war in which all of Greece became involved, or a world war. While a bit of an overstatement, the war did encompass a variety of combatants, with other states awaiting the outcome. Some of the bystanders saw their own power increase due to the war. It also was the last to be fought along the lines of the Heroic Age, with personal combat as depicted in the Iliad by Homer. The two combatants, Chalcis and Eretria, were powerful, mercantile oligarchies that had sent colonies to the west to Italy and north to the Macedonian coast. Due to overpopulation and a lack of arable land, the cities needed to find new sources of

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food, and both colonial regions provided them with ideal land that could supply them with food and other resources. Both cities in fact had already cooperated in their colonial activities, especially to the Chalcidice. In the mid-eighth century, the colony of Ischia shows the two jointly establishing it. Euboea for its part did not have extensive amounts of arable land. The island, measuring roughly 100 miles long and 4 to 30 miles wide, was mountainous, with two chief cities, Chalcis on the southwestern coast and Eretria farther south, near the tip. Chalcis controlled the passage in the west to the mainland, while Eretria controlled the eastern shores, including the Aegean islands such as Andros. Eretria may have been the port for an inland city in the Lelantine Plain, a site now known as Lefkandi. Between Chalcis and Eretria lay the Lelantine Plain, the only major fertile land in the region, and both cities laid claim to it. For some unknown reason, they went to war over the plain. Chalcis received aid from Corinth and Samos, while Eretria was helped by Miletus and Megara. Other cities, such as Athens, waited for the outcome. Beginning probably in 710, the war was fought not using the later hoplite phalanx method, but rather more like during the Homeric Age, when armies fought in more loose formations. This may also be seen in that Eretria fielded sixty chariots, which were used more as taxis rather than as fighting machines. In addition, Eretria had a strong cavalry force, reportedly with 600 men, while Chalcis, known for its bronze work, used heavily defended infantry. Although the date is not certain, the site of Lefkandi on the Lelantine Plain was already being reduced during the late eighth century, probably due to the war. The writer Theognis indicates that the two were fighting in the mid-sixth century, but this probably refers to another, later war. The main sources all date three centuries later and only refer to the war in general. Since arable land in Greece was in short supply, it was only natural for nearby cities to wage war over rich resources. For example, Athens and Megara waged war during this time for the same reason— the rich lands. It also appears that during this time, the region suffered from drought, leading both cities to need the plain more than before. Both cities possessed large fleets, but the war seemed to have been fought solely on land. Since the soldiers were not equipped or fashioned into a hoplite force, both sides must have used light arms such as bows, slings, and swords. The war may have also used the cavalry forces, producing a stalemate. While Chalcis had the betterequipped infantry, Eretria had more numerous cavalry forces. The result may in fact have been a series of conflicts waged over fifty years. This may be deduced from the poet Archilochus who died in 645 and a fragment of one of his poems might refer to the war indicating that the war could have lasted longer than usually given. If the troops behaved more like the soldiers in the Iliad, the war would have been fought as a melee in which the goal was to kill the opposing leaders. The other city-states that were said to be involved may in fact only have been fighting allies of each side. In other words, the allies may not have sent much aid, but they fought each other, and in turn they supported someone else. The major allies supplying actual troops and supplies were probably Samos and Thessaly on the side of Chalcis, and Miletus, and perhaps Megara and Aegina supporting ­Eretria. Samos and Aegina were at odds with each other over the trade with Egypt,



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so when Samos supported Chalcis, Aegina may have helped Eretria. If actual aid did not flow to Eretria, Aegina’s fighting with Samos would still help. Chalcis had prevented Megara from colonizing in the west, and Corinth had pushed Eretria out of Corcyra. Since Megara and Corinth were constantly at odds with each other, each city may have helped Eretria and Chalcis, respectively; it appears that Corinth and Chalcis did cooperate with one another in their westward endeavors. Since Miletus and Eretria were allies, and since Miletus and Chios were allies, it is possible that Chios and Eretria were also allies. Since Argos supported Aegina, it is possible that Sparta, fighting Argos, supported Corinth, and therefore Chalcis. These alliances probably did not exist in a formal and binding situation. Rather, the normal give-and-take by the city-states against one another produced alliances of convenience and personal loyalty. Probably the only combatants were Eretria and Chalcis, with Thessalian support from Kleomachos of Pharsalos who provided troops and who desired to enrich himself against Eretria. Archaeological evidence points to the town of Lefkandi being destroyed and abandoned about 700, probably from Chalcis finally destroying it. Eretria now lost its connection to the plain, and perhaps also losing on the battlefield, so it withdrew, giving up the plain. With Chalcis’s victory, Eretria lost its prestige and power. Miletus, the ally of Eretria, ravaged the southern part of Euboea and now dominated the eastern Aegean. But neither side really won the war in the long term. While before, both cities and Euboea had been the leading areas of Greece, the war destroyed both cities’ economic hold and power. Their respective allies, Miletus and Corinth, emerged stronger and in a better position. Eretria lost its allied islands in the Cyclades, and when it supported Miletus against Persia, it was destroyed before the Battle of Marathon. Athens would become more important, defeating Chalcis for control of the Lelantine Plain in 506 and establishing a colony or cleruchy. See also: Chios; Euboea; Miletus; Samos; Thessaly; Weapons

Further Reading

Bradeen, D. W. 1947. “The Lelantine War and Pheidon of Argos.” Transactions of the American Philological Association 78: 223–241. Lemos, I. S., and A. Kotsonas. 2020. A Companion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Murray, Oswyn. 1983. Early Greece. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. For an overview of the war, see Browers, Josho, “The Lelantine War: A Conflict Lost in Time,” Ancient World Magazine, June 5, 2018, https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/lelantine-war-conflict-lost-time/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Linear B Before the Greek language used by Homer existed, two distinct but related scripts are known from archaeological material, Linear A and Linear B. Linear A occurred first, around 1750, on Crete during the Minoan period. It was used throughout the island until about 1450, but not on the mainland. The script has not

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yet been deciphered. Found on clay tablets, the script so far seems confined to lists of people and products and the tablets probably represent some type of tax receipts, or perhaps census abstracts. It appears that Linear A was not Greek, but rather the native Minoan language. It appears that the Linear B script is perhaps a descendant of Linear A, but it has been altered so it is only similar. One possibility is that when the Mycenaean Greeks took over the island, the native inhabitants had to learn a new language, proto-Greek, and used their native script, Linear A, to create symbols for a new proto-Greek language, Linear B. This may Cretan writing. (Patrick Guenette/Dreamstime. explain why some of the symcom) bols in Linear A and Linear B are the same. Linear B has been deciphered, although not in a complete fashion. This script has been found on both Crete and the mainland. The script originally was found on Crete and led many early archaeologists to believe that it was a form of Linear A that was altered during the Minoan period. The script has now been found on the mainland at places such as Mycenae, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns, and it is now believed that the script is Mycenaean. From its decipherment, the script is a form of early Greek, but in syllables rather than being alphabetic.

Modern Decipherment of an Ancient Script Michael Ventris, an architect, philologist, and classicist, together with John Chadwick, a classicist and linguist, worked out the decipherment of Linear B. Ventris was interested in languages and studied architecture and during World War II, he trained as a navigator. He had a lifelong passion for languages and believed initially that Linear B was related to Etruscan. He had met the archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans and had seen some of the early discovered tablets. He created a series of grids to associate consonants and vowels. In addition, he noted that some symbols found on Cretan tablets did not appear on the mainland tablets and correctly guessed that they represented place names. He then determined that the language of Linear B was Greek, not Minoan. He worked with Chadwick, who had been a code-breaker during the war, and in 1952, they began to decipher the Linear B script. Ventris died in a car crash in 1956 after their work had been accepted for publication, but before it actually came out. Chadwick would continue working on Linear B, becoming the foremost scholar on Linear B.



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Linear B was therefore used to write the archaic Greek language. Greek had already begun to be spoken not only on mainland Greece and Crete, but also on the western coast of Asia Minor. The oldest examples are from Crete in the Palace at Cnossos from 1450–1350 and were discovered in the Room of the Chariot Tablets. Those found at Pylos date to about 1200. The debate centers on whether Linear B was created on Crete after the Mycenaean Greeks took over the island around 1500, or whether they brought the script and language with them. There are approximately ninety symbols, which represent syllables. Most of the words were monosyllabic and those which were originally seen as polysyllabic include diphthongs and labialized and palatalized consonants. Labialized sounds are formed by the lips rather than the oral cavity; palatalized consonants are where the tongue is moved close to the palate (e.g., in English, the sound of c in the word cube). The script does not show the Greek noun inflexions, making the language a bit difficult to parse; some of its symbols are only approximately translated. For example, Linear B cannot represent consonant clusters, so Cnossos had to be transcribed as “ko-no-so.” In addition, Linear B cannot distinguish between short and long vowels. The script again appears to be used for day-to-day records, as well as inventories, and probably sufficed for that activity. The tablets were probably used by local officials and merchants for taxes, inventories of goods, payments, and other tasks. However, the tablets do not seem to have been used by private individuals for their accounts. While most of the examples relate to palace bureaucracy and their economic practices, a few are linked to military activities. When the Mycenaean civilization collapsed around 1200, the use of Linear B began to decline, and by 1100, it had disappeared from use. For the next four centuries, Greek literacy was absent, and when it reemerged at the end of the Dark Ages during the Archaic period, Homeric Greek was represented. Although Linear B is a form of early Greek, it is completely separate and distinct from the Greek alphabet, which is based on the Phoenician system. Nevertheless, Linear B provides some help in understanding the Mycenaean period. See also: Bronze Age; Cnossos; Dorian Invasion; Language; Minoan; Mycenae

Further Reading

Chadwick, John. 1968. The Decipherment of Linear B. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chadwick, John. 1976. The Mycenaean World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Judson, A. P. 2020. The Undeciphered Signs of Linear B: Interpretation and Scribal Practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Robinson, A. 2009. Lost Languages: The Enigma of the World’s Undeciphered Scripts. London: Thames & Hudson. Ventris, Michael, and John Chadwick. 1956. Documents in Mycenaean Greek; Three Hundred Selected Tablets From Knossos, Pylos, and Mycenae. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For an overview of Linear B and its decipherment, see “Linear B,” Omniglot, https:// www.omniglot.com/writing/linearb.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

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Literature Drama, such as comedies and tragedies, was meant to be performed as an active presentation, while many other forms of literature were written to be read and spoken out loud as recitals. The early Homeric poems were written from earlier spoken poems and were continued to be read and spoken throughout the Greek period. Aristotle is even to have given his star pupil, Alexander the Great, an annotated copy of the Iliad. The various literary works can be approached thematically to provide a general overview of the extensive works. Epic poetry, that of the Homeric poems and Hesiod, occurred in the Archaic Age and provide an important link between the oral histories of the Dark Ages and the Classical era. The other types of literary works included history, philosophy, and minor treatises. One of the most important new genres of literature developed by the Greeks was history. Coming from the Greek word istoria, meaning “inquiry,” histories were meant to describe the evolution of a subject presenting the material after a systematic exploration and analysis of the facts to present an accurate account. The first historian was Herodotus (484–425), from the city of Halicarnassus, who set out a detailed account of the origins and development of the Persian Wars from both sides. Very little is known of him, but it has been established that although born in Halicarnassus, he emigrated to Athens and traveled extensively. He may have left Athens and died in Macedon. He delved into the origins of the Persians using local stories and traditions interlaced with gossip and mythology. He described the lives of the Persian kings Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, and Xerxes. In all of his treatments, he interlaced morality to account for particular instances. For example, when Xerxes is moving toward Europe and his bridge across the ­Hellespont is destroyed, Xerxes orders the sea to be whipped so that the seas were subject to the Persians; and after the Battle at Thermopylae, he mutilates the body of the dead king Leonidas. These acts, in Herodotus’s view, were signs of Xerxes’s hubris: outrageous pride or arrogance. But Herodotus was not content to just describe basic historical events such as the battles and reigns of the leaders; he spent a considerable amount of time describing the geography, ethnography, and cultural and local historiographical traditions of regions. Thus, he provided a wealth of information (whether true or not) and told local stories about a region. Although criticized for inventing stories for pure entertainment, Herodotus stated that he was merely reporting what he had seen himself and was told by people, and he even sometimes said that he did not believe them. Many of his presentations have subsequently been shown to be accurate, or at least have a foundation in truth, by archaeologists and historians. Although Herodotus may not have been the first author to write events in a systematic and chronological order, his was the first complete work to survive. Other works said to have been written before his tended to be mere chronicles or slightly annotated lists of events. He clearly took some of his ideas and sources from earlier works, and being close to contemporary events, he could interview many who took part in the wars. He clearly knew of Aeschylus’s work The Persians, as many of his accounts echo those of the playwright.

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His critics included the Athenian historian Thucydides, who viewed Herodotus as a mere storyteller. In antiquity, he was viewed as a purveyor of unreliable fables and myths. Many scholars, ancient and modern, believe that Herodotus invented some of his stories, especially concerning the Persians and Egyptians, so that they neatly coincided with Greek mythology and history. Many of his so-called sources did not seem to know their own histories. Nevertheless, Herodotus is often the primary source for the Persian Wars, and in some cases the only source. His use of stories tended to amplify an event to make the moral point more important. While many of his stories, especially as they relate to the areas outside Greece, are questioned, his accounts for the battles in the wars themselves are said to have been based on eyewitnesses. For Herodotus, one of the most important elements to his account was causality—why did the Persian Wars happen? To him, the war was about the East versus the West and the civilized Greeks against the “Barbarian Persians,” with the Greeks winning because of their political freedom. While Herodotus may have held the title “father of history,” his younger contemporary Thucydides (460–400?) was the “father of scientific history.” His work on the Peloponnesian War and his claim to have gathered and analyzed material in a systematic and unbiased way set the standard for future historians. Although he was an Athenian general, he was often critical of the Athenians. He is also credited with the idea of political realism, where fear and self-interest provide the driving force of events for individuals and states. His Melian Dialogue is still studied as an example of political reality, and his Funeral Oration of Pericles is examined by rhetoricians and politicians, and it was said to influence Abraham Lincoln when writing his Gettysburg Address. He also examined how people reacted and explained such calamities as the plague, civil war, and atrocities. Like Herodotus, little is known of Thucydides except from his own accounts and other snippets. He was an Athenian; he contracted the plague; and due to his inability to quell a rebellion in Thrace, he was exiled by the Athenian democracy. This exile allowed him to travel throughout Greece, including the Peloponnese, to gather information and meet individuals involved in the great war. His account abruptly ends in the middle of 411, suggesting that he may have died at this time. He presented the evidence in an evenhanded manner, going so far as to show the negative results of his campaign in Thrace; he admired Pericles, but he attacked those who followed, who were radical democrats such as Cleon. Thucydides clearly viewed the war as a great event and began to write his work with its outbreak in 431. His writings, divided later into eight books, describe the events with no reference to divine intervention, unlike Herodotus. He consulted documents and interviewed individuals and, in his works, gave speeches that he said were not verbatim records but rather impressions of what he or others heard. This allowed him to retain the oral records or impressions of them. For example, Pericles’s Funeral Oration not only commemorates the dead, but more important, it justifies democracy, which Thucydides admired, especially under Pericles’s leadership. This is then contrasted with the horrors of the plague, of which Thucydides gave an almost modern scientific description. He did not describe art, music, literature, or culture, as this would be outside his purpose—namely, to describe the events of the war.

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His work was often critical of the Athenian imperialism of the fifth century, but he was also a participant in this growth. His condemnation of the Melos situation and the Sicilian disaster only heightened his concept that the war was turned into folly by the recklessness of demagogues who moved Athens away from the intent of Pericles. Both works were forgotten during the Middle Ages due to the inability in the West to read Greek. They were only rediscovered during the Renaissance. The next writer who bridged history and philosophy was Xenophon, another Athenian. Xenophon wrote a history called Hellenica, which extended Thucydides’s work from 411 down to 362, with the defeat of Thebes at Mantinea. The early part, Books 1 and 2, describe the events in the Peloponnesian War until the defeat of Athens. Books 3 through 5 discuss the Spartan attempt to control Greek affairs during the Corinthian War and the war against Thebes in the Boeotian War. Book 6 covers the period of the Spartan defeat by Thebes at Leuctra, while Book 7 describes the end of Theban hegemony at Mantinea. Xenophon’s other major work was the Anabasis, (March of the Ten Thousand). This was not only a history of his retreat from enemy territory, but also a history of the

How to Write History While Herodotus wrote his Histories as a moral story with numerous sidebars, Thucydides attempted to write a more analyzed and critical history. His work showed that he critically examined writers, talked to those with firsthand contact, and used his own judgment to determine if a story was correct. He attempted to track down the sources and give a recounting of them as best as he would. As the following extract shows, Thucydides’s The Peloponnesian War is honest about his material and tries to present what was said, even if it was not verbatim: Now he, that by the arguments here adduced, shall frame a judgment of the things past, and not believe rather that they were such as the poets have sung, or prosewriters have composed, more delightfully to the ear than conformably to the truth, as being things not to be disproved, and by length of time turned for the most part into the nature of fables without credit; but shall think them here searched out by the most evident signs that can be, and sufficiently too, considering their antiquity; he, I say, shall not err. And though men always judge the present war wherein they live to be greatest, and when it is past, admire more those that were before it; yet if they consider of this war by the acts done in the same, it will manifest itself to be greater than any of those before mentioned. What particular persons have spoken when they were about to enter into the war or when they were in it, were hard for me to remember exactly; whether they were speeches which I have heard myself, or have received at the second hand. But as any man seemed to me, that knew what was nearest to the sum of the truth of all that had been uttered, to speak most agreeably to the matter still in hand, so I have made it spoken here. But of the acts themselves done in the war, I thought not fit to write all that I heard from all authors, nor such as I myself did but think to be true; but only those whereat I was myself present, and those of which with all diligence I had made particular inquiry. Source: Hobbes Thomas, William Molesworth, Thucydides, and Homer. 1843. The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. London: J. Bohn, Volume 8, pp. 24–25.

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campaign by Cyrus against his brother, his death, and Xenophon’s takeover. The Anabasis is also a military treatise of tactics on retreat and survival encompassing scorched-earth tactics, living off the land, and fighting against larger forces. Xenophon also produced biographical works that can be seen both as historical and moral works. These included Cyropaedia (Education of Cyrus the Great). This was a part fictional, part historical tale of the rise of Cyrus and the Persian Empire. While it may not have been completely historically accurate, the work attempted to show how an ideal leader ruled over his willing subjects as a despot. Xenophon also wrote a work on the constitution of Sparta, which describes not just the political institutions of Sparta, but its customs and practices. The first thirteen of the fifteen books describe the institutions that made Sparta great, while the last two relate the events leading to its decline. Chapters 1 through 5 discuss the education of Spartan children. Chapters 6 through 8 show how the Spartans had communal egalitarianism, with disdain for money and adherence to the laws. Chapters 9 through 13 describe Spartan military life, why the Spartans were great soldiers, and their military ethos. Chapters 14 and 15 show how the state became corrupt, and through this corruption, Sparta declined. Xenophon also wrote a series of philosophical works that showed his connection with Socrates, his former teacher. These included works defending Socrates, writing about his trial, and another work on economics in the form of Socrates discussing the running of the household. In his work titled Hiero, he writes on the idea of happiness as a dialogue between Hiero, tyrant of Syracuse, and the poet Simonides of Ceos. He also wrote treatises on specific subjects such as horsemanship, the duties of a cavalry officer, how to hunt with dogs, and the ways and means of how Athens should deal with a financial crisis. Xenophon thus bridged the literary works from history to specific treatises, as well as philosophical works seen in Plato. Traditionally, Plato wrote thirty-five dialogues and thirteen letters, although not all of these are seen as authentic. Although the exact order is unknown, his works have been classified into early, middle, and later works. The early works include “Apology,” “Charmides,” “Crito,” “Euthyphro,” “Gorgias,” “(Lesser) Hippias (minor),” “(Greater) Hippias (major),” “Ion,” “Laches,” “Lysis,” and “Protagoras.” The middle works included “Cratylus,” “Euthydemus,” “Meno,” “Parmenides,” “Phaedo,” “Phaedrus,” “Republic,” “Symposium,” and “Theaetetus.” His later works include “Critias,” “Sophist,” “Statesman,” “Timaeus,” “Philebus,” and “Laws.” Plato wrote about ethics, law, politics, justice, and morality. One of the major themes that he wrote about was the trial of Socrates and his death, as witnessed in the “Apology,” and “Crito” and “Phaedo” were written about Socrates’s time in prison. He wrote on metaphysics, including science and religion, love and sexuality. One aspect of Platonism was based on the theory of forms, which denies the reality of the world, viewing it only as a copy of the real world. There are two worlds: the apparent or concrete, seen through senses that can change; and the unseen or abstract, which is perceived from pure reason. Plato also argued for the immortality of the soul. He examined ethics and the ideas of justice and vice. In both works Politics and Laws, he describes the various components of political life. He rejected the idea of the Athenian democracy that existed in his day, in part

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because of the execution of Socrates and the degeneration of the state due to demagogues. He presents the ideas of the philosopher-king, a wise ruler who values the benefit of his people over his own and seeks truth. But it is under the rule of the aristocracy, the elite and wise families that the state functions best. It, however, devolves into timocracy, where rule is done by honorable individuals who are wealthy. This then declines to oligarchy, or rule of a few, which is replaced by democracy, or rule of the people, which finally produces tyranny, or rule of the tyrant. The last major philosopher was Aristotle (384–322), who wrote an extensive catalog of works. His surviving works probably relate to the lectures he gave at Athens. His most important and famous works are Politics, Nicomachean Ethics, Poetics, On the Soul, and Rhetoric, all of which allowed for the development of political history, as well as the basis of ideas for literary criticism and ethics. His surviving works include those in logic or organon: Categories, On Interpretation, Prior Analytics, Posterior Analytics, Topics, and On Sophistical Refutations. In the area of physics or natural philosophy, the surviving works include On the Heavens, On Generation and Corruption, Meteorology, On the Soul, Sense and Sensibility, Memory, Sleep, Dreams, Divination in Sleep, On Length and Shortness of Life, On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, Respiration, History of Animals, Movement of Animals, Parts of Animals, Progression of Animals, Generation of Animals, and Problems. In the area of metaphysics, the work Metaphysics survives. In ethics and politics, there remains the Nicomachean Ethics, Great Ethics (authorship disputed), Eudemian Ethics, Politics, Economics (authorship disputed) and the Constitution of Athens (authorship disputed), which describe political developments and ethics. The final area, Rhetoric and Poetics contain these two works. There are many other works that have not survived, but they attest to Aristotle’s encyclopedic knowledge and breadth. The literary works of the ancient Greeks would set the stage and dominate future inquiries. These literary pieces provide for the transmission of Greek culture and knowledge to the modern age. See also: Comedy; Homeric Epic; Rhodes; Sophists; Theater; Tragedy; Troy

Further Reading

Balot, Ryan K., Sara Forsdyke, and Edith Foster. 2017. The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides. New York: Oxford University Press. Dewald, Carolyn and John Marincola. 2008. The Cambridge Companion to Herodotus. 3rd printing (with corrections). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kremer, Mark Plato and Xenophon. 2006. Plato and Xenophon Apologies. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co. Munson, Rosaria Vignolo. 2013. Herodotus. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rhodes, P. J. 2015. Thucydides. London: Bloomsbury Academic. For a selection of ancient authors and their works in translation, see the Internet Classics Archive, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), http://classics.mit .edu/Browse/index-Aristotle.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

M Macedon Macedon traditionally lay on the fringes of the Greek world. One of the stories related that the foundation of the monarchy came from Temenos, king of Argos. This association led to Macedon’s participation in the Olympic Games. The kingdom was at the boundaries of Thessaly, Thrace, the Aegean coastal cities, and western Illyrians. Although the Macedonians spoke Greek, the language also had linguistic influences from other regions, which many Greeks interpreted to mean that they were only partial Greeks. This bias came mainly from the Athenians, who were their traditional foes for the control of northern Greece. The kingdom during the Archaic and Classical periods was ruled by the Argead dynasty. It was constantly ravaged by its various neighbors and internal disruption. The central monarchy vacillated between strong royal leadership and local baronial control. The monarchy often had to spend its time controlling the local barons, who could be effective allies or dangerous foes. During the early period when Macedon began to have formal diplomatic relations with other states, King Amyntas I (547–498) had to contend with a new foreign foe, Persia, which defeated the Lydian king Croesus and then expanded into Ionia. When Darius crossed into Thrace and moved against the Scythians, he defeated the Paionians, an enemy of Macedon. This weakening of the tribe allowed Macedon to exert its power in the Strymon Valley. Amyntas was able to use the situation to advance into the Thermaic Gulf. The Macedonians at this time had friendly relations with Athens, having helped Pisistratus, and later Amyntas offered Pisistratus’s son, Hippias, refuge in 506. With their ancestral connection to Argos through myth, Amyntas’s son, Alexander I, competed as a runner in the Olympic Games. Alexander was later termed proxenos, or “guest friend” of Athens. Amyntas was able to keep Macedon independent of Persian control in 512, when Darius returned from Russia after the Scythian expedition. Darius had left his general, Megabazos, to reduce Thrace and control the region. Macedon was not conquered, and Amyntas successfully kept Persia at bay, but they did apparently enter into some kind of arrangement, perhaps a treaty, but one in which Macedon did not submit. Amyntas died in 496, while the Ionian rebellion was occurring. Alexander took over and had to deal with the renewed Persian advance in 492, when Darius’s son-in-law Mardonius advanced to conquer Thrace again, and then expand westward and take over as many of the Greek cities as possible, which now included Thasos and the kingdom of Macedon. The campaign did not succeed to the south of Macedon since the fleet was wrecked off Mount Athos, and Mardonius was later wounded in a Thracian attack. The connection between Macedon and Persia went even further when Alexander married off his sister to a

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son of Megabazos, Boubares, who took over as the satrap of Thrace. Alexander and Persia, therefore, had a close relationship, which also probably increased Alexander’s power inside Macedon. Nevertheless, he also maintained a friendship with Athens and other Greek cities. After the death of Darius, his son, Xerxes, planned another invasion, having to wait until 483 so that he could put down a revolt in Egypt. During the next phase, Xerxes’s men began their advance from Thrace into Macedon and then to Thessaly. The Persians dug a canal through Mount Athos in order to allow the fleet and army to cooperate. In addition, the Persians established a series of storage depots to supply the advancing army. These depots were apparently constructed over a series of years and gave the Persians control spots for their invasion into Greece. The Greeks advanced to Tempe in Thessaly, but Alexander warned them that the Persians knew of several other routes, and the Greeks withdrew. Therefore, Alexander could present the case to his Persian overlords that he had helped them by forcing a large Greek army out of their way. He could also tell the Greeks that he helped them by warning them of the Persian advance. He clearly provided the Persians with information and supplies for their invasion of Greece. Alexander then, as proxenos, attempted to negotiate a treaty between Persia and Athens. Although it failed, he could also argue that he had helped the Athenians by providing information to them about the Persian plans. With the Persian defeat in 479 at Plataea, the Persians no longer held power in Thrace and Europe, and the satrapy no longer existed. Alexander now used the power vacuum to seize land in the interior of Macedon, gaining not only land and people, but most important, silver from the nearby mines of Mount Dysoron. There appears to have been continual contact between Persia and Macedon through Alexander’s nephew, the son of Boubares, who continued to hold office in Persia in Caria. Herodotus would relate a series of stories concerning Alexander’s actions, such as his dedication of a golden statue to Delphi from the Persian proceeds taken after the Persian defeat. Alexander probably related a series of tales to Herodotus, who appears to have visited the Macedonian court. While his father, Amyntas, had accepted oversight from the Persians and probably was viewed by the Greeks as a sympathizer or even a turncoat. Alexander gave out the story that when his father had accepted Persian control, Alexander attempted to turn his father ­Amyntas against them, and that Amyntas also gave help to the Greeks, such as at Plataea by telling the Greeks of their plans. Herodotus apparently believed his interpretation and put it in his Histories, which allowed Alexander to be seen as a ­Philhellene by later historians. Alexander probably had less impact than he made it out to sound. After the Persian Wars, Alexander continued his attempt to solidify his position in Macedon. It appears that he continued to trade with Athens and did not object to the Athenian attempt to colonize the region and the subsequent attack by the Thracians and their victory over the Athenian colony. It appears that during the time of the Delian League, some members of Athens were on friendly grounds with Alexander, such as Cimon, who was charged with taking bribes from him, and although Cimon was acquitted, some politicians in Athens were not afraid to

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attempt to move against Macedon. When Alexander died in the 450s, he had not yet made plans for a successor, even though he had five sons. His eldest son, Perdiccas, succeeded him, but the new leader was constantly at odds with his brothers, their families, and the barons in Macedon. He was forced to make a disadvantageous pact with Athens, probably in the early years of his reign. By 433, when the Peloponnesian War broke out, Athens no longer was allied with Perdiccas and had thrown its support to his brother and another local prince. The break may have been due to the Athenian establishment of Amphipolis and the growing tension between the two states due to Athenian control of the Chalcidice region. By this time, the Macedonian king was weak both internally and externally. Perdiccas seems to have made a habit of going from one side to another, depending upon the situation. This gave him the (justified) reputation of being unreliable and unfaithful to his allies. Crucially, Perdiccas did not need Athens, Sparta, or any other ally to remain in power; his use of these different states allowed him the opportunity to extend his power. Athenian practice from this period on was to keep Macedon weak and isolated, but on friendly terms. Perdiccas attempted to use the Spartans to counter the Athenians and use them against his internal enemies. The Spartan general Brasidas already tested and distinguished during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War, attacked the Athenians, and during the cease-fire, he went into Perdiccas’s territory, which he plundered. Perdiccas’s attempt to manage the situation failed. The Peace of Nicias brought an end to the expeditions and war in the north, and Perdiccas was forced to make an alliance with Athens and give aid when needed. When he died in 413, Perdiccas had made his life’s work trying to navigate between the two major powers. His son, Archelaos, was not like his father, trying to play both sides; instead, he allied himself with Athens. He gave support to the democracy at Samos during the time of the 400 in Athens. He was forty-five when he came to the throne, and he had seen how his father had acted and even helped with his diplomatic efforts. Archelaos may have assassinated other members of the royal family to solidify his position. He also determined that the problems his father had was due to internal military weakness in Macedon, and he began the process of building up the infrastructure of the kingdom, including forts, supply depots, and roads. These allowed the central government to become more connected with the local population and control them. He made Pella, located on the Lydias River with direct access to the sea, his new capital. In addition, the site was better suited for all of Macedon as a central capital than the old one at Aigai. Pella became a cultural center under Archelaos, with the Athenian playwright Euripides arriving, composing, and dying there in 406. Soon the political power of the Aegean changed with the destruction of the Athenian fleet and its surrender in 404. Archelaos died in 399 in a violent assassination, perhaps brought on by personal animosity. His son, Orestes, became king, even though he was a minor; his uncle, Aeropos, took over as guardian and then, three years later, murdered Orestes. He died of illness in 394, before he could solidify his position, and his son, Pausanias, took over. He in turn was assassinated, and Amyntas, the son of Arrhidaios and great-grandson of Alexander, took over. He had to face the incursion of the Illyrians under Bardylis, who drove Amyntas out of the region for a period of time.

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At the same time, Olynthus posed a problem. Amyntas would spend the next decade struggling over Olynthus and the Chalcidian League. When the league was dissolved by Sparta in 379, Amyntas came out the winner, with no major threat in the north. Amyntas also appears to have made a treaty with Jason of Pherae in Thessaly, which secured his position even further. When Amyntas died in 369 after twenty-four years of rule, much had changed. Athens had lost the Peloponnesian War, and Sparta had been defeated by Thebes in 371 at Leuctra. Macedon had been restored to the power that it had had under Alexander. During the next ten years, its power was constantly in flux until the youngest son of Amyntas, Philip, became king in 359 after three kings had died. Philip was in a precarious situation—Illyrian invaders under Bardylis were in possession of Upper Macedon, pretenders put forth, Athens attempting to control cities in the Chalcidice, other tribes from the north raiding, and the army was all but destroyed. Philip first had to secure his own position by paying off the Paionians, securing his interior; he then bribed a Thracian tribe that supported one of his rivals Pausanias, not only giving him a respite from the attacks, but also eliminating the rival. The Athenians supported another pretender Argeus to the throne who they hoped would give them back Amphipolis; upon his arrival in Macedon, the pretender could not raise support, Philip defeated the forces and nothing more was heard from the pretender. Realizing that Athens would continually interfere with Amphipolis, Philip in a master stroke gave it independence so that Athens could not make it an issue. In a sign of goodwill, he gave back Athenian prisoners. With the Illyrians paid off, Philip had begun to build and train an army. He equipped them with the sarissa, a sixteen-foot pike that became a formable offensive weapon. Having been a hostage in Thebes under Pelopidas, he understood the importance of military exercise and discipline. He formulated the new infantry and cavalry and had them work together. He used this army to defeat the ­Paionians, whose lands were now regarded as Macedonian. He then marched out and defeated the Illyrians in a decisive battle that not only drove them out of Macedon, but destroyed over 7,000 Illyrians. In addition, the local barons now owed their position to Philip, who had liberated them. To ensure his new cooperation with the Illyrians, he married a daughter of an Illyrian noble, and the union produced a daughter. Two years later, his general, Parmenio, won another battle against the Illyrians in 356, although peace was never secure with other incursions throughout Philip’s and his successors’ reigns. In 357, he married Olympias from the Molossian tribe in Epirus. In 356, she gave birth to a son, Alexander, which Philip designated as his heir. He then began a series of attacks against his ally, Athens, but always claiming he was helping them. He first moved against Amphipolis, which he had given up, indicating he was doing it for his ally, Athens, but really for himself because he did not give it back to Athens. He also took Pydna from Athens. Also, in 356, he took Potidaia from Athens, enslaving the native population but making the Athenians return home. In 355, he took Methone, the last Athenian possession, razed it, and gave the territory to the Macedonians (but he lost an eye in the siege). A major threat to Philip was Thrace. He was able to force two kings to become his clients, and he controlled a vast area to the east. The only region bordering

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Macedon was the Chalcidice peninsula. Olynthus had made a treaty with Athens counter to a treaty with Philip to not act unilaterally. They then made a further blunder by allowing Philip’s two half-brothers asylum and not extraditing them to Philip. Olynthus was the only city in the Chalcidian League to offer opposition to Philip. In 348, the city was sacked and razed by Philip and its citizens sold into slavery. In a little over ten years, Philip had secured his position, protected the frontiers, and expanded Macedon. He then moved against the Greek towns in Thrace, taking all but Perinthos and Byzantion by 341. To the south of Macedon was Thessaly, with which it was friendly. Philip used his connection with Thessaly to intervene in Greek affairs through the Sacred War. He moved against the town of Pherai in 355, which led him to campaign against Phocis. To deal with the whole situation, Macedon needed to take Thessaly, which controlled half of the votes in the Amphictyonic League that were needed to punish Phocis. After a series of battles back and forth, Philip was finally successful. He was then elected leader of the Thessalian League. With his election, he now controlled the entire Amphitryonic League, which gave him entrance into the Greek world. By 346, he had ended the Sacred War and he presided over the Pythian Games—he was now a true Greek. During his early reign, only Athens countered Philip, and he was able to outplay the city-state militarily and diplomatically. He was able to isolate it and then ally himself with it when doing so would favor Macedon. He was able to bribe some Athenians to support him and never pushed the military situation to such an extent to bring about a full-scale war. He had attempted to reach a peaceful solution, but by 338, he now realized that the only solution was to battle Thebes and Athens, the last obstacles in his plans to control central Greece. He met them at Chaironeia, where he successfully defeated the allies. He then imposed a settlement on all of Greece (save Sparta, who refused) to create the Corinthian League, with himself as leader. He then planned his next adventure, an invasion of Asia Minor. He launched an early invasion force to Asia Minor and he planned to join them after his daughter’s marriage to his former brother-in-law, Alexander of ­Epirus. But during the celebration, Philip was attacked and assassinated. Following his assassination, his son, Alexander III, later known as Alexander the Great, took over. He dealt quickly with a northern raid and then in 335 when Thebes rebelled, Alexander moved quickly, destroying the Theban army and razing the city. Alexander, secure in his position, now moved against Persia in 334 and Macedon remained at peace during his reign with his general Antipater in charge. See also: Aegae; Athens; Charonea; Corinthian League; Pella; Scythians; Thasos; Thebes; Thessaly; Troy

Further Reading

Carney, E. D. 2019. Eurydice and the Birth of Macedonian Power. New York: Oxford University Press. Cawkwell, George. 1978. Philip of Macedon. London: Faber & Faber. Hammond, N. G. L. 1994. Philip of Macedon. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Hammond, N. G. L. 1989. The Macedonian State: Origins, Institutions, and History. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.

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Hatzopoulos, M. 2020. Ancient Macedonia. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH. For more information on the rise of Philip and the conquests of Alexander, see Hemingway, Colette, and Seán Hemingway, “The Rise of Macedonia and the Conquests of Alexander the Great,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004), https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd /alex/hd_alex.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Magna Graecia The region of southern Italy and Sicily where Greek colonies were established is often called Magna Graecia, a name bestowed on them by the Romans. This region produced a flourishing culture and transmitted many Greek ideas to the west through Rome. These cities began as colonies from their mother cities in Greece around the eighth century due to its inability to sustain its increasing population. The major cities established (listed from the southern shore of Italy south and west toward Sicily) were Kallipolis, Tarentum, Metapontum, Heraclea, Siris, Sybaris, Thuri, Kroton, Caulonia, and Locri. Moving around the toe of Italy and northward on its western coast were the cities of Rhegion, Medma, Terina, Laus, Pixous, Elea, Poseidonia (Paestum), Neapolis, Dicaearchia, Cumae, and Pithecusae. The cities in Sicily from the northeast tip west along the northern coast were Zancle (Messana), Calacte, and Himaera, while on the southern coast (listed west to east) were Selinunte, Heraclea Minoa, Akragas (Agrigento), Gela, Camarina, and Syracuse, with Kasmenai in the eastern interior, and Leontinoi, Catania, and Naxos (Tauromenium) on the eastern coast. These cities were established by

Greek temple at Paestum, Italy. (Jeff Grabert/Dreamstime.com)



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various cities but may be divided according to their dialect—Doric, Ionic, Achaean, or northwest Greek. Kallipolis (sited at modern Gallipoli, Italy), whose name means “beautiful city,” was said to have been founded by Idomeneus of Crete, the grandson of Minos, who was involved in the Trojan War. It was a Doric foundation. The city controlled a large area and was conquered by Rome after it sided with Pyrrhus and Tarentum against Rome. To the west lay Tarentum on the coast of Apulia, which was founded in 706 by Sparta by Partheniae, or “sons of virgins,” who were the offspring of unmarried Spartan women and either helots or other Spartans (Dorics) not seen as being fit for full political membership in the state. The various versions of their origins all date to the First Messenian War and the Partheniae then journeyed to Italy to establish a colony at Tarentum. They probably were forced to leave Sparta because of their inferior status or due to a general discontent with land distribution. The city grew and became important in southern Italy, often controlling the other Greek cities in Italy. North and west of Tarentum on the gulf of Tarentum was Metapontum, an Achaean colony between the Bradanus and Casuentus rivers. The Achaeans from the nearby Sybaris and Crotona colonies contested the region with Tarentum and ultimately prevailed, and the city was probably established around 700–690. Due to its fertile lands and position, the colony prospered and became aligned with Sybaris and Crotona to ensure its protection. During the Athenian invasion of ­Sicily, Metapontum attempted to remain neutral, but in 414, it was forced into an alliance with Athens and contributed a small force to help them. Since it was far enough from Sicily, it did not suffer any repercussions after Athens’s defeat. Like Tarentum, it supported Pyrrhus, causing Rome to ultimately take it over. The Ionic colony of Heraclea, between the Aciris and Siris rivers, was established later than most of the colonies in Magna Graecia. After the fall of the nearby Ionic colony Siris and conflict with Tarentum, a treaty established a new colony at Heraclea, while Siris was reduced. The colony had good relations with Tarentum, which ensured its protection, and Heraclea became a meeting place for the Italian Greeks. Nearby was the Ionic colony of Siris, sited on a river with the same name, and legend had it that Siris was founded by the Trojans but was probably established after Metapontum, between 690 and 660 and only referenced back its foundation to the Trojan period. Siris became prosperous and incurred the envy of its Achaean neighbors. They aligned in a war against the Ionic colony and in about 550, they captured it and expelled its inhabitants. The Athenians had laid claim to the region when they established a colony at Thurii in 443, leading to a dispute with Tarentum that resulted in the founding of Heraclea. In addition to the Achaean Metapontum, the other Achaean sites opposed to Siris included the nearby colony of Sybaris to the west. Founded by colonists from Achaea and Troezen in 720, it was well sited on a fertile plain with an ideal port. The city became famous among the Greeks for its hedonistic practices. In 510, the Achaean city of Kroton to the southwest defeated and drove out the population, and Sybaris became a dependent of Kroton. The city was periodically

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restored but ultimately was abandoned after new colonists from Athens arrived and established the colony of Thurii on its site in 445. The Achaeans established Kroton, founded by Myscellus from Rhypes in Achaea. The city increased in population so that around 500, it had between 50,000 and 80,000 inhabitants. The city became renowned for its Olympic victors, and their physicians also were well known. The philosopher Pythagoras founded his school there in 530. The city was controlled by an oligarchic council of 1,000 members. Kroton sent aid to Greece against Persia, but in 480, Locri and Rhegium defeated Kroton in a battle, and it began to decline. Dionysius of Syracuse captured Kroton in 379 as he increased his empire. Nearby was the Achaean colony of Caulonia, founded in the late seventh century, supposedly by Typhon of Aegium. The city was probably controlled by Kroton, even though it was independent, and it supported Athens during the Peloponnesian War. Like Kroton, it was captured by Dionysius I of Syracuse, with its citizens transplanted to Syracuse and the city destroyed and then rebuilt by his son, Dionysius II. The final city of the southeastern part of Magna Graecia was Locri, founded in 680 by the Locrians from central Greece near Parnassus from Opus, who spoke a Doric-Northwestern Greek dialect. The city was renowned for its worship of Persephone and Aphrodite. It was allied with Sparta, and later its colony at Syracuse. Moving north along the western coast were numerous Greek cities. The city of Rhegion was one of the first in Italy settled by Ionic colonists from Chalcis on Euboea in either 743 or 730. A crucial city in Magna Graecia, it allowed control of the straits of Messina between Italy and Sicily. Rhegion would conquer Zancle (Messina) on the opposite shore in Sicily, giving it dominance. The city was prosperous due to its commercial activities and location. Rhegion would establish a colony at Pyxous in 471 in Campania. Rhegion allied itself with Athens during the Peloponnesian War before 433. The Athenians supported Rhegion’s attack against Locri in 427 during Athens’s First Sicilian War. During the Sicilian Expedition of 415–413, Rhegion offered only token support, probably because it feared Athens controlling Sicily and the western Greeks. Dionysius I of Syracuse destroyed the city in 387, and his son, Dionysius II, reestablished it in the 360s as a new city called Phoebeia (it retook its original name in 351). Medma (or Mesma) was north of Rhegion on the coast of Bruttia; it was founded by the Locrians. It was never significant; the main city lay inland and had a port or emporium on the coast. Terina was an Achaean colony located on the gulf of Saint Euphemia, founded in 444 by colonists from Kroton and Locri. The city was prosperous due to its position, which afforded protection for merchants from the north to Kroton. Close to Thurii, which attacked and ravaged the city soon after its foundation; however, Terina was able to withstand the assault and prospered until it was plundered by the Bruttians in 365. A colony of Sybaris on the Lao River was Laus, which was founded after Sybaris was destroyed in 510. The city grew, and in 390, it was probably captured by the Lucanians on at least one of their raids against Thurii. Pixous, an Ionic city, was founded in 470 by Micythus, the tyrant of Rhegion, who was a slave who rose



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to power and served as guardian to the infant sons of Anaxilas, the tyrant of Rhegion. He ruled well, and when the sons having grown to manhood demanded to rule and a financial accounting of his rule, he provided a detailed account, resigned from power willingly and departed with his wealth going to Tegea in the Peloponnese, where he lived in comfort and peace. Elea (or Velia) on the Tyrrhenian Sea was established by colonists from Phocaea as Hyele about 535, and later the name was changed. The Ionian Greeks from Phocaea in Asia Minor fled the Persians in 545 and wandered for ten years before settling at Hyele. They were able to remain free from the Lucanians and ultimately joined with Rome in 273. Poseidonia (Paestum) lay on the Tyrrhenian Sea, and its ruins are noted for three ancient Doric temples dating from 600 to 450. The Achaeans from Sybaris (with perhaps help from Dorians from the Peloponnese) established the city as Poseidonia; it was originally close to the sea but the inhabitants decided later to move the city inland to a higher elevation. The city was probably founded shortly before 600, maintained close relations with Metapontum, and received refugees from Sybaris when it was conquered by Kroton in 510. The city struck coins on the Achaean standard, about half the weight of the Athenian (Attic) standard. The Achaean standard in Magna Graecia remained the dominant coinage system until the Romans conquered the region in the early third century. The Lucanians conquered the city at the end of the fifth century, and both Greek and native Oscan cultures existed side by side. Moving into the Bay of Naples, the Greek colonies that existed there found a favorable climate and fertile land. The city Neapolis (Naples) was colonized by Rhodes in the ninth century. It was originally called Parthenope and was renamed in the sixth century. During this period, the Greek states in the south became involved with the Etruscans in the north, who were attempting to increase their power. In 524, the Etruscans attacked Cumae but were defeated. The city was powerful and grew to dominate the southern part of the bay. Dicaearchia or Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli) from the Roman period was founded in 529. Naming it Dicaearchia, meaning the City of Justice, the Samian colonists were fleeing the tyrant Polycrates. It was located on a promontory that juts into the Bay of Naples just to the west. It grew into an important city but ultimately declined due to the rise of its neighbor, Cumae. Cumae was the first colony established in Magna Graecia with emigrants from Eretria and Chalcis. Finally, the island of Ischia (Pithecusae) had been inhabited since the Bronze Age, when merchants from Mycenae, Etruscans, and Phoenicians visited the site. Hiero I of ­Syracuse in 474 established a fortress there and allowed the city of Ischia to be built and to grow into a Greek city. The island of Sicily, also part of Magna Graecia, had numerous colonies. ­Zancle (Messana), whose name was derived from the Greek word for “sickle” due to the shape of its harbor on the northern coast, was established in the eighth century. It was founded before 730 by colonists from Chalcis on Ionic Euboea. During the fifth century, refugees from Miletus and Samos who were fleeing the Persians took over the city and named it Messena, from the Peloponnese region of M ­ essenia. The city was destroyed by Himilco in 396 and then was conquered and rebuilt by Dionysius I. It was linked with Rhegion across the straits. To the west lay Calacte

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meaning Fair Shore due to its beauty and fertility. The city was established by a Sicilian chief named Ducetius, who had fled to Corinth and then returned with colonists. It appears that the town grew and prospered after its founding. Himaera, the first Greek settlement on the western part of the island, lay just east of the Carthaginian region. A colony of Zancle, the inhabitants mixed with Syracusan exiles, resulting in a Chalcidic city with a Doric dialect founded probably around 650. The city was destroyed and rebuilt around 580. It fell under the tyrant Phalaris in 490, and then under Theron of Agrigento. The city sought help from Carthage in 480, leading to a Carthaginian invasion under Hamilcar, where Gelon defeated the Carthaginians at the Battle of Himera. Theron was not in charge of the region but had left his son, Thrasydaeus, a violent and arbitrary ruler, in charge. The city rebelled, but Theron returned and defeated them and brought in more colonists of Dorian extract. In 409, the Carthaginians again attacked and destroyed the city, never to be rebuilt. On the southern coast in the west was Selinunte, an important city colonized by the Sicilian city of Megara Hyblaea on the east coast. It was probably established around 600. The city often clashed with Segesta to the north. It was prosperous and achieved control over the western part of Sicily. Originally, it was governed by an oligarchy, but by 510, a tyranny was put in place. Selinunte supported the Carthanianis in 480. The city was still powerful when Athens launched its Sicilian expedition in 415, and it asked Syracuse for help against Segesta, which Athens supported. The Athenian general Nicias, who co-led the invasion force, suggested that the Athenians attack Selinunte instead of Syracuse, but was overridden. With Athens defeated, Segesta lost its patron, and Selinunte attacked. Segesta now asked for help from Carthage, which attacked Selinunte in 409 and took the city. The walls were destroyed, but the inhabitants were allowed to remain. Heraclea Minoa lay between Selinunte and Akragas. A colony of Selinunte, the city was constantly changing hands and ultimately came under the control of ­Carthage. To the east, on a plateau overlooking the sea, was Akragas (Agrigento). Akragas was established as a colony by settlers from Gela to the east around 580. The city prospered under the tyrants Phalaris and Theron. After the overthrow of these tyrants, the city established a democracy. Its mother city was Gela, a Doric colony from Rhodes and Crete in 689. The city was one of the most important cities in the west. Another Doric colony was Camarina, between Gela and Syracuse, its mother city. Camarina was established in 599 but was destroyed by Syracuse in 552. Colonists from Gela reestablished the city again in 461 and became hostile toward its former mother city. It was an ally of Athens in the 427 in the First ­Sicilian War, but it helped Syracuse in the Sicilian Expedition of 415. The new city had a democracy. To the northeast lay Syracuse, established by the Corinthians in 734 and allied with Sparta against Athens. In 643, Syracuse founded Kasmenai, in the eastern interior in the Hyblaean Mountains due to its ability to control access to and from the central region. The city’s location, on the road to Selinunte and Akragas, provided access to the west. The city aligned itself with its mother city of Syracuse. The Romans destroyed the city in 212, and it was never rebuilt or inhabited.



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On the east coast, north of Syracuse, was Leontinoi, established in 729 by colonists from nearby Naxos, a Chalcidian colony from Ionic Euboea. One of the earliest colonies of Magna Graecia, it was not located on the coast, but rather six miles inland. The city controlled the rich farmlands to the north. Syracuse subjected it in 494; and in 476, Hieron of Syracuse transplanted inhabitants from Catania and Naxos. Leontinoi regained its independence but often had to ask Athens for help, including a request during the First Sicilian expedition in 427. In 415, political refugees again joined envoys of Segesta to urge Athens to come to their aid, leading to the Great Sicilian Expedition. With Athens defeated, Leontinoi came under Syracuse control. Catania began as another colony of Naxos in 729 on the coast. Local legend had it established by Amphinomos and Anapias, who carried their parents to safety when Mount Etna erupted. The philosopher Charondas in the late sixth century introduced laws that spread to other Chalcidic cities. The city had a rich cultural history. It was seized by Hieron of Syracuse, who expelled the inhabitants and renamed it Aetna. With his death in 466, the new inhabitants were expelled and the old citizens returned in 461. The city grew during this period, and during the Sicilian Expedition, Catania became the Athenian base of operations against Syracuse; after the Athenian defeat, the city was saved from Syracusan attack by the arrival of Carthage in 409, which distracted Syracuse. In 403, Dionysius I of Syracuse plundered the city and enslaved the population before Catania fell into the hands of the Carthaginians in 397 after the Battle of Catana. The city was ruled by a series of tyrants until 338. Naxos, near the modern city of Taormina, was founded in 735 on the eastern coast by colonists from Chalcis in Euboea as the earliest colony in Sicily. The city probably received a regular flow of new colonists, since within six years, it was able to send out its own colonies to Leontinoi and Catania. The city of Zancle may have been a colony of Naxos or a joint adventure with Naxos and Chalcis. The city enthusiastically joined the Athenians in their expedition, and the Athenian fleet arrived there first when they arrived in Sicily. After the Athenian defeat, Syracuse waged battles against the Chalcidic colonies until Carthage sent its army in 409, forcing the Greek cities to suspend their internecine war. The city was taken by Dionysius I in 403, and its inhabitants were enslaved and its walls and buildings destroyed. With the city in decline in 358, Andromachus gathered the Naxos exiles together to form a new city, Tauromenium (modern Taormina) nearby, which now grew into a large Greek city. The cities of Magna Graecia became the transmitters of much of Greek culture to the West. Their interactions with Rome and the Etruscans allowed Greece to engage in commerce and development. Magna Graecia ensured that Greek culture and civilization had a strong presence in the western Mediterranean. Ultimately, in the second century, Rome took over the region during and after its war with Hannibal, when many cities sided with Carthage against Rome in the Second Punic War. The Greek cities then transferred their culture to Rome directly. See also: Akragas; Carthage; Corinth; Cyme; Euboea; Gela; Heraclea Minoa; Himera; Rome; Sparta; Syracuse

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Further Reading

Bennett, Michael J., Aaron J. Paul, Mario Iozzo, and Bruce M. White. 2002. Magna Graecia: Greek Art from South Italy and Sicily. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art. Berger, Shlomo. 1992. Revolution and Society in Greek Sicily and Southern Italy. Stuttgart: Steiner. Carter, Joseph Coleman. 2006. Discovering the Greek Countryside at Metaponto. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. Cartledge, Paul. 2002. Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History, 1300–362 B.C. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. Cartledge, P. 2009. Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ceserani, Giovanna. 2012. Italy’s Lost Greece: Magna Graecia and the Making of Modern Archaeology. New York: Oxford University Press. Morgan, Kathryn A. 2015. Pindar and the Construction of Syracusan Monarchy in the Fifth Century B.C. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mantinea, Battles of Two key battles fought in 418 and 362 near the city of Mantinea help decide the future of Sparta and the Greek world. The first broke the power of Athens, while the second broke Thebes. Both battles were an attempt to knock Sparta out of a war, the first being the Peloponnesian War and the second being the Theban hegemony. Both resulted in clear decisions, but with varying results. In 420, Sparta feared that the Athenians would enter into an alliance with Argos, Sparta’s traditional enemy in the Peloponnese, during the Peloponnesian War, when the ten-year treaty between Argos and Sparta was set to expire. In addition, Sparta had seen its position attacked in the Peloponnese by its own allies. Mantinea had enlarged its boundaries in the south, while Elis was upset with Sparta for supporting its rival, Lepreon. But the Argos-Athenian alliance far outweighed these minor inconveniences. In an attempt to counter this situation, Sparta entered into a defensive alliance with Athens to recover its prisoners lost at Spacterian, which Athens under Nicias now accepted. Corinth, Mantinea, and Elis believed that Sparta had turned its back on them, and they now desired to dissolve the Peloponnesian League and enter into an alliance with Argos. Soon there was a change in party politics in Athens, moving away from Nicias’s Peace Party to the War Party, led by Hyperbolus and Alcibiades, the nephew of Pericles. This party created a new treaty with Argos and its allies Mantinea and Elis, which lasted 100 years. The Athenian allies in the Peloponnese attacked Epidaurus, which Sparta helped, and that allowed the Athenians to declare the recent peace treaty made by Nicias and the Peace Party with Sparta to be at an end. The Spartans under King Agis decided to attack the allies and marched north toward Mantinea. The Athenians arrived and took the Spartan outpost at ­Orchomenus. The Spartans still counted the Corinthians as allies, but Sparta could not assist the Corinthians since the Athenians, Argives, and Mantineans stood between it. Agis moved his army north to Mantinea. He began to divert a



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river, threatening to flood the city and forcing the allies to give up their strategic position. Both sides drew up in battle formation and engaged, but a miscommand in the Spartan plan almost led to disaster. As the Spartan army moved forward and to the right, as in all battles to protect their open right side, the left side became spread out. In addition, Agis noticed that the Mantineans facing his left side were stretched out farther to the left, potentially allowing them to come around and flank him in the rear. Agis ordered his left wing to move out to counter this, but it opened a gap in his line. He ordered two Spartan units to move into the gap, but they refused. This resulted in his extreme left being routed, but Agis, commanding the right side of the Spartan army, defeated the Athenians and the other allies. Agis could not completely rout the Athenians, though, since he needed to bring his forces along to help his own left flank; nevertheless, the Spartans in general were completely victorious. The allies now returned to Spartan control; Argos abandoned its democracy and became an ally of Sparta; and Athens was isolated and Hyperbolus (who had instigated the war) was ostracized. Sparta’s influence increased, and the disaster brought about by its surrender at Spacteria was erased. The battle helped Sparta maintain control of the Peloponnese. The second battle occurred in 362, near the same plain but now between ­Thebes and Sparta. When Thebes had invaded the Peloponnese and freed Messenia from Spartan control, the Arcadian League was created in the north. The main foe of Arcadia had been Elis, in the west, which also supervised the Olympic festivals. In 365, Arcadia attacked and ravaged the region of Elis, occupying and fortifying the hill overlooking the ancient sanctuary. They also gave the presidency to Pisa, who controlled the festival before Elis. In 364, when the festival took place, the Eleans attempted to displace the Arcadians, and although they lost the battle, they won the hearts of the rest of the Greek world since they were seen as the victims of Arcadian aggression. In addition, the Arcadians used the sacred treasury to pay their troops, further alienating the Greeks. Mantinea and Tegea, age-old enemies, had joined to create the Arcadian League, but now their traditional enmity reemerged. Mantinea decided to secede from the league. With the Arcadian League being pushed apart, Sparta attempted to regain its old territory. Mantinea joined with Sparta, Elis, and Achaea to oppose Sparta’s former ally, Tegea. With the league in shambles, some of its wealthy members sought to join with Sparta, which threw off the overlord of Thebes. ­Thebes feared that the union of Sparta and Arcadia might even result in Messenia being taken again by Sparta. Thebes was upset with the peace arrangements, and Epaminondas, the Theban commander, announced his plan to set things right in the Peloponnese. Opposed to Thebes was Sparta and its Arcadian allies, as well as Athens and its allies: Mantinea, Elis, Achaea, and Phlius. Epaminondas arrived in the Peloponnese and advanced to Tegea, the Theban ally. Athens had not yet arrived, and Epaminondas planned to attack Mantinea before the Spartans and Athenians could arrive. The Spartans under King Agesilaus had begun to march north, so Epaminondas decided to attack the unprotected Sparta. When Agesilaus found out, he returned and thwarted Epaminondas, who now decided to attack the undefended Mantinea. His cavalry attacked the unprotected city but were repulsed by

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the sudden arrival of the Athenian cavalry. The Spartan, Mantinean, and Athenian armies united and planned to defend Mantinea against Theban attack. After a diversion, Epaminondas attacked the forces as he had done at Leuctra. On the left wing were the Theban hoplites under his command, arrayed in a deep column that marched obliquely to break the enemy’s right wing before the left wing could engage. In addition, he placed his cavalry in a deep column formation in front of his deep-columned infantry on the left against the Mantineans. His force broke through the enemy and forced the Spartans to flee. The result was a great Theban victory, but fate intervened—during the pursuit, Epaminondas was killed, the Thebans made their peace with the status quo, and Messenia was saved. The battle resulted in a state of confusion since it ended Theban power in the south, but Sparta could not reclaim its former power, control, or glory. See also: Argos; Corinthian War; Peloponnesian War; Sparta; Thebes; Weapons

Further Reading

Buckler, John. 1980. The Theban Hegemony, 371–362 BC. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Hamilton, Charles D. 1991. Agesilaus and the Failure of Spartan Hegemony. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Kagan, Donald. 2003. The Peloponnesian War. New York: Viking. For an overview of the Peloponnesian battle, see Rickard, J., “Battle of Mantinea, 418 BC,” July 19, 2011, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_mantinea_418 .html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Marathon, Battle of After the Athenians attacked and burned Sardis during the Ionian Revolt, Persia sought revenge against the Greeks in general, and Athens and Eretria in particular. The former tyrant of Athens, Hippias, now at the court of king Darius, urged the Persian monarch to restore him. Persia first reduced and reconquered the Greek city-states along the western coastline of Asia Minor. Interestingly, they decided not to reinstall the tyrants who had encouraged the revolts; instead, they allowed democracies to become the form of government in the cities. Darius may have realized that having democracies made it easier for the Persian governors to rule due to divisiveness and factions. In 492 Darius decided to send his son-in-law, Mardonius, to Thrace to subdue the region, including Macedon. King Alexander I of Macedon submitted, and the Persians began a naval and land campaign against the Greek mainland. A storm at Mount Athos destroyed the fleet, and Mardonius returned home, but he had accomplished his most important task—securing the north. Darius still desired to punish Athens, and in 490, a fleet that had been built and assembled on the western coast of Asia Minor set out. The historian Herodotus reported that the fleet numbered 600 strong and there was an army with cavalry, probably between 20,000 to 30,000 strong. The invasion force sailed through the Cyclades, reducing the islands and making them Persian. The fleet was under the



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command of Darius’s nephew, Artaphernes, and Datis. It arrived first on the island of Naxos, and after the city’s population fled into the hills, they burned the city. The Persians avoided the sacred island of Delos so as not to incur the wrath of the gods, although an earthquake devastated the island afterward. With the fleet was the former Athenian tyrant Hippias, who had urged Darius to reinstall him as tyrant. The Persians then sailed between Attica and Euboea and arrived at Eretria. They besieged the city for a week before it was betrayed by some inhabitants. The Persians burned Eretria and enslaved its population. The same fate now awaited Athens. During the siege, the Athenians did not help Eretria. This is perplexing since they knew that the Persians were coming due to Persia sending ambassadors demanding submission from the Greek cities. Some cities gave earth and water symbols representing the surrender of everything, land and liquids needed for life, showing the Persian king’s control over the livelihood of his subjects. The Persians now sailed back through the channel and arrived in Attica, landing at the plain of Marathon, northeast of Athens. Athens had changed much since the Pisistratid Hippias had been exiled twenty years earlier. The new democracy had taken root, and new Athenian leaders had come to the forefront, most notably Miltiades, the son of Cimon. He had been a former tyrant at Chersonese who was forced to return to Athens after the Ionian Revolt and subsequent Persian invasion of the Thrace. Miltiades had a personal grudge against Hippias since the Pisistratids had executed his father. He also had experience against the Persians and their style of warfare. When the Persian forces landed at Marathon, the Athenians requested aid from their allies and Sparta. The Plataeans would send 1,000 men; a runner, Philippides, was sent to Sparta to ask for its help. The Spartans indicated that they would send a force after a religious festival and the passing of the full moon. The polemarch for 490 was Callimachus, and with the other ten generals, one for each tribe (which included Miltiades), a force of 9,000 Athenian hoplites stood ready. The Persian invasion force planned to land forces to the north of Athens and to march south against Athens and at the same time have their fleet sail around to Athens and then catch the Athenian army and Athens in between the two forces. The key to their plan was to arrive with the Athenian army unprepared and remaining at Athens. A debate in Athens arose as to whether to march out to Marathon to meet the Persians, who had just landed, or wait in front of the ­Acropolis until they arrived. Miltiades urged his fellow Athenians in the ­Assembly to march out to meet the Persians at the plain of Marathon. His reasoning was that then the Persians could not divide their forces and attack Athens from two sides. In addition, Miltiades and others realized that there were Persian sympathizers who might persuade the Athenians to surrender the Acropolis, just as they had in Eretria. The Persians beached their ships near the Great Marsh and encamped near the Maria Spring so they could get fresh water. Lying on the northeastern part of the plain, the Persians chose the site so as to provide enough resources for their cavalry. The plain of Marathon is surrounded by hills from the Pentelicus and Parnes mountains and is cut in half by a stream. Opposite the Persians on the southern side of the plain, the Athenians had encamped after marching from Athens along

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the longer but easier coastal road. Both sides waited, with the Athenians hoping for help from Sparta and the Persians wanting sympathizers to betray the city. After several days, Callimachus and Miltiades decided to attack since it appeared that Sparta would not arrive; in addition, they may have feared that fifth columnists had already begun to push the Athenians toward surrender. Although the story that the Athenians waited until the day that Miltiades would be in charge of the army, an anachronistic invention for later times when command rotated among generals and the polemarch had lost its power, it is clear that Callimachus deferred to Miltiades and his expertise, even though he remained in charge. Miltiades knew how the Persians fought. They would use their bowmen to disrupt the Athenian infantry so that their cavalry on the right could swing in from the right and crush the Athenian left side. With his 10,000-man infantry, Callimachus faced a Persian army probably numbering 20,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. Miltiades knew that their forces were outnumbered, so to prevent envelopment by the enemy, he spread out his line, reinforcing his wings but weakening the center. The Plataeans were on the left wing, while Callimachus commanded the right and the future Athenian leaders Aristides and Themistocles commanded their units in the center. The Persians had drawn up their forces, and Miltiades ordered his men coming down from the foothills to begin to run once they had come into range of the bowmen. This would do two things—first, they would cover more ground faster and avoid some of the arrows; and second, it would give them momentum. As expected, the Athenian wings that had been reinforced overcame the Persian wings, breaking their resistance; the Athenians’ weakened center was pushed back by the strong Persian forces. Instead of following up their assault on the wings, the Athenians turned back against the Persian center, now being attacked from both front and rear by the Athenians, who cut them to pieces. The Persian wings, many bogged down in the Great Marsh, fled across the plain to their ships, with the Athenians in pursuit. Some of the fiercest fighting occurred on the beach, although only seven Persian ships were captured. The casualties for the Athenians numbered only 192, but among them was Callimachus, who died chasing the Persians as they retreated to their ships. Although a low number, it probably was an accurate report by Herodotus since the ­Athenians would have known and remembered the results of that fighting. Their success and low casualties probably resulted from their hoplite armor. Although the Persian casualty numbers were probably not known for sure, Herodotus gives a figure of 6,400—small when compared to his other Persian figures, but probably near the mark, especially if the Persians had between 20,000 and 30,000 men, the wings were not devastated, and the center suffered most of the fighting. Nevertheless, the Persians had suffered their first major defeat at the hands of the Greeks. After the Persian ships sailed out from Marathon, a shield signal, flashing like a mirror, was seen. The Greeks said the signal was sent by the Alcmaeonidae clan, pro-Pisistratids, to the Persians, indicating that the city was defenseless and ready to fall to Hippias and the Persians. It is clear that a signal was given, but it is not so certain that it came from the Alcmaeonidae, or that they were actually traitors. Nevertheless, the Persian fleet, on the assumption that the Greek army would still be at Marathon, now sailed around Cape Sunion toward the Athenian harbor at

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Phaleron. Upon their arrival at Phaleron, the Persians looked at the shore and saw the Athenian army poised for battle, having come back in time. The Persians sailed back to Asia Minor. The Spartans arrived a few days later and examined the Persian corpses, praising the Athenian victory. The Athenian dead, including Callimachus, were buried in a mound on the south plain of Marathon that is still extant today. The Battle of Marathon ensured the Athenians peace and enough time to build their fleet to protect all of Greece in the next phase of the war with Persia. See also: Athens; Attica; Hoplite; Persian Wars; Phalanx; Weapons

Further Reading

Green, Peter. 1996. The Greco-Persian Wars. Berkeley: University of California Press. Lazenby, J. F. 1993. The Defence of Greece, 490–479 B.C. Warminster, UK: Aris & Phillips.

Marriage Marriage in ancient Greece was based on the concept of maintaining the legitimacy of citizenship and the transferral of property in the ancient polis. While marriages were monogamous, it did not preclude the man from having concubines and relations with other women. In the Homeric poems, the aristocrats commonly had relations with slaves and captives, even bringing them into their homes. It was not uncommon for these relations to produce children who were raised in the household, and even if they were not viewed as legitimate, they had rights to succession, and even citizenship. Marriage was meant to be for the public good, so the city’s citizen population could grow. Most cities imposed penalties on men who did not marry. Women were under the control of male family members, who negotiated with the prospective groom and his family. Part of this negotiation included the giving of gifts, as seen in the Homeric poems, where gifts such as livestock, captives, and war booty were given to show respect and union between partners. The purpose was to ensure legitimate marriage in which heirs received both status and wealth. Only legitimate heirs could receive the status and wealth of the parents; illegitimate children could receive wealth, but not status. Descent was patriarchal, without overlap or matriarchal origin, with sons as heirs and daughters sent to other households. These households would perpetuate themselves with sons as heirs, and if no sons existed, sons-in-law were taken as blood relatives. Finally, the household was divided at the time of the father’s death. Sons inherited equal parts and set up their own households. During the post-Homeric period, marriage contracts continued in the same way; that is, marriage allowed the continual transference of land in a hierarchical fashion. This system limited the city’s growth, as land was not divided. Here, women became part of the citizen body, without political rights, but they could control their own property. Cities like Sparta and Gortyn on Crete were examples of this type of system. In the city of Gortyn, a law code gave regulations concerning marriage, citizenship, and rights. For example, if a slave man and a free woman had a child, its status depended on where the child lived—in the father’s

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household, the child would be a slave, and if in the mother’s, the child would be free. If both parents were slaves, the child belonged to the master’s household. Other cities like Athens decided to abandon the hierarchal approach and allow intercommunications among the households. Here, they could transmit wealth regardless of sex. Daughters were seen as perpetually under the control of their husbands, not as independent. In Athens, the reforms by Solon broke the old household system, which was based on land and its transmission. Instead, the Athenians used wealth classified as visible entities, such as land, houses, and slaves, or hidden ones, delineated as money or mortgages. Here, the dowry became the crucial element, with money or movable property given in the marriage contract. Solon dictated that the men of the household could make the contract for the daughter’s marriage, but he eliminated land as part of the dowry. This process allowed both wealthy and poor families to give away their daughters, as well as encouraging reproduction and other relationships to prevent civil war. This would result in the transfer of women in an egalitarian fashion to avoid the need for land to be transferred. This did not solve the situation, though; that did not happen until Cleisthenes, who made citizenship by the demes so as to prevent people from discrediting each other based on their father’s names. Under his system, only the father had to be a citizen. In most cities, such as Athens, both parents had to be free so that their offspring would be free citizens. This originally did not mean that both parents had to be citizens of Athens; that would only occur beginning in 451, with the passage of a law mandating that both parents had to be Athenian citizens. As with other cities, the marriages of daughters, with or without brothers, controlled the way that society reacted to the matrimonial system. In both systems, the bride was given to the husband by a male relative. The dowry that the bride brought to the marriage was not available for the groom to spend; it was her security, for her future protection. Both sides exchanged gifts to cement their relationship, showing that it was a contract, not simply the bride’s family selling or rejecting her. She was in fact given in exchange for the gifts, and she brought her own ability to contribute to the marriage, in the form of the dowry, which originally was meant to produce income for the family. Originally, it was probably cattle or other income-producing property. In the later Classical period in Athens, the dowry was usually in the form of money. Normally, the parents of prospective mates would negotiate with each other unless the groom was independent, and perhaps older. The groom would look for a potential mate based on her dowry, ability to reproduce, and household skills; love and sentiment rarely entered the mix. While men would often marry in their twenties and even into the early thirties, girls usually married young, at around fourteen to sixteen years old. It was not uncommon for a marriage to bring two families together who had business or political connections so that they might increase their families’ power. Occasionally, the marriage might bring together two opposing families, to reconcile them. Usually, the bride’s and groom’s feelings were not considered. If the girl’s family was wealthy and/or important, it was probably not difficult for the family to arrange a marriage; if there was such a difficulty, the family could engage a professional matchmaker, an older woman, who

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for a fee would arrange a marriage. These women were not held in high esteem, but they probably knew the various eligible men. When a daughter was set to be married, there could be two possible outcomes. The daughter could become part of the groom’s family, or the son-in-law could become an extension of the bride’s family. In the former, the daughter usually had brothers who would inherit the family’s fortune and provide succession; in the latter, the daughter was often either an only child or had just sisters, and it was important for the continuity of the family for the son-in-law to be absorbed into the bride’s family. There was the engyesis, or betrothal espousal, where the parents of the bride and groom confirmed the marriage contract. The bride’s father would formally announce that he was giving his daughter to her future husband for the purpose of producing legitimate heirs, and the future husband would reply “I take her,” indicating that their offspring would be entitled to inherit. It appears that if this espousal ceremony did not take place, then the rights of inheritance did not exist. Also, at this espousal, the matter of the dowry was decided. When the marriage was contracted, the ceremonies would then take place. The first was the proaulia, a feast the day before the wedding where the newly betrothed couple would make a proteleia (offering) to the gods Artemis and Aphrodite. The feast would take place at the bride’s father’s house, and the gifts would typically be her childhood toys and clothes. A crucial part of this ceremony was the cutting of the bride’s hair and dedicating it, along with her girdle, to the goddesses. On the day of the wedding, the gamos (ceremony) would begin with a ritualistic bathing, where the bride and groom took a ritual bath in their respective homes in the loutra of holy water to purify their lives, and then they met at the bride’s home. The wedding feast began with the men eating, and then the bride and her female family members joining in. The feast continued with the celebration of the union between the bride and groom. The bride was then taken to the groom’s father’s home, where she was welcomed at his father’s hearth. The couple then consummated the marriage in order to produce children. The following day, the epaulia (giving of gifts) took place. Relatives of the bride and groom offered gifts to the couple, which were carried into the couple’s house. The gifts would often be clothes, jewelry, perfume, pots, and furniture. These were gifts used for the bride’s establishment of a new household. The actual marriage ceremony may take place immediately, or more likely in the month of Gamelion (January), which was sacred to Hera, the goddess of the hearth and family. The purpose of marriage was to produce children or legitimate offspring. If the marriage did not produce children, then a man could divorce his wife on grounds of being barren. In this instance, the remaining part of the dowry would be returned with the wife to her father’s family. The dowry was provided to ensure that the wife would be supported in case of the husband’s death or divorce. The dowry gave her power and authority over the husband, especially if she was from a wealthier family. Divorce could also be granted for adultery, with the dowry also returned to the wife’s family. Either party could initiate divorce. The husband could do this by merely sending the wife back to her family and returning the dowry. For the wife to initiate divorce, she had to appear before an archon, or civil

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magistrate. Only her father could initiate a divorce if there was no child. If the wife committed adultery and it was discovered by the husband, he had to initiate divorce or be disenfranchised (i.e., giving up his citizenship, a severe punishment). Since many divorces were given on the ground of barrenness, it is probable that this was a common way to prevent embarrassment. Since a woman’s father had to come up with the dowry, it was common for many families to desire male children; many families would expose their infant daughters to avoid raising them. Many of these exposed girls would die while others were rescued to become slaves in a family household. Those that remained probably produced a small number of women available for marriage, making them a prized commodity. This practice gave rise to an increase in the percentage of males over females in the population. Since these young girls were married without knowing their future husband, and given that he was usually quite a bit older, love and sentiment probably did not figure into marriage until much later, if at all. It is possible that the two ultimately came to love one another, or at least have favorable feelings, but it is also clear that many marriages were performed merely to allow the continuation of a family’s lineage. Once a family had been established, the wife was in control of the household, including its servants and the raising of the children. Often the husband handed over to his wife the running of the estate, meaning that she often knew more about that than her husband. In addition, she had the opportunity to attend theatrical performances (that is, tragedies, but not comedies—they were seen as too risqué). Women took part in the festivals, especially the Panathenaia and those created specifically for women, the Thesmophoria, the Haloa, and the Skira, which highlighted the reproductive powers of women and renewal of vegetation. While marriage was designed for producing legitimate offspring and the continuation of the lineage for the husband’s family, it did provide some independence for the wife. She could excel in the running of the household and the family’s accounts. In Sparta, wives had even more freedom since they were in virtual control of the family’s estate and could even carry on relations with other men (including helots) if it led to an increase in the Spartan population. Marriage in the Greek world followed traditional customs, but like the political form of democracy, it allowed for the expanded role of citizens, including women. See also: Athens; Deme; Family; Festivals; Sex; Slavery; Social Status; Sparta

Further Reading

McClure, Laura. 2020. Women in Classical Antiquity from Birth to Death. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Silver, Morris. 2018. Slave-Wives, Single Women and “Bastards” in the Ancient Greek World: Law and Economics Perspectives. Oxford, UK: Oxbow Books.

Massalia Massalia (the modern city of Marseilles), located on the Rhone estuary in southern Gaul (now France), was established by the Greek city of Phocaea, from the coast of Asia Minor. Archaeology indicates that the colony was probably

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established about 600, but literary records state that it was in 546 The latter story, however, dealt with the rise of Persia. The city of Phocaea, on a promontory near the Hermus River, favored maritime trade, and the city became one of the harbors for the interior kingdom of Lydia. The Phocaeans became known for their seamanship throughout the Greek world. Along with Miletus, they had colonized Amisus, on the extreme southeast coast of the Black Sea in 564. But it was their adventures in the far west, the first attempts among the Greeks according to Herodotus, to establish trading connections in Spain with Tartessus on the Baetis (Guadalquivir) River. And Phocaean merchants were said to have imported tin from Cornwall, Britain. The tradition had Phocaea being ordered to take a priestess from Ephesus Artemis to their new colony of Massalia. This goddess, together with Apollo from Delos, became the city’s principal gods, with Artemis dominating. The second story has Phocaea establishing the colony some years later, in 546, when the Persians attacked Phocaea, burning its temples. The people voted to abandon their mother city and sail west to Massalia. It is probable that this second founding relates to the evacuation of Phocaea by most of its inhabitants, who sailed to Alalia on the east coast of Corsica, a Messalian colony, with some of them reaching Massalia. The colonists appear to have intermarried with the local inhabitants, with tradition having the king’s daughter marrying Phocis, the colonists’ leader. The theory that the colony was initially small may be evidenced in that its settlement only encompassed a mile and a half in circumference. It was built on three small hills near the sea, protected by marshes and streams. As with their mother city, Massalia did not have especially fertile soil, making grain production hard; the soil was more suitable for vineyards and olive groves, which were soon planted and spread throughout Gaul. More important, the site contained an excellent harbor at Lacydon, near the Rhone estuary, and not affected by its silting. The harbor, deep and well protected, allowed the city to prosper commercially, which is the hallmark of Phocaean colonies. The site was well chosen since, with its important harbor, it commanded access to the West. Massalia soon sent a colony to the Aramis River at Agathe Tyche (modern Agde), whose name means “good fortune,” as a stopping point halfway to Spain. Farther west in Spain, it established the important colony at Emporiae (Ampurias) at the Gulf of Rosas in about 575. They originally settled on an island, erecting a temple to Artemis, and when another group of colonists arrived later, they established the main colony on the coast. The colony Emporiae (whose name means “trading post”) soon grew due to its contacts with the interior of Spain, and it eventually became independent. Even though the city was so far to the west, it maintained its connection with Greece continually engaging in trade. Massalia had its own treasury at Delphi, which the city apparently let the early Romans use, probably from its association with the Etruscan kings as trading partners. This included extensive trading connections with Etruria, although the Etruscans and Carthaginians would go to war with Alalia. Although Alalia nominally claimed victory, it was devastated enough to abandon the site; its inhabitants went to Massalia and established Elea on the Italian coast.

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The Massalia government, like most Greek city-states, was aristocratic, with a narrow group of families leading the city through a hereditary Council of Six Hundred that kept power concentrated in the hands of a few families where sons succeeded their fathers without necessarily holding any office. This narrow aristocracy was soon attacked, and the Council was broadened so that families did not have a direct hereditary right to succeed fathers in the Council. Traditionally, they passed a rule that sons would not be able to join the Council if their father were a member; likewise, if an elder brother was a member, his younger brother could not also be one. Although these provisions may not have been enforced, the attack on the narrow aristocratic families soon broadened into an oligarchic system. The Council of Six Hundred further had rules that its members had to show three generations of citizens or its members had to have children. The council then elected from its own members fifteen men to act as a steering committee, overseen by three presidents or chief councilors. The Massalians were known for being great seamen and adventurers. ­Midacritus the Phocaean, perhaps one of its earliest colonists, sailed through the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar Straits) as Massalia was established and traveled to Cornwall to receive tin. Later, in the midsixth century, Euthymenes of Massalia sailed west and then south through the straits and describes a river with crocodiles and its course being driven back by winds (but most likely it was by tides). He called it the Nile River because it was known, but not well. In fact, it was probably the River Senegal, showing that the Massalians had sailed down nearly half of the western coast of Africa. In addition to their exploration to the west by sea, which was probably curtailed by the Carthaginians, the city established ties with the interior of Gaul. Although the Rhone was not well navigable, the roads going into Gaul allowed the city to engage in trade with the Celts living inland. Pottery remains have been found in the interior, suggesting that Massalia carried on extensive trade, especially in luxury goods. The remains cease about 500, when Massalia had its commercial activities curtailed by the Carthaginians and Massalia may have suffered an economic slump as a result. Massalia became a crucial Greek colony in the west, spreading Greek culture into France and Spain. See also: Carthage; Etruscans; Ionian League; Syracuse

Further Reading

Cartledge, P. 2009. Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Collin Bouffier, Sophie, and Dominique Garcia. 2017. Greek Marseille and Mediterranean Celtic Region. New York: Peter Lang. Hodge, A. T. 1999. Ancient Greek France. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. King, Anthony. 1990. Roman Gaul and Germany. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Mathematics Coming from the word mathema, meaning instruction, the concepts of m ­ athematics came to Greece from the Near East and Egypt. Although the Minoan and ­Mycenaean periods witnessed engineering accomplishments, Greek mathematical

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texts only come from a later period, after 500. Greek numerals were based on a decimal system, with the numbers 1 to 9 represented by the first nine letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha to theta. From 10 to 90, the Greeks used the next nine letters of the Ionic alphabet, iota to kappa. From 100 to 900, the Greeks used the next nine Ionic letters, rho to sampi (an archaic letter no longer used by Classical writers). The numbers used were additive, meaning that the letters representing separate numbers were added; for instance, 141 would be P(rho) 100, M (meta) 40, and A(alpha) 1, or PMA. The Greeks also used Attic letters, which again represented specific numbers and could be added to create a higher number. Here, the Greeks again used the additive process, so 401 was written as HHHH (where H equaled 100) and I (where I equaled 1). The Athenians used the Attic numerals from at least the eighth century until the third century, when they were replaced by the Ionic letters/numbers, which became the most commonly used. Multiplication was a difficult task that required successive doubling of numbers. The next important development was traditionally assigned to Thales of ­Miletus, who lived during the early sixth century in Ionia. He was awarded the achievement of having developed the idea of abstract geometry and the rules governing it. He developed Thales’s Theorem, which holds that if a triangle is drawn inside a circle, with the long side equal to the circle’s diameter, the opposite angle will always be a right angle. He is also credited with creating the intercept theorem, where parallel lines intersecting a triangle have similar ratios. Thales was credited with being the first natural philosopher of the Greeks. Whether Thales actually created these theorems is difficult to ascertain, but by the sixth century, geometry had come to Ionia from the East. The next important development in mathematics supposedly came from Pythagoras, who had fled from Samos to southern Italy, where he established a religious club. One of his discoveries was that musical intervals corresponded to simple ratios (e.g., the octave was 2:1, the fifth 3:2, and the fourth 4:3). One of the most important developments in this realm was the importation from the Near East of the Pythagorean Theorem, which held in a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides (a2 + b2 = c2). Although the theory was known by the Babylonians and Egyptians centuries before, the followers of Pythagoras attributed it to their master and they probably spread this knowledge to the Greeks. Associated with these mathematical concepts are numerous other ideas, such as Zeno of Elea’s paradoxes from the sixth century. One of them was a race between Achilles and the Tortoise, where the great warrior competes in a theoretical race with a tortoise but loses. In the paradox, Achilles gives the Tortoise a head start; he states that he will not begin the actual race until he reaches the Tortoise’s starting point. Achilles then reaches the Tortoise’s original starting point, only to discover that the Tortoise has moved further to a new starting point forcing Achilles to wait again. This maneuver is repeated again and again, and in this way, A­chilles can never catch the Tortoise since the starting point constantly is moved forward forcing Achilles to wait. The development of Greek mathematics continued during the post-Classical period, especially with the continual advancement in geometric ideology. The

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most important of these ideas was by Euclid, around 300 in Alexandria, who produced his Elements. In this work, Euclid was able to bring many of the earlier mathematical concepts together and develop the ideas of plane geometry. It also brought together the concepts of angles, areas, cones, and circles. The use of geometry allowed its application in building and philosophy. The next major accomplishment occurred during the third century in Syracuse, with Archimedes. An engineer, scientist, and philosopher, Archimedes advanced the idea of the infinitesimal, meaning that numbers are close to zero without being zero and the idea of exhaustion used for calculating areas of circles, cones, and other shapes. These concepts anticipated modern calculus and analysis. Some of his accomplishments included calculating the volume of an irregular object using water displacement; he could also figure out the density of material (in this case, a crown) to determine if it was pure gold. Another development came with the creation of the Archimedes screw to move water from below to above. Archimedes also calculated the approximate value of pi. The Greeks developed a deductive reasoning behind their math instead of the earlier inductive reasoning of the Egyptians and Babylonians. Whereas the ­Egyptians and Babylonians developed their ideas through trial and error and repeated observations, the Greeks used mathematical theorems to develop the same ideas. See also: Astronomy; Cosmology; Measurements; Pre-Socratics; Sophists

Further Reading

Parrochia, Daniel. 2018. Mathematics and Philosophy. London: ISTE Ltd. Taub, Liba Chaia. 2020. The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek and Roman Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For the history of Greek mathematics, see “Greek Mathematics and MathematicianNumerals and Numbers,” the Story of Mathematics, https://www.storyofmathematics.com/greek.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Measurements and Accounting A Greek city would have an official who oversaw the weights and measures of the marketplace (agora). At the Tholos, the officials who were in charge of the markets, mints, and other offices used their official weights to ensure that merchants were honestly conducting business. Examples of these weights have been found in and around the agora in bronze or clay. Official dry measures were also kept in the form of a mug or cylinder, while liquid measures were in the form of jugs or amphora. The agoranomoi (market officials) were charged with ensuring that weights and measurements were maintained accurately. The Greeks would also ensure that they could accurately measure, weigh, and record their acts so that they could carry out surveys, build structures, engage in trade, and keep accounts of their business. The Greeks based their units of measurements on a system of increasing units tied to a simple unit of measurement. Length was based on the finger (daktylos), the size of the thumb or about three-fourths of an inch, and the foot (pous). These



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Four jumpers carrying jumping weights in both hands. (The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California)

units were never standardized throughout the Greek world. For example, the pous in Aegina was longer than that in Athens by about an inch and half (13.1 inches versus 11.7 inches). Although the exact lengths varied, each state would follow the same proportions and multiples. Two daktyloi equaled one kondylos, while four equaled one palm (dōron). Two dōron (equaling eight daktyloi) measured a halffoot. A spithamē, or twelve daktyloi, produced a span of all the fingers, presumably spread out. Sixteen daktyloi would then equate a pous, while eighteen daktyloi (pygmē) would measure a forearm. Finally, a cubit (pēchys) had twenty-four daktyloi, equivalent to just over eighteen inches. These were the smaller units, used to measure small objects. The next sizes above these small units began with the foot or pous (plural podes). Above the foot was the haploun bēma, or step, equivalent to two-and-ahalf podes. This would have been the stride, while a bēma, or five podes, produced a pace. Just above this was an orgyia, or fathom of six podes, often used for measuring the depth of water, which was useful in determining if a ship could pass through a particular waterway. The dekapous as the name implies, meant 100 feet, while 100 feet produced a plethron, which was usually the width of a Greek racecourse, and 6 plethora made a stadion or stade, producing a length of approximately 172 yards. Herodotus indicated that a stadion equaled 600 feet, equivalent to an eighth of a Roman mile. A diaulos was a double stadion race of 1,200 feet, equivalent to the modern 400 meters. Eight stadia was equivalent to the Roman mile, while twelve stadia was a dolichus, or long race at 7,200 feet. This may have been the most common extensive distance since the Greeks would adopt from the Persians the league or parasanges, a length of thirty stadia mentioned by Herodotus, equaling nearly three-and-a-half miles. It probably came from an earlier Middle Eastern term, perhaps frasang or fasukh referring to what an army could march during a predetermined period (probably an hour). Herodotus also stated that a parasanges was equivalent to half an Egyptian schoenus, meaning that it measured 60 stadia, although later it may have measured only 40. It appears that the schoenus varied according to the region and time. Xenophon, writing about

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400, indicated that a stage was equivalent to 160 stadia, or about eighteen-and-ahalf miles. The terms for the amount of materials and land were based on the compounding of smaller units. These measurements increased in multiples of the smallest unit, the daktylos, giving way to the pous and then to the stadion. These measurements were then used for determining area. A pous also meant a square foot, while a hexapodēs, or thirty-six podes, meant a 6-square-foot area. An akaina meant 100 square feet, while an hēmiektos equated to a half of a sixth of a hektos (a twelfth of a plethron), while a hektos measured a sixth of a plethron, at 1,666 2/3 podes. An aroura, a common unit of measurement in Egypt for farmland, equaled 2,500 podes, or 2,500 square feet, about two-thirds of an acre. Finally, a plethron measured 1,0000 podes. Volume also was determined by a series of smaller units that constantly built upon the previous units. For liquid measurements, the kochliarion was described as a spoon, or about .15 ounce, while a mystron was two-and-a-half kochliaria. Ten kochliaria equaled one kyathos or Roman cyathus, or just above one-and-ahalf ounces. An oxybathon, or Roman acetabulum, was one-and-a-half kyathoi. Double this amount was a tetarton, or Roman quartarius, at three kyathoi. A kotylē had six kyathoi just above nine ounces, while doubling this would give a xestēs, or Roman sextarius, equaling slightly more than a pint, a common measurement. A chous was six times the amount of a xestes, with seventy-two kyathoi; eight choes was a keramion, about seven gallons, while a metrētēs (at twelve choes) was a Roman amphora. Dry measures were also based on the similar wet measures, with the kochliarion, kyathos, oxybathon, kotylē, and xestēs, equivalent to the wet measures. Above the xestes was the choinix, with twenty-four kyathoi, and the médimnos, at forty-eight choinikes. These latter measures were commonly used for grain. This unit could then be divided into a third or tritaios, a sixth or hekteus, and a twelfth or hemiektos, as well as other smaller units. The Greeks used currency definitions for weights. There were two major standards, the Euboea (Attic) and the Aegina. The smallest unit was the obol, with six obols equaling a drachma, while 100 drachmas was a mina and a talent had 60 minae, or 6,000 drachmas. An Attic talent was equivalent to fifty-seven pounds, while the Aegina standard was eighty-three pounds. Supposedly, the Attic obol had twelve barley grains, but like other measurements, the weights varied greatly. The Greeks used a system of bookkeeping that was not as sophisticated as modern accounting methods. Modern accounting methods use what is called a double-entry system, where on the left side are liabilities or debits and on the right side are assets or credits. In addition, that system creates several accounts in which each transaction is recorded twice in ledgers for assets, liabilities, equities, expenses, or revenues, and all the debit and credit transactions balance. A business would need several pages or books to produce a complete accounting picture. Most businesses use a system of debits and credits in an income statement to convey the health of a project, company, government, or other entity. A simplified system, or single-entry system, records transactions only once, and debits and credits do not necessarily balance. This would be akin to a check ledger, where income is recorded as assets or deposits and then checks written as liabilities or



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debits. The ancient Greeks used this type of system, but even then, it was often incomplete. The Greeks did not use double columns to record their transactions, and in fact did not even use single columns for computations; rather, it would be used more for aesthetic value or to keep track or find individual items for easy reference. The Greeks used words that are often translated as debit or credit but really meant receipts and expenditures, again producing a system like a checking ledger. During the Classical period, most of the accounts that survive are on inscriptions and usually relate to public expenditures. The later sources from Egypt do not show the practice that receipts were placed on one side and payments on the other side. It was during the Classical Age, after 600, that money came into use. In the distant past, barter was used and goods were equated to an ox, so that in the Iliad, the victor of a competition won a tripod worth twelve oxen (the loser won a woman worth four oxen). In the Classical Age in Athens, building accounts for the temple of Athena on the Acropolis show a forward balance with revenues added, followed by expenses such as wages and supplies, and ending with a balance for the period. Other accounts show the same structure—revenue followed by expenses and ending with a balance. The inscriptions do not show a tabulation of material but give minute details of expenses. The accounts were meant to show how the various treasuries were used and account for all of the expenses scrupulously so the gods would not be offended. The citizenry then knew how much was spent, so that full transparency occurred. Interestingly, the accounts mention simple items such as sandals in great detail, so that the concept of petty cash for items not mentioned up to a certain amount is unknown. The Greeks presented their accounts in a continuous narrative, with receipts and expenditures mentioned together continuously. The Athenians in the latter part of the fifth century, during the height of their empire, deposited surpluses of their tribute into the account for the temple of Athena, from which they borrowed during times of crises at low rates of interest or even no interest at all. These transfers of monies from the temple to the city accounts were simple bookkeeping transactions. Pericles seems to have developed this project so as to ensure that surplus tribute would be in the hands of the gods to ensure that it would not be used indiscriminately, at the whim of the Assembly. To simply transfer the money would be impious unless the gods approved it. The Greeks probably kept a record of debts either owed to Pericles or which Pericles owed. These systems of weights, measurements, and accounting allowed the Greeks to fully develop and record the actions of their society. The Greeks had an official called the agoranomoi, who ensured the honesty of the markets and merchants. See also: Coinage; Economy; Officials; Stadium

Further Reading

Richardson, William Frank. 2004. Numbering & Measuring in the Classical World: An Introductory Handbook. Rev. 2nd ed. Bristol, UK: Bristol Phoenix Press. For a discussion of the weights and measures used in the market places see “Administration and Bureaucracy,” American School of Classical Studies, http://www.agathe .gr/democracy/administration_and_bureaucracy.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

336 Megara

Megara At the south end of the Isthmus of Corinth before entering the Peloponnese, in the small region of the Megarid, lay the city of Megara. It had two crucial harbors that allowed it to grow commercially over time—the Pegae, in the west on the Gulf of Corinth; and Nisaea, in the east on the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea (the latter became the most crucial). Meaning “big houses” in Greek, Megara existed as early as the Bronze Age, and the nearby pass at Mount Geraneia linked the city with Athens. This proximity caused it to consistently be involved in Athenian affairs. The Dorians had conquered the region late, probably arriving from Argos in the Peloponnese, and made the local population serfs from the traditional three Doric tribes and established three separate villages (the reason that the city had a plural name). These villages fought each other for control of the region, but ultimately around 750, they came together as a single city; later, the three Doric tribes were replaced by five, perhaps due to the new geographical situation of the city or allowing for the increase in population and citizen rights from the preDorian society. Each tribe elected a general, who shared the state functions with the king, and after the oligarchs has abolished the kingship in the seventh century. The city had a council and an assembly that ruled. Each tribe also sent a military contingent to the army, making it one of the leading states in early Greece. The city was confined by its size, only about 180 square miles, which forced it to continuously look to establish colonies to alleviate its overpopulation. Capable of supporting only about 50,000 people, the region sent colonies at first to the west—namely, Megara Hyblaea in 728 on Sicily’s eastern coast, and more important, to the Black Sea. The aristocratic government at Megara, like other cities, produced squabbles among its leadership, allowing a tyrant, Theagenes, to seize control. Theagenes gained notoriety by killing some cattle belonging to the wealthy to help the poor, perhaps as a symbol of their opposition or even as a free meal. As a Dorian, he probably viewed himself as a descendant of Heracles and thus destined to rule. Like other tyrants, Theagenes promoted his ties to the poor

Colonies and Competition The colonies that Megara established were an attempt to not only alleviate their overpopulation, but provide resources for the city. The colony of Megara Hyblaea in Sicily was on a fertile plain with a good water supply, but it was defenseless and relied on help from the local population. In 740, Corinth invaded and seized the southern section of the Megarid and its important woolen area; Megara, feeling the pinch and forced out of the West, now looked to the East to establish colonies. The Thracian Bosporus was a rich area, especially in fishing for tunny, and Megara established a colony on the Asian side at Calchedon in Bithynia, on the southern shore of the Bosporus, in 685. A generation later, more colonists established a city on the European side, at Byzantium, which controlled the Sea of Marmara. Megara viewed the Black Sea region as its preserve, and although it failed to keep other cities out, they did have numerous sites under its influence.

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by building public works for their benefit. He built a water tunnel and fountain house to supply fresh water to people. Like all of the Greek tyrants of this age, he broke many of the old social norms that had empowered the nobility. His daughter married Cylon of Athens, who attempted a failed coup in Athens. During the crises in Athens with Cylon’s failed coup, Theagenes seized the island of Salamis from Aegina to make up for their previous losses against Corinth. The oligarchs banded together and drove Theagenes out; they in turn had their aristocratic government overthrown by the poor, probably motivated by debt issues. A law was passed by the new government, ordering creditors to give the interest that they collected on loans back to the debtors. The oligarchs were then able to retake the government, probably because they lost money thanks to the new law. This period also saw the creation of the comic drama at Megara, which would be further developed by the Athenians. Megara lost their eastern port, Nisaea, temporarily to Athens in 569, but more importantly they then lost Salamis permanently to Athens after Sparta arbitrated a dispute between the two cities in favor of Athens around 500. The city decided to expand its colonies in the Black Sea by establishing a colony at Heraclea Pontica in 560 in Bithynia. With its ideal harbor, the city was the first stop after the Bosporus Strait. The colonists reduced the local inhabitants to serfs or helots. This colony extended power to the east along the Black Sea coast, especially in the Crimea or Tauric Chersonese, establishing new colonies. With the loss of Salamis and its continual disputes with Athens, Megara lost its position as a leading city in Greece. By 500, the city had entered the Peloponnesian League under Sparta. During the rise of Athens and its naval empire, Megara deserted the Spartans in 459 and joined the Athenians. This allowed the Athenians to have a strong southern frontier at the edge of the Peloponnese. Athens built a double wall from Megara to the harbor of Nisaea and garrisoned it, as they had done at Athens and the Piraeus. This wall protected the entry into Attica along the coastal road. A war broke out between Athens and Corinth for control of the region. A decade after Athenian rule, Megara revolted in 447, with the Athenian garrison massacred and a Peloponnesian army moving into Attica. Although they had lost Megara, Athens still controlled the two ports at Nisaea and Pagae. A peace treaty soon followed, and Athens returned these two ports to Megara in the Thirty Years Peace of 445. The loss of the Megarid was a blow to Athenian power. Megara would help Corinth in 433 during the Battle of Sybota against Athens and Corcyra. In the autumn of 432, the Athenians exacted revenge for their losses and Megara helping Corinth by issuing the Megarian Decree, which banned Megarians from Athens and its commercial markets throughout its empire. The stated reason for the Decree was the killing of an Athenian official and Megara seizing land, but the real issue was Megara supporting Corinth against Athens. This action effectively destroyed the economy of Megara. As an important member of the Peloponnesian League, its plight was heard favorably by the Spartans and its allies in the following year, where Sparta declared war against Athens. Megara, however, slowly diminished, and its prestige disappeared.

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Megara provides an example of an ideally located city which produced an economic powerhouse. Through its location, the city carried on extensive trade throughout the Aegean. See also: Athens; Corinth; Dorian Invasions; Megarian Decree; Sparta; Tyrants

Further Reading

Goette, H. R. 2001. Athens, Attica, and the Megarid: An Archaeological Guide. Rev. and updated English ed. London: Routledge. Highbarger, Ernest Leslie. 1927. The History and Civilization of Ancient Megara. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. Robinson, E. W. 1997. The First Democracies: Early Popular Government Outside Athens. Stuttgart: F. Steiner. Robinson, Eric W. 2011. Democracy Beyond Athens: Popular Government in Classical Greece Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Thomas, R. 2019. Polis Histories, Collective Memories and the Greek World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Megarian Decree The Megarian Decree, passed in 433 or 432, became the flash point for the war between Athens and Sparta which helped push the states into the Peloponnesian War. As with all issues, there were various layers and interpretations as to what really happened and how it was perceived. The incident that prompted the decree appears simple: the killing of an Athenian official and the usurpation of Athenian farmland by the Megarians. In reality it was Megara support for Corinth against Athens that led Athens to exact revenge. The Athenian statesman Pericles convinced the popular assembly to issue a decree to prohibit Megarian merchants from trading in Athens and its entire empire. This decree created a trade embargo on Megara, not only crippling the city’s economic livelihood, but denying access to Athenian markets of goods coming through Megara. What lay behind the decree were more political and military issues. Megara acted as the gateway port for goods coming from the Peloponnese into Athens, especially from Corinth. The Megarian merchants acted as intermediaries and had consistently traded with Athens on good relations. Trade embargoes were unknown in Greece, especially during peacetime. Sparta and Athens had concluded the Thirty Years Peace in 445, with one of its provisions stipulating that disputes between the two states be submitted to arbitration. The political and military situation, however, had changed since the peace treaty. In 433, Sparta’s ally Corinth, along with some ships from Megara, had been defeated at Corcyra by its fleet, helped by Athens. Corinth had demanded action by Sparta against the Athenians, but Sparta did not want to risk war over an ally’s misadventures. The Corinthians began to clamor that Athens was attempting to take over all of Greece. Pericles realized that Corinth could rally the Spartan allies and perhaps attack Athens, so to counter this threat, Pericles began to isolate Corinth. One way doing this was to punish states that had supported Corinth in its acts against Athens, such as Megara. Corinth and Megara then appealed to Sparta.



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The Spartans had so far not pursued any action against Athens after the Corcyran event, and Pericles, who was on friendly terms with the Spartan king Archidamus, may have believed that even in this instance Sparta would not act. The Spartan king had already professed his belief that Sparta could not muster a force capable of reducing the naval empire of Athens. Corinth, however, knew that there were other Spartans who believed Athens was a threat and began to play upon their fears and prejudices. Thucydides states that the cause of the war was Sparta’s fear of Athens growing stronger, not the pleas of its allies. This may be true, but the allies must have made a strong case of Athenian aggression, at Corcyra, Megara, and other places, in order to force Sparta out of its isolation. Another writer, Diodorus, stated that Sparta sent ambassadors to Athens to demand the repeal of the Megarian Decree or risk war. The two authors are not at odds, though, since Thucydides indicated that the Megarian Decree was the stated cause, not the real cause. The two sides now were in a situation of defending their national honor. Athens could argue that Sparta did not abide by the peace treaty and thus seek arbitration; on the other hand, Sparta could stress that Athens had systematically ignored the treaty through its actions at Corcyra, Megara, and Potidaea (another Corinthian colony, but part of the Athenian Empire). Archidamus may have hoped to keep Corinth satisfied if the Megarian Decree were rescinded without actually helping or acceding to Corinth’s real demands. The language of the ambassadors as reported, however, was a “demand,” something that no national state could accept. Both Pericles and Archidamus had created a scenario where neither could back down: Pericles could not accept the Spartan demands without losing face with the Athenian populace, and Archidamus could not retreat without losing support at home or from Corinth. Contemporary Athenian writers indicate that Athens went

Megarian Decree: Economic Warfare Thucydides in his Peloponnesian War related the Athenians’ attempt to punish the Peloponnese by refusing to allow goods from Megara to be sold in Athens. This had a tremendous impact upon the Corinthians and other mercantile states of the Peloponnese, as Megara was the doorway to Athens. Pericles clearly realized that closing the markets would lead to hardship. When the Spartans called a meeting to determine if war was to happen, the Megarian Decree became a key issue. Although its importance may have been overstated, it was seen as one more attack on the Spartan allies as seen in the following extract So the Lacedaemonians having called together the confederates, and whosoever else had any injustice to lay to the charge of the Athenians, in the ordinary council of their own state commanded them to speak. Then presented every one his accusation; and amongst the rest the Megareans, besides many other their great differences, laid open this especially, that contrary to the articles they were forbidden the Athenian markets and havens. Source: Hobbes, Thomas, William Molesworth, Thucydides, and Homer. 1843. The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. London: J. Bohn, Volume 8, pp. 70–71.

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to war over Megara, and the popular sentiment in Athens may have been that Pericles and the decree pushed Athens into the war. In the end, Pericles failed to isolate Corinth since Sparta now declared war on Athens, with the stated cause (at least in part) being the Megarian Decree. Archidamus failed to appease the allies by getting Athens to rescind the decree (since it really did not matter to Sparta), and hence being forced by his opponents in Sparta to go to war. While the Megarian Decree may not have been the real reason for the war, it provided a rallying point for both sides. Athens would not have its internal and foreign policy dictated by Sparta; and Sparta would not ignore its allies’ pleas for help. In the end, both sides suffered in the ensuing war. See also: Archidamian War; Athenian Empire; Athens; Megara; Peloponnesian War

Further Reading

Kagan, Donald. 1969. The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell ­University Press. Kagan, Donald. 2010. Thucydides: The Reinvention of History. New York: Penguin. De Ste. Croix, G. E. M. 1972. The Origins of the Peloponnesian War. London: Duckworth. For a general discussion of the Megarian Decree, see “Megarian Decree,” Livius.org, https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/megarian-decree/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Melian Dialogue The Melian Dialogue is a constructed speech by the historian Thucydides that described the siege, capture, and destruction of the island of Melos, and the general treatment of Athens’s enemies. The background of the speech lies in the Peloponnesian War. This struggle between Athens and Sparta encompassed most of the Greek world, bringing increasing brutality and destruction. At the beginning of the war, Sparta actively embarked on a plan to brutalize its enemies, usually executing its prisoners of war. Athens at first resisted this practice, but it soon altered its position, typically executing males of military age and enslaving the remainder of the population. These brutal acts were often undertaken to dispel the perception of Athens being weak and to send a message to its allies of what would await them if they rebelled. Athens had put down previous rebellions in harsh ways, but Melos was different. Melos had remained neutral during the first part of the war. Although its inhabitants were Doric descendants of Spartan colonists, Melos, as an island in the Cyclades, looked more to Athens. It remained neutral, probably desiring to trade with both sides. During the early part of the war in 426, the Athenians attempted to force Melos into their alliance by sending Nicias at the head of an army of about 2,000 soldiers to subdue the island. The Melians refused to submit, and the Athenians were forced to retire. The next year, Athens assessed the island a levy of fifteen talents of silver, which was enough to outfit a warship for a year or provide 2,000 people enough grain for a year; but there is no evidence that Melos paid the amount. The figure nevertheless shows the comparative wealth of the island. Melos during this same time provided Sparta with about half a talent of silver for its war effort. It is not clear if this act was a result of the Athenian attack



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or vice versa. For the next decade, Melos is not heard about, although Thucydides indicated that because of Nicias’s raid, the Melians were hostile to Athens, but without any specifics. In 416, during the Peace of Nicias between Athens and Sparta in 421, the Athenians decided to deal with Melos. Since Melos was neutral, Athens believed, correctly, that the Spartans would not directly intervene. An Athenian fleet of thirty-six ships carrying 3,400 men arrived, led by Cleomedes and Tisias. The Athenians sent emissaries to discuss the Melian surrender and entry into its empire. The Athenians wanted to speak to the entire citizenry, but the Melian leaders allowed them to speak only to them and the military leaders. This stipulation was probably to prevent the general population from creating emotional turmoil. It also showed the difference between democratic Athens, where all matters were debated openly, and an oligarchic city, where only a few made the decisions. Nevertheless, after listening to the Athenians, the Melians rejected their offer and sent them away. The Melian Dialogue describes the proposal that Athens made and the counterarguments by the Melians. Although it was not actually spoken, the dialogue is instructive about the way that many Athenians felt about their empire and subjects. The basic outline of the Dialogue contained in Thucydides’s The Peloponnesian War shows the Athenian position and Melian counterposition and the realities of war and politics. The Athenians arrived and did not plan to negotiate since Melos was not worth their time; rather, if Melos accepted Athenian control and paid a tribute, then the citizens would live. They indicated that the strong dominate the weak as nature intends, or as it has become known: might makes right.

Melian Dialogue: Hope The Athenian attack on the neutral island of Melos produced the adage of “might makes right.” Thucydides (The Peloponnesian War, 5-100-103) provides a moral overview of the attack through a dialogue between the Athenian invaders and the Melian defenders. The dialogue highlights the naked imperialism of Athens. The Melians argue that Sparta will help, while the Athenians respond that Sparta never has helped; the Melians argue that the gods will help them, while Athens counters that the gods will help it. The Athenians say that the strong can do as they wish. After the siege, Melos was depopulated, with its men killed and its women and children sold into slavery. In the following section of the dialogue, the Athenians make it clear that there will be no hope for Melos: Mel. “If you then to retain your command, and your vassals to get loose from you, will undergo the utmost of danger: would it not in us, that be already free, be great baseness and cowardice, if we should not encounter anything whatsoever rather than suffer ourselves to be brought into bondage?’ Ath. “No; if you advise rightly. For you have not in hand a match of valour upon equal terms, wherein to forfeit your honour; but rather a consultation upon your safety, that you resist not such as be so far your overmatches.” Source: Hobbes, Thomas, William Molesworth, Thucydides, and Homer. 1843. The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. London: J. Bohn, Volume 9, pp. 102–103.

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It is clear that Athens desired the location and did not care about the Melians. The Melians responded to this initial point by saying that they were neutral and not a threat to Athens. The point that the Melians were attempting to make is that neutral states were no problem for either side, but the Athenians responded that if they left Melos alone, Athens would look weak and its allies might think that Athens did not have the strength or will to defeat opposition from small states. Having failed to dissuade the Athenians on this point, the Melians continued by stating that if Athens attacked a neutral party, Melos, other neutral states would align themselves with Sparta. The Melians had a point, but, in some ways, the argument backfired since Athens responded that the mainland Greeks were not really affected, but it was the island-states that Athens feared. By making this point, Athens acknowledged and advanced the idea that islands were most important to Athens, and if they were allowed to remain neutral, some of their own subjects might rebel. The history of Athens during this time point to the fact that they did not allow neutral states to remain so, and in fact in the early years of the Athenian Empire, Athens had captured and forcibly enrolled neutral states into their empire. When some allied states objected, Athens also reduced them to levels of subjugation. The Melians then moved away from the political argument, countering that if they surrendered, they would be cowards. The Athenians indicated that it would be cowardly to surrender only if they could win, but since they could not, there was no shame in accepting the reality of submitting to save their own lives. The Melians acknowledged that the Athenians were stronger, but they also pointed out that they could win, and if they did not try, they would regret it. The Athenians again pointed out that the Melians’ luck would not hold, and when they were defeated, they would suffer all the more for it. Both sides appealed to the idea of fate. If the Melians won, as they had done a decade earlier, then their position would be justified; the Athenians countered that the Melians would lose this time and suffer the same fate that other cities had. The Melians were aware of the fate of other city-states that had refused to surrender to Athens, but they claimed that the gods would help them since they were morally in the right; the Athenians countered by saying that the gods would not help them since the gods supported the strong (in other words, the gods were on their side). The Melians then argued that Sparta would come to their aid. The Athenians responded by asking them when the Spartans had ever come to someone else’s aid, especially island-states. The Athenians pointed out that the Spartans did not have a navy strong enough to counter the Athenian fleet anyway. The Athenians again pointed out that the Melians should surrender since they were being offered favorable terms. Of course, the Melians did not think the terms were favorable, and when they refused, the Athenians were dismayed. The Melians dismissed the Athenians, and the siege began. The siege would last into the winter, with the Melians even being able to counter attacks. In the end, however, the Athenians starved the Melians, and with help from traitors, they took the city. True to their word, the Athenians brutally punished the Melians. The male population was massacred and the women and children enslaved. The Athenians sent 500 colonists to the island to hold it for Athens.

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Although Athens had acted in a similar fashion in other instances, the destruction of Melos appeared different and shocked the rest of the Greek world. It may have been that previous neutral islands had actually benefited more from the Athenian control of the Aegean, especially in the early years against Persia. The destruction of Melos now became synonymous with Athenian rule and brutality. In 404, the Spartan general Lysander captured the island and evicted the Athenians. The remnants of the survivors were allowed to return, but Melos was now a subject of Sparta, with a garrison. Why did Athens invest so much time and energy on a neutral state? It is true that Melos could have been a supply base for the Spartan navy and Athens was effectively preventing that from happening. The issue with this view, though, is that Sparta would not create a navy until nearly a decade later, and at this time, there was nothing to show that Sparta was moving in this direction. It is also possible that Athens wanted to punish Melos for the defeat of Nicias a decade earlier. Revenge is always a strong motive, but again the evidence for this is not very strong. Another possibility is that Melos was a wealthy island and this would aid Athens; of course, the problem with this idea is that it does not explain why Athens did not do so earlier. A final explanation may have been the future plans of Athens—namely, that it wanted Melos as a supply base for their upcoming expedition against Sicily in the following year. This is a strong possibility due to the timing of the siege and Melos’s location. Whatever the reason, the Melian Dialogue soon stood as an example of the political realities of war and the future justification of military action. When Athens surrendered in 404 to Sparta, many feared that Athens would suffer the same fate as Melos, as related at the time by Xenophon. See also: Athenian Empire; Athens; Melos; Peloponnesian War; Slavery; Taxation; Tribute

Further Reading

Hanson, Victor Davis. 2005. A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War. New York: Random House. Meiggs, Russell. 1972. The Athenian Empire. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Vickers, M. J. 2008. Sophocles and Alcibiades: Athenian Politics in Ancient Greek Literature. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Melos The rocky volcanic island of Melos, in the southern Cyclades, was inhabited from at least the late Minoan period. The first permanent settlers probably mainly engaged in fishing. Minoan-style houses and frescoes have been found at Phylakopi on the northeast-east coast. Pottery evidence indicates that Melos traded not only with the local nearby islands, especially the nearby Thera, but also with the mainland and Crete. Evidence of fortified sites attests to its potential attack from outsiders, especially from the mainland. During the Dark Ages or Geometric period, the island, along with Thera, was colonized by Sparta. This gave Sparta an outlet and link to the Aegean Sea and the population continued to have close ties to Laconia. During the Classical Age, the island continued its ties to Sparta even

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as other cities, especially Athens, grew more powerful in the region. One of its chief exports was obsidian, the glasslike volcanic rock used to make tools. It does not appear that the mining of obsidian attracted permanent settlers in the early years; rather, Melos was merely a station mined by temporary visitors. During the period after its establishment as a Dorian colony, beginning in the sixth century, to its takeover by Athens in 416, the island issued its own coins. These coins were struck using the Milesian (Asia Minor) stater standard. Unlike the other Aegean islands using the Rhodian tetradrachms standard, Melos used this standard. Its emblem was the apple (Greek melon), similar to the island name. The Melians did not join the Delian League (Athenian Empire) and did not pay tribute, even though Athens assessed it in 425 and recorded it on its tribute list. Melos in fact made small payments to Sparta. For the most part, Melos wanted to remain neutral in the conflict between the two superpowers. After the ouster and ostracism of the prowar politician Hyperbolus in Athens, the two remaining leaders, Nicias of the Peace Party and Alcibiades the adventurer, undertook an expedition after failing to bring the northern Greek cities under their control. Nicias, who had led an attack in 426, now led another invasion, with Alcibiades joining him. The purpose of the raid may have been to secure the line of communications to the west for an adventure dreamed up by Alcibiades (namely, the conquest of Sicily); or it may have been a way to save face after Melos’s failure in the north; or it may have been designed to pick away at Spartan support. Regardless of the reason, in the summer of 416, an Athenian force of 3,400 men invaded the island and demanded that that it become an ally of Athens against Sparta or be destroyed. The Melians refused, and Athens began to besiege the island. In the winter of 416, the island fell, and the Athenians executed all the adult men and sold the women and children into slavery. Then Athens established an outpost with 500 colonists. In 405, the Spartan general Lysander took over and annexed the island for Sparta, expelled the Athenians, and reestablished the Melian survivors of the previous raid. The Athenian attack is memorialized in the Melian Dialogue in Thucydides’s History of the Peloponnesian War, and it points to the concept of power by Athens and other Greek city-states. See also: Athenian Empire; Athens; Cyclades; Defenses; Melian Dialogue; Peloponnesian War; Sparta

Further Reading

Meiggs, Russell. 1972. The Athenian Empire. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Renfrew, Colin, and J. Malcolm Wagstaff. 1982. An Island Polity: The Archaeology of Exploitation in Melos. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Vickers, M. J. 2008. Sophocles and Alcibiades: Athenian Politics in Ancient Greek literature. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Mercenaries Mercenaries became an integral part of the Late Greek world, serving in the ranks of both Greek and non-Greek states. Originally, they appear to have made their major contributions under the tyrants. The Greeks originally used the word

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misthophoros, which meant someone who received payment for work done and was used later to mean a soldier for hire. An individual mercenary being misthios and the plural or group of mercenaries being misthophoroi. The rise of the mercenaries probably began with the tyrant Pheidon of Argos, who needed protection. It was he who probably reformed the military to create the hoplite soldiers. It is possible that his mercenaries formed part of the new body. After Pheidon’s death, the tyrants Cypselus of Corinth and his son, Periander, used mercenaries as well. A contemporary of Periander was Thrasybulus of ­Miletus, a tyrant who fought against the kingdom of Lydia and also used mercenaries. These mercenaries were crucial to the tyrants since their loyalty was not to the city or state, but to the individual who paid them. While it was possible that they could be corrupted through bribery, most mercenaries served their masters diligently. Mercenaries were common during the Archaic Age, as they helped secure the tyrants in their powerful positions. During the Classical Age, mercenaries moved from the Greek world to the non-Greek world almost exclusively until the Peloponnesian War. Greek mercenaries were employed in the Egyptian army under the pharaoh Psammeticus I from 664–610. Although they probably came to Egypt as raiders, the Egyptian pharaoh made a truce with them, and they entered into his service as mercenaries. Under Xerxes I, Greeks from Arcadia went to Persia and fought for them as mercenaries. In the period after the Persian Wars, Greeks continued to fight in the service of the Persians. During the Peloponnesian War, mercenaries were employed by both Sparta and Athens; they were often used as peltasts. The most famous mercenary expedition concerned Greeks who were in the service of Cyrus the Younger of Persia and the aftermath of the Battle of Cunaxa in 401. Xenophon wrote his Anabasis several years after the battle, and he related the story of the invasion, battle, and retreat from Persia. According to Xenophon, the young Cyrus assembled an army that included Greek mercenaries, supposedly to battle the Pisidians. The real intent was to fight King Artaxerxes II of Persia, with his larger army. Cyrus was defeated in the Battle of Cunaxa, and after the battle, the Spartan general, Clearchus, and four other generals were killed in an ambush by the Persian Tissaphernes, who had invited Clearchus to a feast. They were executed, leaving the Greek army without a leader. The Greek army, deep inside Mesopotamia and away from the sea, elected new leaders, including Xenophon, who had to deal with the Persian cavalry archers first. His first action was to allow them to approach closer each day, and finally, after about a week, Xenophon assembled a force of cavalry and archers. When the Persians arrived the next day, the Greeks attacked the Persians from only a few yards away, routing them. Tissaphernes pursued them, and when Xenophon reached the Zab River, he was surrounded, with the river in front of him. Xenophon then had all of the cattle slain and their bodies stuffed with hay and straw; then he floated them in the river to create a bridge so the Greeks could escape the Persians before they reached the river. Xenophon and his men lived off the land, taking from the Persian inland supplies, which allowed his men to survive, although it harmed the

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inhabitants. His army then moved farther north to southeastern Turkey, the land of the Carduchians, who attacked them with arrows and stones. Xenophon had 8,000 men continue moving along, while 2,000 men went behind the enemy under the cover of darkness and during a rainstorm. When the small force had bypassed the Carduchians, they now appeared and blew their horns to announce their arrival, which now signaled for the return of the 8,000 who put them to flight. Moving north and followed by the Carduchians, they faced a Persian army in front of them at the Centrites River. The Greeks moved from one ford to another to find it blocked as well, so Xenophon sent a small force back to the first crossing, which forced the Persians to detach a sizable force back to the first ford, while Xenophon and his major force stormed the second ford using the deep profile of the phalanx employed at Leuctra thirty years later. Xenophon now moved his army through Armenia during the winter, which they were not prepared to handle. While the winter caused extensive casualties, Xenophon continued his march north, reaching the city of Trapezus on the Black Sea. They fought the nearby Cholcians, the allies and vassals of Persia, in the mountains. Xenophon again used a new tactic, where he kept a strong reserve while deploying his men across the enemy line to outflank them. The Cholcians, thinking the Greeks had a larger force, divided their army into two groups so that each one could face the flanks, thus opening up a gap in the middle that allowed Xenophon to rush in. His reserve force split up the Cholcians, allowing the troops to deal with each side with superior numbers. The army then made its way west, arriving in Thrace and helping Seuthes II become king. The army was then hired as part of the Spartan force, which was fighting Tissaphernes. The use of mercenaries by competing Persians and Greeks became more common during this time. Mercenaries would also fight in the Third Sacred War, when the Phocians seized the Delphic treasury and used the money to hire 10,000 mercenaries. Ultimately, the Phocians were defeated. Philip II of Macedon also used mercenaries. When he crossed over to Asia, Alexander the Great faced not only native Persians and their conscripts, but also Greek mercenaries, many of whom had fled after the defeat of Thebes. These men were Alexander’s most feared enemies, but his troops were able to defeat them. The use of mercenaries in the Greek world would continue during the successive ages. See also: Army; Literature; Peloponnesian War; Tyrants; Weapons

Further Reading

Anderson, J. K. 2001. Xenophon. Bristol, UK: Bristol Classical. Dillery, John. 1995. Xenophon and the History of His Times. London: Routledge. Hirsch, Steven W. 1985. The Friendship of the Barbarians: Xenophon and the Persian Empire. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England. For a discussion of Greek mercenaries fighting for Persia, see Pat Lowinger: “Fighting for the Enemy: Greek Mercenaries in Persian Service.” https://discoveringancienthistory.wordpress.com/2017/04/06/fighting-for-the-enemy-greek-mercenaries-in -persian-service/ (accessed October 26, 2021).



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Merchant Ships The following discussion refers to water craft primarily used in commercial adventures, not in military combat; that said, many of the crafts could be used in naval campaigns as noncombatant ships, or even occasionally as warships. Just as warships could be used for nonmilitary action, these ships could be deployed if necessary in a struggle from time to time. These merchant ships could be used in a variety of settings: rivers, lakes, near the shore, and seagoing. An important consideration was their size or capacity, which often limited their places of operation. Since the Mediterranean is generally calm all summer during the height of the maritime season, the early merchant ships were oar propelled. They remained a crucial part of commercial life since oar-propelled ships continued to offer speed and reliability even after the introduction of sailing vessels. In addition, due to their ability to maneuver in narrow straits and confined inlets, small oar-propelled merchant ships became the norm in many regions. The merchant galley differed from the early man-of-war, in that it was roomier and heavier. It had a sturdier mast, which carried a larger sail, and its hull was wider than the warship’s. Since this was a time before the ram, merchant ships and warships were similar. With the advent of the ram, though, warships began to develop in a different path so as to withstand the force while merchant ships continued to advance in a different direction, one of increased volume and load. The early Phoenician ships tended to be bowl-shaped, while the warships were slender and beak-shaped. These early galley ships would look like later sailing ships, but with oar holes. The hull would be deep and rounded, with a towerlike superstructure aft for the steering oars or rudders. Greek ships also had round sterns, but their prows were straight, which had been a tradition in the Aegean for nearly a millennium. These oar-propelled ships could not carry as heavy a load as the great sailing vessels. Sailing ships, with their increased volume and load capacity, were the important cargo ships of antiquity. The round hull, originating in Crete and the Levant, spread throughout the Mediterranean. There were variations, however, in its design. The Phoenicians used hulls that were rounded and beamy, named gaulos (tub). They would have simple stem and sternposts of equal height. The Greeks meanwhile used the same rounded hull, but their end posts were more ornately decorated. Often, their posts were both curved inward, while in Terra-cotta model of a ship ca. 600–480. (The others, the sternpost pointed Metropolitan Museum of Art/The Cesnola inward and the stem post Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76)

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outward. The earlier Aegean ship, with straight lines and angled ends, which existed during the Minoan period, would reappear in Greek sailing ships and merchant galleys in the sixth century. Merchant galleys, often termed ploion (meaning “ship”), referred to galleys and sailing craft for mercantile or light combat use. These ships could carry messages, passengers, or cargo t often required quick transport. Smaller galleys used oars, with sails as an only ancillary mode. The larger merchant galleys used sails on the open sea, and then oars only for entering and leaving harbors or sheltered places. On these ships, the mast was probably not retractable and had one broad sail. Unlike warships, which had slight beam sizes and a length-to-width ratio of 10:1, merchant ships had a length-to-width ratio of 5.5:1 or 6.5:1. There seems to have been only two types of hull forms: a rounded or straight prow or a concave prow with a cutwater jutting out like a ram, but above the waterline. The Greeks often termed the size of these ships on the number of tholes meaning oarports or oarholes on a side so a three-tholed was manned by six oars. The names of merchant galleys are better known than their larger seagoing vessels, probably due to their more common usage in military affairs. The types of merchant vessels mentioned included the keles, built for speed and having a single bank. It was small, carrying only a modest cargo, and had few rowers. They appear to have been straight-prow. It could also be used for naval warfare due to its speed. A slightly larger vessel, the akatos (whose name could mean just “boat,” but it could also mean a more specific type of merchant galley), was always propelled by oars, which allowed it to be used in times of emergencies as a man-of-war. It was of a fair size, with anywhere from thirty to fifty rowers arranged in one bank. Its hull had the pointed cutwater, and it contained one sail. They could be used on rivers and the open sea. One was the lembos, which originally meant a “skiff” and was used as a harbor craft, fishing boat, or rivercraft. The lembos was a large, oar-powered vessel that could also be used in the military operations. It had as many as fifty rowers, occasionally in two banks. It could carry cargo on the open sea as well as in rivers. It too may have had a concave prow and pointed cutwater. The lembos was the largest, followed by the akatos, with the keles the smallest, but the swiftest. The next class included larger merchant galleys, which carried cargo and passengers. The kerkouros came from the Assyrian word qurqurru, which was a Mesopotamian rivercraft. The Persians used these as transport carriers in their invasion of Greece in 480. It was also the standard ship used in the transport of grain in Egypt, and probably on coastal missions as well. Those used on the open sea were probably fairly large, 150 feet long and holding 450 tons of cargo. They had a single sail and sharp bows. Another ship probably of the same size was the kybaia and carried cargo as well. It too was constructed in varying sizes. The phaselus (meaning “bean”) was slender and low. Its size varied from a small skiff to a large, seagoing vessel carrying hundreds of men. They probably used sails, relying on oars only when needed. They carried passengers instead of cargo and were known for their speed. Their shape was probably narrower and they had a prow with a pointed cutwater. They could also be used as a warship. These ships appear to have come into use only in the Late Greek period, during the Hellenistic time.



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The true sailing ships in Greece were known as strongyla ploia, round ships, as opposed to the warships, classified as long ships. The ships were often classified according to the type of cargo they carried. Typically, the ancients would classify a ship according to its size, and often on how much it carried. Since each city had its own weights and units of measure, this makes it difficult to classify ships exactly. Grain ships referred to the size of the sack or basket often used, so in Egypt it was the artab, in Athens the medimnus, and in Rome the modius. For wine and oil, it was given in the number of amphoras that could be loaded, but since the sizes and shapes of the jars varied, there was no standard system, so the number given probably just meant the total amount loaded. Common tonnage for ships included small vessels of 70- to 80-ton capacity. During the Classical Age, ships of 100 to 150 tons were quite common, and those from 350 to 500 tons were not uncommon. There was always a large, broad mainsail amid ship, with a later fore and mizzen added, but they remained secondary to the mainsail. The sail was large, hung over the hull, and required multiple lifts. In the sixth century, a foresail was introduced, which at first was large, nearly half the size of the mainsail. The large three-mast triple-decker of the later age may have been developed during the late fifth and fourth centuries. These descriptions about ships mainly come from the Roman period, but given conservative shipbuilding in antiquity, it was probably the same in the Greek period. The different prows from the rounded bow or the concave prow with the ramlike cutwater were no difference in function. The ramlike prow had curved figureheads or the like, while the traditional bow had rounded bows at both ends that were nearly crescent shaped. One had a simple prow stem post, but the aft one was more ornate. The second type had heavier and less rounded lines, with a massive, block-shaped stem post cap, and the third type had an unadorned stem and sternposts. The first two were for seagoing ships, while the third was for smaller types of craft. The larger merchant ships had a hold where the ballast and bilge were on the floor. The floor timbers had limber holes to allow bilge water to pass. Of course, someone was always on hand to watch out to make sure that it did not rise too much; if so, it had to be removed by buckets. Ballast was usually sand and stone, but it could also be amphorae, either kept empty or full to provide stability. Heavy cargo, amphorae, stone, tiles, and the like were loaded on the lining, while grain and other perishable goods were stacked above the bilge line. Additional cargo was then loaded on the deck. The galley was on the aft side, running the width of the ship, with the roof covered in tiles to prevent fires caused by cooking. The port side held the fire with iron bars fixed in clay above the floor, while the starboard had the workspace and storage space. Although cramped, it was more luxurious than the early modern galleys of Columbus’s period. The latrine was on the stern, often hanging over the water. There was a deckhouse on the stern that housed the quarters for the owner and other first-class passengers, as well as the captain’s quarters. There was also a shrine allowing for worship and prayers for a safe journey. The traditional sailing season was the summer, with the poet Hesiod, a land lover, urging only the fifty days after the summer solstice or July and August. Later authors suggested that the best period was from May 27 to September 14,

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with the outside limits being March 10 to November 10. Outside these dates, the seas became too rough, and ships sailed only in emergencies. During these down times, visibility was so poor that it was often difficult to make out landmasses. During the sailing season, the prevailing Aegean Sea winds were northerly, the Etesian winds, especially in the eastern Mediterranean. This allowed ships sailing from Greece to Africa, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt to move quickly and with the winds. The return trip, however, had them going against these winds, and in August, they become violent. The only tides and currents in the Mediterranean that were crucial were those at the Hellespont and Bosporus. The varying speeds of ships depended on the winds (favorable and unfavorable), the ability of the rowers, the season, and the general seaworthiness of the ship. The merchant ships of ancient Greece allowed crucial cargo to be brought from great distances to the homeland. During the fifth century, Athens imported a large percentage of its food supply, and the grain fleet sailing from southern Russia on the Black Sea through the Hellespont and Bosporus south to Attica was vital. Having large enough ships that could ply the waters safely and bring in valuable cargo was very important. Since Athens controlled the sea lanes after 470, it did not need to worry about pirates. Its greatest concern was bad weather, which could sink or incapacitate a ship or fleet. The Athenians made the procurement of grain and its transport one of its chief priorities. When the Spartan commander Lysander at the end of the Peloponnesian War cut off the grain supply from the Black Sea region, causing Athens to become overcrowded with refugees, the lack of food resulted in Athens’s surrender. See also: Athenian Empire; Economy; Food; Military Ships; Navy; Phoenicia

Further Reading

Casson, Lionel. 1995. Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Cohen, E. E. 1973. Ancient Athenian Maritime Courts. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Tartaron, T. F. 2014. Maritime Networks in the Mycenaean World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For a discussion on ships and the ports of Greece, see de Graauw, Arthur, “Merchant Ships,” Ancient Ports: The Catalogue of Ancient Ports, http://www.ancientportsantiques.com/ancient-ships/merchant-ships/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Messenia The mountain of Messenia became the natural defensive area for the region and its main town, Messene. After the Bronze Age palace of Nestor at Pylos was destroyed and abandoned, the major population and political site was located to the east, at Messene. The region was known for its fertility and plentiful harvest. With the arrival of the Dorians, it supposedly was attacked by Cresphontes, the uncle of the legendary Spartan founder, and occupied. The region remained independent of Sparta at this time. The indigenous inhabitants whom Cresphontes conquered

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were probably descendants of the local population during the Bronze Age. Like other Greek inhabitants, they made up the majority of the population, but were not in the ruling class. The region’s rich farmlands, however, soon attracted the attention of the Dorian Spartans, who attacked in the eighth century. This was the First Messenian War, around 725. The Spartan king Theopompus led the Dorian Spartans into the eastern region, attacking the fortress at Mount Ithome. According to legend, it lasted for twenty years. The Messenian leader was Aristodemus. The Spartans successfully defeated the Messenians and took about half of their lands, and the result of the conquest decided the future development of Sparta. Until then, Sparta had been developing like most other Greek city-states, increasing its territory and looking for potential outlets for trade. This would normally involve developing a port city for trade in the Aegean. With its conquest of the Messenians, Sparta moved west and into the agricultural regions of the Peloponnese. Although not completely abandoning trade, Sparta began to concentrate on farming. This process resulted in estates being allocated to Spartan citizens, with a subservient population to tend them, the helots. With their victory in the First Messenian War, Sparta added a large number of helots under their control. It was during this time that Sparta sent out a colony to Tarentum in southern Italy, supposedly composed of the offspring of Spartan women and helots, although more likely they were Spartans who were not pleased with the distribution of the recently won lands in Messenia. The population of full Spartan citizens (men capable of serving as hoplites) declined, which prompted a revolt in Messenia in 650. Argos had defeated the Spartans in 669 at Hysiae due to the decline of able-bodied soldiers in Sparta. Prompted by Argos, the Messenians rebelled. They had been helots for about fifty years, where they would contribute half of their proceeds to their Spartan masters. But they were not free, and every year, the Spartans declared war on the helots, which allowed them to kill them without the stain of murder. The rebellion started in the north in Andania and supported by the Arcadians. Their leader was Aristomenes, said to have been a descendent from an ancient Messenian family. He became the archetypical Spartan enemy, and with his initial victories over the Dorian Spartans, the helots increased their hopes of driving the Spartans completely out of their lands. The Spartans at this time found a leader in Tyrtaeus, a lame poet who reformed the army and led the Spartans to glory. At the Battle of the Great Foss, they defeated the Messenians, who now fled north to Eira on the Nedon River to their last stronghold. Aristomenes and his fort were destroyed by the Spartans, although legend had Aristomenes escaping capture and, wounded, fleeing to Rhodes. The Second Messenian War saw the remainder of Messenia except for the coastal cities fall under Spartan control and the population reduced to serfdom. In 464, an earthquake in Laconia resulted in another rebellion by Messenian helots. Although not a proper war, it did result in disaster for the Spartans. The Messenians successfully destroyed a company of 300 Spartans but were forced to flee to Mount Ithome, their traditional fortress. The Spartans could not dislodge them and had to ask for help from their allies, and even from Athens, who sent

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Cimon. For some unknown reason, Sparta feared Cimon and the Athenians, so the Spartans dismissed him, causing great embarrassment to him and leading to the end of the Athenian-Spartan détente and Cimon’s ostracism. In 459, the Spartans continued their blockade of Ithome; with its capture, they allowed the Messenians to leave unharmed. Most likely, the Spartans probably could not defeat them outright, so they offered them the opportunity to leave, provided they never return, especially since Argos was making trouble in the east by destroying Mycenae, a Spartan ally. The Athenians, who had previously been embarrassed by the Spartans, now found the exiled Messenians a home at Naupactus, on the Gulf of Corinth. The Third Messenian War had ended. The Messenians were continually subject to Sparta until 370, when the Theban leader Epaminondas liberated the region and reestablished the town of Messenia on the slopes of Mount Ithome. This new city commanded and controlled the region, giving Sparta a new enemy that it could never conquer again. See also: Bronze Age; Peloponnesian League; Pylos; Sparta

Further Reading

Beck, Hans, and Peter Funke. 2015. Federalism in Greek Antiquity. Cambridge: ­Cambridge University Press. Luraghi, Nino. 2011. The Ancient Messenians: Constructions of Ethnicity and Memory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Coldstream, J. N. 1977. Geometric Greece. New York: St. Martin’s Press. For a discussion of the early history, see Martin, Thomas R., “An Overview of Classical Greek History from Mycenae to Alexander,” Perseus Project, http://www.perseus .tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0009%3Achapter%3D6 %3Asection%3D7 (accessed May 18, 2021).

Metic In the Greek world, citizenship was closely guarded. Cities did not desire to open up their citizen rolls because citizens controlled the political life. To allow their cities to grow, many created a class known as metic, or resident alien. The bestknown instances (and even here the evidence is not extensive) comes from Athens. Its resident aliens were usually merchants and tradesmen who came to a new city to earn their living. The history of metics in Athens goes back to at least the sixth century, when Solon reformed Athens’s constitution and encouraged foreign craftsmen and merchants to emigrate to Athens to help produce a strong economy. These emigrants would become permanent residents, mainly from Greece, and although they did not have citizenship, they did have a recognized position in Athens, including full protection of the law, paying some taxes, and being eligible for military service (which was voluntary except during times of war). One of the prohibitions that applied to them, though, was that they could not own land, so they would work mainly in trade occupations. Solon also presented some of them with Athenian citizenship, which was highly prized in the Greek world. During this time, it appears that a metic could marry an Athenian woman, and their offspring would be citizens.



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Cleisthenes, when he reorganized the constitution, also allowed some metics to be enrolled in the new tribes, hence gaining citizenship. These probably were viewed as citizens under the tyrant Pisistratus and his successors since they wished to increase the commercial power of Athens. After the expulsion of Hippias, some of them may have been removed from the citizenship rolls, and Cleisthenes was trying to prevent further civil discord among the residents. While the total number of metics is unknown, they probably numbered about 10,000 in any given year. Evidence for their residence is minimal, but most appear to have resided in the city proper or the harbor, with very few living in the countryside. This was expected since they were forbidden from owning or possessing land and were involved in commercial activities. In 451, Pericles had the Athenian assembly pass a new law that restricted citizenship only to those where both parents were citizens, thus ending the chances for most metics to rise in stature. The metics were not slaves; rather, they were free men. Unlike slaves, they could not be bought or sold, and they could leave Athens if they wished. Some of them became quite wealthy and were often called upon to assume certain city functions or burdens by paying taxes. They could be liable for military service but could not be required to outfit a warship, a task reserved for wealthy citizens. During the rule of the Thirty Tyrants in 404, they selected thirty wealthy metics, who were then executed, with each tyrant receiving one metic’s property. Some of the resident aliens were only visitors, while others remained in Athens for generations. One such metic was Lysias, the famous orator. Although he could speak in the assembly or law courts, he could not vote or hold office. He was often contracted to write speeches for parties in the law courts. His father was Cephalus, a rich merchant from Syracuse who lived in the Piraeus and whose house was the scene for Plato’s The Republic. If a metic desired to be registered in order to enjoy the rights of Athenian laws, he would need to be sponsored by an Athenian (a prostates) and registered in the deme where he lived. He would not be a member of the deme, meaning that he could neither vote nor hold office, but he probably could participate in some of the deme’s social life and celebrations. He would then have to pay the local taxes to this deme. In addition, he would have to pay Athens a special tax, the metoikon. If he was wealthy, he would then be forced to contribute to any of the special levies that citizens had to undertake, eisphorai, and pay for some of the liturgies or burdens, but never the trierarchy (the outfitting of a warship). As a registered metic, he was liable to serve in the military, either as a hoplite or a rower in the fleet. Typically, those serving as hoplites would only be in the home guard or defensive force along the Great Walls, not in the field on a military campaign. They were not allowed to marry an Athenian woman, although this may have been only after the Citizenship Law of 451. They enjoyed protection in Athenian law and had a recognized position in Athenian society, with the associated rights and responsibilities. Metics were known in other cities, such as Corinth, and again they seem to have been mainly associated with trade and commerce. Since the metics did not have a pathway to citizenship, cities could not rely on them as replacements for their citizens if a disaster occurred. Likewise, slaves could not fill that role since manumitted people only had the same rights as a metic. Unlike Rome, which

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found a way to make resident aliens and ex-slaves citizens and therefore part of the Roman population, the Greeks continued their process of delineating the various groups of society. See also: Athenian Empire; Athens; Deme; Democracy; Polis

Further Reading

Hansen, Mogens Herman. 1999. The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes: Structure, Principles, and Ideology. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Kennedy, R. F. 2016. Immigrant Women in Athens: Gender, Ethnicity, and Citizenship in the Classical City. London: Taylor & Francis. Whitehead, David. 1977. The Ideology of the Athenian Metic. Cambridge: Cambridge Philological Society. For a discussion of metics and slaves, see Kapparis, K., “Women and Family in Athenian Law,” in Adriaan Lanni, ed., Athenian Law in Its Democratic Context (Center for Hellenic Studies On-line Discussion Series) and republished in C. W. Blackwell, ed., Dēmos: Classical Athenian Democracy (A. Mahoney and R. Scaife, eds., at https://www.stoa.org/demos/article_women_and_family@page=6&greekEncoding =UnicodeC.html (accessed October 26, 2021).

Miletus As the “jewel of Ionia,” as the historian Herodotus proclaimed, Miletus (also spelled Miletos) lay on the mouth of the Meander River in a fertile region next to Caria in southern Ionia. It was probably the earliest Ionia colony, with subsequent cities founded to the north. The city had four harbors, and the earliest temple to Athena, from the eighth century, was discovered there, near the Lion Harbor. According to myth, it was founded in the Bronze Age by colonists from Crete fighting in the Trojan War, and archaeological evidence confirms Mycenaean material during this period. The site was originally populated by Carians, and again archaeological evidence points to the arrival of Greeks around 1000. The city had six tribes, the usual four Ionian representing the Greek colonists and two from the Carian population, or probably rather the offspring of early intermarriages between colonists and locals. This colony was ruled by kings, supposedly descendants of Neleus, the son of King Codrus of Athens. This monarchy ruled for several generations until being overthrown by the aristocratic oligarchy. The city controlled the sanctuary of Apollo from nearby Didyma, ten miles south, which became well known and respected. The Miletus colony not only had strong maritime activity, but also continued its encroachment inland, along the river to the rising mountains. The region was renowned for its pasture and wool-producing region. Ultimately, Miletus was stopped in its expansion by the arrival of the Cimmerians and Lydians and hemmed in by the mountains. This produced in turn a social crisis since without further land for growth and with its existing lands in the hands of the nobility, the city saw social unrest from the rising mercantile class who would not gain land or power. This in turn led to a growth in colonization. The city became one of the chief founders of colonies in the Black Sea and the Propontis (the Sea of

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Marmara). This region allowed access to the grain lands of Russia and the rich sea catch of tunny as they came out of the Black Sea into the Mediterranean. Milesian sailors soon found that they could traverse the dangers of the Hellespont and Bosporus straits using the night breezes and currents/eddies. Miletus is credited with establishing nearly 100 colonies (if one includes the colonies established by their daughter cities). These colonies became a virtual monopoly for Miletus and allowed their craftsmen to influence tribes such as the Scythians, with their gold objects. They also competed with Samos for advancing trade and contact with Egypt. And Miletus helped the pharaoh Psammetichus I (664–610) fend off his rivals and were allowed to establish a trading center at Naucratis, Egypt. While many of Naucratis’ colonists came from the landless citizens of Miletus, aristocrats must have also been important in these endeavors since the colonies remained on good terms with the mother city. The ruling council, or “Perpetual Sailors,” clearly ensured that Miletus would receive benefits from the new colonies and their trading ventures; but it also became known for its business honesty. Continual internal strife gave rise to the tyrant Thrasybulus. Like so many other tyrants, he used the discontent of the poor and the mistrust between them and the aristocracy to establish control in Miletus around 600. He was a friend of the tyrant Periander at Corinth, who when asked how to keep control of the people, went into a field of wheat and chopped off the tallest stalks, indicating that he kept control by ridding himself of potential threats. Although he had made friends with other tyrants and kings, including in Egypt, Thrasybulus had to contend with Lydia to the east, ruled by King Gyges. The relations with Lydia were often contradictory; while Gyges would attack Miletus, he would also help the city against its neighbor city of Colophon, overthrowing the strongest city of Ionia. Gyges’s political strategy was to attack any city of Ionia that could cause him problems. The Lydian king Alyattes would continually attack Miletus for twelve years straight. Due to their rich maritime trade and ability to receive grain from Russia, Miletus was able to withstand the attacks, and ultimately Lydia and Miletus made peace. Thrasybulus probably also introduced from Lydia the first Ionian coinage, with the backward-looking lion’s head as the first symbol. They initially used electrum instead of gold to make the coins and used the early Euboic weights, where 3,600 silver shekels equaled 1 talent. For all of his accomplishments Thrasybulus could not withstand the internal social issues plaguing Miletus. The two major forces were the Perpetual Sailors, representing the old aristocracy based on wealth, and the Barefists (merchants). A compromise through arbitration occurred, and the city was able to settle down. The rise of Croesus of Lydia could not be stopped, however, and Miletus was put under his dominion. Although not completely subject to the Lydians, it did receive preferential treatment and reaped the benefits of peaceful coexistence without ever forming a formal treaty. When Cyrus of Persia defeated Croesus, all of Ionia came under the control of the Persians, with Harpagus as the Persian satrap in Sardis. He favored the city and reinstalled the tyrant Histiaeus, who helped in the Persian invasion into Thrace under Darius in 513 and was rewarded. Darius, however, soon began to

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mistrust Histiaeus, and after summoning him to Susa, imprisoned him. Histiaeus began to plot a rebellion with his successor and son-in-law, Aristagoras, who had not been successful in his rule, failing to take Naxos with Persian help and losing the wool trade in the West when its partner, Sybaris, had been destroyed in 510. Perhaps his fellow citizens’ criticism forced him to finally give up control, and he established a democratic government and made full plans for the rebellion. Aristagoras traveled to Greece, where he could only evoke lukewarm support from the Athenians and Eretrians. Their arrival with a total of twenty-five ships resulted in the capture and burning of Sardis, and after they left, Ionia was forced to face the full power of Persia alone. Aristagoras was killed in action in Thrace, and Miletus was taken and destroyed after its fleet was defeated at Lade (495) when the Samians, the traditional enemy of Miletus, abandoned their allies, including Miletus during the battle, allowing the Persians to be victorious. The city was then taken by the Persians and razed, with the population deported; also, the Persians destroyed the nearby sanctuary of Apollo at Didyma. Herodotus blamed the rebellion on Miletus, but it is more probable that general dissatisfaction with Persian rule resulted in the rebellion. Persia had curtailed Ionian economies, and its use of local tyrants had caused civil unrest. These, together with Persian levies, probably produced a general sentiment of distrust and agitation against Persia. The Ionian cities’ inability to unite resulted in the Greek cities in Asia from failing to gain their freedom. After the Persian defeat in 479 at Plataea and Mycale, the Delian League, which was transformed by the Athenian into the Athenian Empire, successfully liberated the Greek cities of Asia Minor from the Persians. Miletus, too important to remain abandoned, grew again into a strategic city and port. The city was ultimately made a subject of Athenian forces in order to provide funds, and it received an Athenian garrison. It is probable that Miletus had not recovered sufficiently to be seen as independent, so it became a tributary member. The city came into conflict with Samos, one of the few nontributary states under the control of nearby Priene. Miletus lost the war with Samos and then appealed to Athens for help. In theory, Samos should have been favored, but the Athenians gave Priene to Miletus, which resulted in the revolt of Samos in 440. Miletus did not appear to receive any special reward from Athens, and in 412, it joined the rebellion of Ionian cities against the Athenians, supported by Sparta and Persia. The Treaty of Miletus between Sparta and Persia restored the latter’s control over the Ionian cities. These cities now became part of the Persian Empire again. The city would remain part of the Persian Empire until it was taken by Alexander the Great in 334. See also: Ionian League; Ionian Revolt; Persia; Persian Wars; Sinope

Further Reading

Cartledge, P. 2009. Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Greaves, Alan M. 2002. Miletos: A History. London: Routledge. Gorman, Vanessa B. 2001. Miletos, the Ornament of Ionia: A History of the City to 400 B.C.E. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.



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For a description of Miletus with photos, see the Turkish Cultural Foundation. “Miletus,” Archaeology, http://www.turkishculture.org/archaeology/miletus-1080.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Military Ships The earliest description of Greek warships is mentioned by Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey. His work relates to the events around 1100, which he wrote about in 800. His description, then, is probably more in line with what was going on at his time. Homer described these ships as swift, which would fit in well with the representations of low, sleek hulls seen in contemporary ninth-century artwork. They were undecked and described as hollow, with benches where the rowers could work and where the crew could rest. There was a forward and aft deck, allowing for a lookout and the captain’s quarter and command area. There were several different types and sizes of the galley with the smallest having twenty oarsmen, presumably ten on each side; the fifty oars or penteconter, with a single bank of twenty-five on each side, probably was the main troop transport and warship. There was a 100-oar ship as well, which was a large transport ship, and although Homer does not mention it, in the ninth and eighth centuries, there was a triaconter, or thirty-oar ship. A penteconter would run about 125 feet in length, with a beam about 13 feet. A triaconter would be about 75 feet long, while twenty-oar ships were some 50 feet long. The ships would beach at night so that the sailors could rest, and Homer said that they were vulnerable to attack by the Trojans, meaning that during his age, this was a common mode of defense and attack. The hulls were low so that individuals could stand, nearly reaching the top of the gunwale. The hull was black, either from being painted or smeared with pitch. Homer in his Iliad says the profile of the warship looked like “straight horns,” like cattle in the field. These ships had a keel with both a stem and stern posts, gunwales, and beams, which may have served as the rowers’ benches. The most common types of wood used were oak, poplar, pine, and fir, with the latter also making up the masts and oars. There seems to have been only a single steering oar, which may in fact have been the Mycenaean type, since by the eighth century, ships already had double steering oars, which became the standard. There was a single sail midship, which could be raised and lowered on a mast. The eighth-century representations show a ram, which Homer does not mention. It appears, then, that Homer was expressing that the warships Greek trireme. (The Metropolitan Museum of were really troop transports. The Art/Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1942)

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ram probably occurred after the fall of the Mycenaean age and arose during the chaotic time of the great migrations. Its introduction revolutionized naval warfare, turning ships from troop transport vehicles into actual warships. This meant that the new ships had to be able to withstand the shock of a ram. In particular, the bow had to be reinforced since this would be where many of the initial blows would take place. The bow is now a large mass, unlike in the earlier ships, which had the bow and stern being similar. Some ships without these superstructures were still used, but they were probably reserved for reconnaissance and dispatches. The representations of those with superstructures occur within the framework of combat. The superstructure was a deck perhaps two feet above the rowers, and from some representations, warriors appeared on this deck and rowers were not represented. It ran the whole length, but not side to side, so an opening existed in the middle. There was a high, short platform on both bow and stern; the forward had protective shielding and was used for sighting and fighting. The next major development was the creation of the two-banked galley. This would allow a ship to take full advantage of the ram and the raised deck, as it would give the ship more speed and force to attack an enemy ship. To add more oars, one could widen the hull and put more rowers on a single oar or put more rowers on the same bench, each with his own oar. Both required the hull to be enlarged, which potentially reduced speed and agility. Another method, the one that the Greeks adopted, was to put the rowers superimposed or stacked lines. It allowed for a narrow and fast hull, while the rowers remained seated. Its chief disadvantage, though, was that it required a well-trained crew and that it was somewhat high above the water, which decreased its stability. The oars would work in unison and allow the ship to move quicker. The addition of another layer of rowers resulted in the addition of a second deck. As such, a fifty-oar, two-banked galley would only be half as long as its single-banked sister ship, only 65 feet compared to 125 feet. The ship would be more robust and seaworthy. The superstructure still existed, and it became a fighting platform since there was no seating. The evidence for this development came first from the east, from the Assyrians, and it was probably imported and adopted by the Greeks. The next major development, and the one that would make the Greek world the center of naval warfare and technology, was the trireme, coming from the Greek word trieres which means “three-fitted” but has produced a broad discussion concerning what the trireme design looked like. The names of the earlier ships, triaconter and penteconter, are easy enough to understand since they related to the number of rowers (thirty and fifty, respectively). The trieres, however, does not reflect the total number of rowers. Later ships continued this idea, with tetreres meaning “four-fitted” and penteres meaning “five-fitted.” The main theory was that a trieres had three banks of rowers, while a tetreres had four banks, and so forth. A rival theory then arose in the sixteenth century, proposing three rowers, each with his own oar, but sitting on a common bench, three abreast. This became the predominant theory at that time. Finally, in the twentieth century, the original theory prevailed through examination of representations and modern reconstructions.



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The new design was adopted gradually since it required more training and structures. The Corinthians were given credit for the creation of the new ship. By 600, the fleets outside the Greek world, such as in Egypt and Phoenicia, had already used the trireme. The penteconter still continued to be the main Greek ship of the line. By the end of the sixth century, however, the new ship began to prevail in Greece. The oars were each the same length, about thirteen-and-a-half feet. The ship’s length was about 120 feet, while its width at the top was about 16 feet, from gunwale to gunwale 12 feet, and, at the bottom 10 feet. The ratio of the width of the hull (gunwale) to length was about 10:1. The lowest line of rowers, the thalamites, rowed their oars through ports lined with a leather bag (ascoma) since they were only about a foot and half above the waterline and the leather prevented water from gushing in. This line had 27 rowers on each side. The next line or middle row, the zygites, also had 27 rowers per side. They were above and slightly ahead of the thalamites. Their oars were just below the gunwale. The final group, the thranites, was above and ahead of the zygite and sat on special benches above the gunwale. The oars were set in the hull about two feet from the side of the ship and were the most difficult to row since they had a sharper angle than the other two rows of oars. There were 31 rowers in this bank. Since the hull curved aft, the extra rowers were probably located here since they could not be accommodated in the lower two banks. There was, then, a total of 170 rowers. The Athenians used fewer marines on their triremes and relied mainly on their ships’ ability to maneuver and ram to win a battle. The Corinthians and Syracusans would ram prow to prow and then board the enemy ship, so they required more marines. In the fourth century, there was a distinction between the old and new trireme. This probably pointed to the new types and methods of construction. Some were called fast triremes, which probably meant that they were in the best shape and could sail fast due to no need for repair, not that they were specifically built for speed. The increase in the number of naval ships meant that there was a change in tactics. Originally, the ships ferried the troops to a landing site, where they would attack on land, as described by Homer. With the advent of the ram, the ships could attack an enemy at sea and force the battle to take place there. The creation of the deck allowed these ships to fight at sea as both a ramming torpedo or as a staging ground for a land fight aboard a ship. The creation of two banked galleys allowed more speed, while the ultimate creation of the trireme afforded speed, agility, and power. The tactics then required the ships to change from a mere source of transportation to an actual fighting fleet. See also: Athenian Empire; Athens; Merchant Ships; Navy; Phoenicia; Salamis; S ­ yracuse; Weapons

Further Reading

Casson, Lionel. 1995. Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World. Baltimore: Johns ­Hopkins University Press. Morrison, J. S., J. F. Coates, and N. B. Rankov. 2000. The Athenian Trireme: The History and Reconstruction of an Ancient Greek Warship. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Wallinga, H. T. 1992. Ships and Sea-Power Before the Great Persian War: The Ancestry of the Ancient Trireme. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill. For a discussion of the trireme and its reconstruction, see Ellen Brundige, “Reconstruction of the Olympias, an Ancient Greek Trireme,” Owlcation, March 11, 2021 https://owlcation.com/humanities/trireme-2 (accessed October 26, 2021).

Mines of Laurium To the southeast of Athens in Attica, near Cape Sounion, lay the city and deme of Thoricus. Here, in this mountainous region, the Laurium mines had been worked since the Neolithic period. During the Bronze Age, lead was one of the primary metals extracted from these mines. Silver veins existed on the surface, which also attracted prospectors. During the reign of Pisistratus, the region’s mineral wealth became more prominent, and Athens began to exploit it. The amount of silver was probably not excessive since it was mainly surface material, but it showed the potential of the region. After the Battle of Marathon in 490, a new vein of silver was discovered in the underground mines, which proved to be quite extensive. In Greece, when a windfall was discovered, it was not uncommon for the proceeds to be given back to the population in some form, either through abolition of certain taxes or in cash. Private contractors would work the mines, with a set percentage going to the state. It may have been that these contractors would bid for the rights to work them, with the highest bid paying the state directly. The work was grueling, with slaves working in gangs in harsh conditions. The shafts were first dug vertically and then branched outward, supported by timber beams, into small, cramped galleries. Shafts could also be cut horizontally from the side of the mountains. Ventilation shafts carried fumes out of the mines, while allowing fresh air to enter. Over 2,000 extensive remains of mines exist, with stone columns not only acting as support, but also as markers for independent mines. Wealthy landowners hired out their slaves to the contractors. One such landowner was Nicias, famed for Free Money or Ships The discovery of a rich silver vein prompted a discussion of what to do with the funds. The Athenians debated what should be done with the proceeds from the mines since they were from public lands. Aristides, who had been a follower of Miltiades and his policy of building up the hoplite infantry, proposed that the money be returned to the citizens as a cash or tax rebate, probably to ensure that they would have enough funds to outfit their armor and support the hoplites. Opposed to Aristides’s view of giving the money back to the people was Themistocles, who believed that the Persians would return with a force larger than the one they had used in 490. He believed that only a strong navy could defeat the Persians, so he proposed using the proceeds of the silver mines to support the construction of a new fleet with the newest types of warships, the triremes. Themistocles’s view would win out. It may have been in connection to this event that Aristides was ostracized in 482. The Athenian fleet grew from 70 ships to over 200 in a short period of time before the arrival of the Persians under Xerxes in 480.

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being one of the leaders of the Athenian invasion force in Sicily in 415. The conditions in the mines were harsh, with little light except from oil lamps, and the stagnant air probably limited the life expectancy of the miners. Once the ore was mined and removed, it was carried to the surface, where it was crushed, washed, and strained before being sorted into the various qualities. The ore was then melted, which formed a substance of silver and lead, and refined in ovens, with the silver being removed and the lead remaining in the form of litharge before being further reduced into lead. The silver was known for financing Athens’s rise with its empire and its coins, tetradrachms with the Athenian Owl, commonly being known as the “Laureot Owls.” The purity of the silver, and hence Athens’s coins, was set by law. When the Peloponnesian War began, the mines allowed Athens to continue to support the war effort. This changed when Sparta captured the fort at Dekelia, just northeast of the city, in 413 and prevented the mines from operating. The breakdown occurred especially after the slaves deserted the mines and fled to Dekelia to ally themselves with Sparta. With the decline of the mines, Athens lost a significant source of money, and with its empire shrinking, Athens was forced to issue coins made of gold melted from votive offerings and copper. After the war, the mines seem to have been neglected until the time of Demosthenes in the 350s, when private contractors again made them profitable. The mines seem to have been in operation during the next century, but by the time of Roman control in the first century they had declined due to cheaper operations elsewhere, and by late antiquity, they had become exhausted. See also: Athens; Coinage; Economy; Peloponnesian War; Slavery; Taxation

Further Reading

Healy, John F. 1978. Mining and Metallurgy in the Greek and Roman World. London: Thames and Hudson. Michell, H. 2014. The Economics of Ancient Greece. New York: Cambridge University Press. Sherwood, Andrew Neil, Milorad Nikolic, John William Humphrey, and John Peter Oleson. Greek and Roman Technology: A Sourcebook of Translated Greek and Roman Texts. 2nd ed. Abingdon, UK; Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, 2020. For an early discussion of the excavations, see “Attic Silver Mine at Laurium,” Scientific American 8 no. 8, 62. (November 1852), https://www.scientificamerican.com /article/attic-silver-mine-at-laurium/ (accessed May 18, 2021)

Minoans The history of the Minoan civilization is steeped in mythology and mystery. The traditional literary accounts from antiquity, which are few, note that the Minoans, descended from King Minos, created the Greek world’s first thalassocracy, or naval empire. This view occurred during the fifth century, when Athens had embarked upon creating its own naval empire and sought to show the connection with the past. Further legends had a great monster, the Minotaur, which lived in a

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labyrinth at one of the palaces at Cnossos. Theseus, the son of the Athenian king Aegeus, with help from Ariadne, the daughter of king Minos, killed the Minotaur in the labyrinth. This mythological background was further enhanced by early archaeological excavations carried out by Sir Arthur Evans at the beginning of the twentieth century CE on Crete at Cnossos. He noticed that the palace was not enclosed by walls as other palaces on the Greek mainland were, and that it had an elaborate underground facility, a labyrinth with storage jars and rooms. In the absence of protective walls, Evans argued that Crete had a large fleet and its navy controlled the Aegean, which accounted for the absence of forts on Crete. The idea soon developed that the Minoans had a formable navy protecting Crete so that there was no need of forts, similar to those in Evans’s Britain of the late nineteenth century CE. Evans also dated the different periods of Minoan history through pottery, creating three main divisions, Early, Middle, and Late Minoan, which corresponded to Early, Middle, and Late Helladic on the mainland; each period was further subdivided into three eras. The archaeological evidence, especially pottery, help date and show the development of the Minoan culture. The first palaces on Crete were built around 2000, during the first stage of the Middle Minoan (2000–1900) period. Palaces were constructed at Cnossos, five miles from the sea on the north coast of Crete; at Mallia, thirty miles to its east on the coast; Phaestus, on the southern side of the mountains on the south of Crete overlooking the Mesara plain; and later at Zakro, on the far eastern coast. These palaces show a break with the Neolithic culture of villages composed of huts and followed the Near East development of palaces at Mari or Ugarit. The development of the palaces probably indicated a move to centralized (most likely regional) government and writing. The first type of writing on Crete was pictorial, similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics, and during the second period of the Middle Minoan (1900–1700), a syllabic script was developed at Phaestus, which Evans called Linear A. During this period, probably at its end, all the palaces were destroyed or heavily damaged, without traces of fire, probably indicating earthquakes, which are frequent on the island. These palaces were then rebuilt, but on a grander scale, in the next phase, the third era of the Middle Minoan (1700–1550), and existed from 1650–1450. They were in the same style and floor plan as earlier, but just larger. The palaces had stone foundations, with the upper structures made of wood. The palaces differed slightly but had the same components, including a large central courtyard, which at Cnossos, Mallia, and Phaestus measured 170 feet by 80 feet. The courtyard was probably for public ceremonies, religious rites, spectacles, and festivals. Around this courtyard were separate blocks with different duties and functions. During this period, the palace at Cnossos was the largest, covering between three and five acres. The staterooms were located on the western side of the courtyard, with the more important rooms on the second floor, approached by a monumental staircase. The first floor contained the ritual cult rooms. Farther west of the staterooms were the storage rooms, including the large pithoi used for storing oil and grain. On the east side of the courtyard were the royal apartments. The palaces were richly decorated with scenes of nature, and at Cnossos and other palaces, theaters were constructed that were capable of holding 400 people.

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Minoan throne room at Cnossus, Crete. (Francesca Lejoch/Dreamstime.com)

Dolphin fresco from Cnossus, Crete. (Iuliia Nedrygailova/Dreamstime.com)

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Other archaeological sites from Crete include the small village of Gournia, which had paved streets as well as homes built on the mountainside. A larger home existed farther up, which was laid out as a small palace and was called the squire’s house.” Also found there were carpenter’s tools and samples of fine pottery. The town was not important and was connected with agriculture, but it showed the diversity of wealth on the island at this time. Houses in larger cities had more elaborate construction and were multistoried. The Cretan economy at this time was heavily dependent upon agricultural produce. In addition, forests covered the island, and the Cretans were known for trading in the wood industry, especially with Egypt, which was devoid of trees. Minoan pottery had been found throughout the Mediterranean, giving evidence of their extensive trade. The islands in the Aegean were probably the strongest trade partners with Crete, although there is no reason to believe that Crete dominated these islands, and many of them, especially the Cyclades, had their own cultures, which was independent at this same time. The only precisely known colony of Crete was in Cythera, off the southern shore of the Peloponnese, although others on Melos, Thera, and Ceos could have existed. The Minoan religion seems to have been associated with natural sites such as groves and caves, where people brought their offerings. Temples do not seem to have existed at this time. It appears that palaces and some private homes had sanctuaries. The palaces were probably the major focus for the religious celebrations based on nature, with the most popular being the nature goddess guarded by lions. The goddess, with representation of snakes found in the palace of Cnossos, is probably the nature goddess who protected the palace. In mythology, Athens was a tribute state that supplied seven boys and seven girls to Minos as offerings to the Minotaur. One of those, Theseus, the son of King Aegeus, killed the beast. It is here, in mythology, that the ideas of Crete need to be examined in light of the archaeological finds. The story of Theseus provides a good starting point. In mythology, Theseus and Heracles were contemporaries who lived two generations before the Trojan War, when the power of Cnossos had already been broken, as opposed to the Minoan myth where Theseus lived during the height of Cnossos. Further, Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos who helped Theseus in the myth, was a Cretan goddess, and Minos’s cruelty in feeding people to the Minotaur is not consistent with his other image in antiquity as a wise lawgiver. The Minotaur is represented on some pieces of art, but no more than other demons introduced from Egypt, and it probably is an alteration of the traditional bull-leaping contests by young men and women depicted in Cretan art. The labyrinth is probably from the Carian word labrys (double-axe), a symbol found on Cretan walls, especially in one house called “the house of the double-axe,” with an intricate plan or maze. The myth of the Minotaur may have been a way to explain the elaborate palace and the motifs of the bull represented at Cnossos. The Cretan palaces all disappeared in the middle of the fifteenth century, at their height, when everything but Cnossos dissolved into masses of rubble and ash. Originally, it was thought that Cnossos was destroyed at the same time, but Cnossos would only be destroyed after 1400. The countryside and small towns

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also showed destruction. What caused it? It was thought that the Mycenaeans had destroyed the palaces, but since Cnossos survived, it could not be due to them; also, it has since been discovered that when Cnossos fell, it already had been controlled by the mainland Greeks. Discovered in the palace ruins at Cnossos were baked clay tablets with a new form of writing, which Evans called Linear B. Later excavators found the same writing on tablets on the mainland, which led Michael Ventris, a classicist and linguist, to decipher them and label the language a preHomeric form of Greek. The tablets further indicate that Cnossos was already under Mycenaean control at the time of its destruction. But why were the other palaces destroyed? One theory concerns the volcanic eruption at Thera (Santorini), which occurred around 1500. The tremendous eruption buried the island’s settlements, and Thera became three islands, with a crater in the middle filled with water, which could have caused a tsunami. Borings from the sea on the eastern side of the island show that deep deposits of ash were made both in the north and south, so it is possible that the ash covered extensive areas of Crete, especially in the east, making the land unproductive. The pottery, however, shows that the damage caused by the volcano occurred around 1500, while the pottery at the palaces occurred fifty years later, from 1450, meaning that their destruction was not contemporaneous with the eruption. It is, therefore, probable that humans, possibly Cretan natives, Greeks, or other foreigners, destroyed the palaces. A social uprising is probably not the cause since minor towns were also destroyed and wealth was not concentrated in the hands of a few, which could have produced a strong social upheaval in that case. There is evidence from around the eastern Mediterranean of raiders attacking regions in the fifteenth century, but trade expanded in the east with Crete and does not seem to fit a pattern of plundering raids happening at the same time or immediately afterward. One idea that has been proposed has the Theran eruption of 1500 destroying the Minoan fleet, which allowed the Greeks to enter the island and destroy the other palaces in 1450 and then take over Cnossos before it was destroyed in 1400. It is probable that the Greeks did indeed attack the island, but the idea of a Minoan navy being destroyed would not depend upon their success. If the Minoans did not have a navy, then the Greeks, probably from the Argolid or Mycenae, took over the island, destroying the rivals of Cnossos and concentrating power there. However, this explanation does not account for the destruction of Cnossos some years later. Evans believed that this was caused by an earthquake, but if that had occurred, then the palaces would have been rebuilt. Another idea was that the Mycenaeans on the mainland decided to eliminate a rival sect on Crete. The pottery evidence shows that the destruction took place a bit after 1400, but definitely before 1350, so any kind of link between the Minoan destruction and the Mycenaean destruction on the mainland from 1200 has to be abandoned. What the evidence does show is that Greeks at Cnossos ruled for over seventy years after the destruction of the other palaces, and at its destruction, the palace was witnessing a considerable period of prosperity. Most likely, Greeks from the

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mainland arrived around 1450, seizing Cnossos and consolidating their power by eliminating other bases and destroying the remaining palaces and other sites. This invasion also destroyed smaller villages from plundering and looting. About seventy years later, Greeks from the mainland destroyed their own sects on Crete in a bid to consolidate their power on the mainland, leading to the rise of Mycenae and Thebes, among others. The idea of a Minoan thalassocracy, which originated with the ancient writers attempting to justify the Athenian naval empire of the fifth century, was perpetuated through the use of archaeology, the absence of fortifications, and the background of the early excavator, Evans. Using the political and military situation of his own nation of Britain, a great fleet devoid of modern shore forts, Evans continued the idea of the ancient Minoan thalassocracy. The removal of the thalassocracy allows for a more cogent explanation of the Greek conquest of Crete and the destruction of the palaces in two phases—one in which the Greeks replaced the native population (1450), and a second in which Greeks from the mainland eliminated their fellow Greeks to secure mainland power (1380).

Piracy and Minos’s Naval Empire The legend of King Minos of Crete and his naval empire inspired not only the Greeks, but modern writers. When the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans excavated Cnossus on Crete, he noticed that it was unfortified. This prompted him to theorize that Minos, with its Minoan civilization, was a great naval power like Britain. While the modern notion of a Minoan naval empire has fallen out of favor, the ancients subscribed to Minos not only creating a powerful navy, which established colonies, but also suppressing the pirates, both Greek and non-Greek. The following passage from Thucydides’s The Peloponnesian War shows how the Greeks some fifteen centuries later still recognized Minos’s role as the ruler of a great naval empire: For Minos was the most ancient of all that by report we know to have built a navy. And he made himself master of the now Grecian Sea; and both commanded the isles called Cyclades, and also was the first that sent colonies into most of the same, expelling thence the Carians and constituting his own sons there for governors; and also freed the seas of pirates as much as he could, for the better coming in, as is likely, of his own revenue. For the Grecians in old time, and such barbarians as in the continent lived near unto the sea, or else inhabited the islands, after once they began to cross over one to another in ships, became thieves, and went abroad under the conduct of their most puissant men, both to enrich themselves and to fetch in maintenance for the weak; and falling upon towns unfortified and scatteringly inhabited, rifled them, and made this the best means of their living; being a matter at that time nowhere in disgrace, but rather carrying with it something of glory. . . . The same also is proved by some of the ancient poets, who introduce men questioning of such as sail by, on all coasts alike, whether they be thieves or not: as a thing neither scorned by such as were asked, nor upbraided by those that were desirous to know. They also robbed one another within the main land. Source: Hobbes, Thomas, William Molesworth, Thucydides, and Homer. 1843. The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. London: J. Bohn, Volume 8, pp. 5–6.

Monarchy 367 See also: Cnossos; Cyclades; Mycenae; Tribute; Troy

Further Reading

Castleden, Rodney. 1993. Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete. London: Routledge. Dickinson, O. T. P. K. 1994. The Aegean Bronze Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Evans, Arthur and Joan Evans. 1964. The Palace of Minos; a Comparative Account of the Successive Stages of the Early Cretan Civilization as Illustrated by the Discoveries at Knossos. New York: Biblo and Tannen. Ramage, Edwin S., and J. Rufus Fears. 1978. Atlantis, Fact or Fiction? Bloomington: Indiana University Press. For an examination and discussion of the art and history of the Minoans, see Sakoulas, Thomas, “History of Minoan Crete,” Ancient Greece.org, https://ancient-greece .org/history/minoan.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Monarchy The original Greek tribes were ruled by chieftains who were probably initially chosen for their military prowess, similar to the barbarian tribes north of the Greeks along the Danube and east into the Russian Steppes. These kings may have been drawn from the chief tribal families and may not have originally been hereditary. These kings probably did not have absolute power since most tribes placed a strong emphasis on the individual rights and prowesses of its members. Instead, the king’s power was more from persuasion and his previous successes. This type of leadership was then replaced by the more traditional hereditary monarch. During the pre-Mycenaean period, the monarchs probably began to centralize their power, as evidenced by the Minoan kingdoms. Here, the monarchs on the island of Crete may have been divergent local leaders, as shown by the several palaces spread throughout the island. The largest palace was at Cnossos, and it was there that the legendary king Minos ruled. From the legends, it appears that Minos had near absolute power. Given, however, that there are no contemporary records other than baked tablets of clay from a later period, it is difficult to know if the king actually had such absolute power or if he delegated it at all. In the Mycenaean period, there were several terms for kings. The main ones recorded on the Linear B tablets were wanax and basileus. These two terms were not used interchangeably. Rather, wanax appears to have held a higher position, as when Homer refers to Zeus as wanax as an overlord to the other gods. Wanax was the earlier Mycenaean form of the Homeric anax. In Homer’s Iliad, both wanax and basileus are found. Wanax is reserved to refer to Agamemnon and Priam, placing them at the top of Homeric society. Both are seen as the leading rulers of the opposing sides, a type of overlord or high king. Agamemnon was the ruler of Mycenae and the brother of Menelaus of Sparta, whose wife, Helen, had been kidnapped by Paris, the son of Priam, king of Troy. Agamemnon is not depicted as an absolute ruler, but rather as one who rules through a consulted approach. Although he tried to give orders to his fellow kings, he was not able to force them

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to do as he wished. The best example is when Agamemnon attempted to order Achilles to fight after Agamemnon dishonored Achilles by taking his captive slave girl. Agamemnon could not make Achilles fight—he could only urge or browbeat him. In other passages, Agamemnon holds council with his other kings. Here, they freely debate ideas and plans. The term wanax disappeared from use after the Mycenaean period except for anachronistic references to Zeus and in the Homeric poems. The other term for king was basileus, which also occurs in Linear B tablets from the late Mycenaean period and appears in one text as the leader of the palace’s skilled workers. The term means “chief” and such a person may have had a status below the wanax. During the Homeric period, basileus was used to refer to the lesser kings in the Iliad, such as Achilles, Odysseus, and Hector. After the fall of the Mycenaean kingdoms, the basileus now became the standard term meaning “king.” This may point to a change from one society, where wanax was the supreme leader, to another that used basileus. It may also point to the end of an overlord system or feudal system, where the wanax had a superior role and was replaced by separate and independent kingdoms where the basileus ruled without any kind of supervision. The basileus form of monarchy continued through the Dark Ages, when the polis came into existence and the population revived. The basileus probably helped bring about this development. The traditional functions of the basileus were threefold: administrative, religious, and judicial. The administrative role was divided between the bureaucracy and how it functioned and the military defending the polis. The bureaucracy entailed collecting taxes, overseeing the smooth running of the city through its officials, and institutionalizing offices to ensure a fair distribution of honor and work. The collection of taxes was the most important function, as it allowed the polis to have the necessary funds to run the offices and the military system. The city officials or bureaucrats allowed the separation of duties and specialization. Officials were needed to ensure that the markets were overseen, so the customers and merchants knew their roles (i.e., both had a responsibility to be fair), as well as to collect the state’s rents, allowing markets to occur. Some officials existed that made sure that roads were kept in good shape, while others supervised the importation and exportation of supplies. The basileus also institutionalized the distribution of offices, which was needed so that leading families were included in the running of the city in order to appease their political ambitions. A further function of the administration was creating and outfitting the military. While the hoplite phalanx system only developed later, the king needed to make sure that he had sufficient personnel to protect the city. Usually during this period, war would involve independent battles by the elites. The king was expected to not only lead the warriors, but take part in the fighting. The king’s ability to lead troops into battle became very important. The basileus was also responsible for the religious services performed by the polis. As part of the religious function of the state, the king ensured that the gods were appeased by appropriate sacrifices. He also would be responsible for supplying animals and farm produce to be offered for the sacrifices. He may also have been associated with the selection of the priests and priestesses to serve the gods

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in their temples. Further, the king would oversee the construction and upkeep of the city’s temples and shrines. The basileus, through tax receipts, would assemble the necessary supplies and labor to build or maintain the temples and shrines. The king would also take part in the sacrifices, along with the priests and priestesses. While the king may not have had the power to interpret the signs from the gods, he would have had a direct interest in the predictions. Since the king, as head of state, received his power from the gods, it was crucial to know if they viewed his rule favorably. The king would often ask the gods, through oracles such as Delphi, advice on a certain policy. If for some reason the gods became upset with the king and his rule, the gods would decree that he be replaced without any societal retribution or penalty. The basileus would then desire to keep the gods appeased and rule for the benefit of his people. The final aspect of the king’s function was judicial. This included the determination of the laws (which usually were not recorded), their implementation, and the maintenance of peace among the various families and all of society. The determination of laws included which ones needed to be enforced for public safety and the protection of the king’s position. Since the laws were not written, they could be changed at will by the king, which often produced social disruption or civil war. The king’s role was to ensure that the interpretation of the laws favored not only his position, but those of his supporters, usually members of the upper class. Since keeping peace in society was crucial, the king’s judicial role often pitted the rich and powerful against the masses. If the king backed only one side, he could be seen as capricious or arbitrary, especially if he supported only the powerful; on the other hand, if the king supported everyone equally, he risked losing the support of the powerful, who supplied him with his power and funds. The rise of the polis began to chip away at the power of the monarchy. With the increase in population and the complexity of the society, monarchs saw their hold on power reduced and ultimately eliminated since cities needed more officials to run the bureaucracy. This in turn increased competition among the elites to advance their role in society. With the increase in the number of participants in the government, and with power shifting away from the king, his importance was reduced. Thus, the king was no longer needed. However, the institution did survive in various forms. In Athens, there was an archon basileus who was responsible for the religious leadership in Athens. Sparta retained the institution of the kings—in this case two royal families who were responsible for military leadership. In Epirus in northwestern Greece and Macedon in northern Greece, the institution remained in force. In these societies, the king retained his control of power, and even increased it sometimes. The evolution of the monarchy in Greece allowed the development of the polis. The traditional roles of the king were developed in the Mycenaean period and continued through the Dark Ages. The end of the monarchy coincided with the polis and the rise of aristocracies, which replaced the monarchs and the idea that their power was derived from the gods. See also: Basileus; Democracy; Geography; Homeric Age; Sparta; Tyrants

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Further Reading

Catanzaro, A. 2019. Politics Through the Iliad and the Odyssey: Hobbes Writes Homer. New York: Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group). Drews, Robert. 1983. Basileus: The Evidence for Kingship in Geometric Greece. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Kelder, J. M., and W. Waal. 2019. From “Lugal.Gal” to “Wanax”: Kingship and Political Organisation in the Late Bronze Age Aegean. Leiden, Netherlands: Sidestone Press.

Music and Dance Music and dance in the Greek world developed together as forms of artistic expression. The word mousike came from the muses, who created the arts through their cultural patronage. Greek music was based on more numerous and complex scales than modern diatonic half-tones, with twelve half-tones creating an octave. Instead, the Greeks used quarter-tones, with forty-five scales of eighteen notes each. As such, there were three groups of scales—the diatonic scale, created on the tetrachord E D C B; the chromatic, based upon E C (sharp) C B; and the enharmonic, based on E C C(flat) B. Seven modes or harmoniai were created by tuning the strings in the diatonic tetrachord to alter the position of the semitones in the octave. These produced the Dorian modes of E F G A B C D E, which gave a martial and grave sentiment in a minor key; the Lydian mode C D E F G A B C, which in a major key was tender and plaintive; and the Phrygian D E F G A B C D in a minor key, which was orgiastic and wild. These major modes were then said to have produced from their half-tone variations that evoked partial emotions. When played, the Dorian produced an effect of making men dignified and excited. The Lydian produced a weak and sentimental effect, while the Phrygian produced an excited and headstrong effect. While modern music uses ovals and stems on a staff of lines, the Greeks employed alphabetical letters for musical notation to create sixty-four signs located above the song’s words, thus allowing quarter-tones to be produced. Mixing bowl showing players of musical instruThese notes allowed for a ments. (The Cleveland Museum of Art, The variety of music used A. W. Ellenberger, Sr., Endowment Fund 1926.549)



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throughout Greek life. Legend told the tale of the satyr and the priest Marsyas, who challenged and lost a musical competition to Apollo. According to the bet, whoever won could treat the other as he desired. The god then flayed Marsyas alive. Marsyas’ pupil Olympus supposedly created the enharmonic scale of quarter-tones having learned how to play the flute from Marsyas. There were the Dionysian dithyrambs, hymns for the gods; epinikia, or victory songs; paeans for Apollo; symposiaka, for dining, skolia for drinking; erotica for loving, hymenaioi for marriage, elegiai for mourning; and threnoi for burials. The highest form for the Greeks was choral music, which produced complex and emotional events for festivals. Cities would also organize competitions for choral songs. A composer would write both the words and the music, which professional singers then performed. The teacher of Heracles, Linus, was accorded the honor of creating musical notation and establishing modes. The singer sang in the same key. Accompanying music was dance, which in its highest form was linked to choral singing. In fact, in music the term foot owed its origin to dance, which accompanied a song, and orchestra, which in Greek means a dancing platform. Unlike modern dance, which is often associated with physical contact between men and women, Greek dance was an artistic expression. It had a variety of forms, approaching 200, which allowed its association with music, poetry, and song. There were religious dances such as those performed at the Spartan Gymnopedia, or Festival of Naked Youth; military dances, which resembled a march; and the Lypochema, featuring two opposing choruses, with one singing while the other danced. As time went on, music and dance began to separate and become individual art forms. This in turn created new professions so that rhapsodes now recited rather than sang their poetry. Archiloches would sing his words but without musical

Rock Band? The musical instruments available to the Greeks were in the same classes as today— percussion, wind, and strings, with the latter two the most common. The flute was popular, and the Boeotians were viewed as superior in its playing. The Athenians were not fond of the flute, though, classing it as vulgar in order to denigrate the Boeotians. The aulos was a simple flute made of a wood or cane tube full of holes and with a detachable mouthpiece. There was also a double flute, with the two instruments held with both hands, as well as a type of bagpipe. The pan pipe, or syriny, was created by uniting several graduated or varying-sized flutes together. They also had a salpinx, or trumpet. String instruments were not played with a bow but rather plucked with the fingers or a plectrum. The lyre was like a guitar, while the kithara was a small harp; both were used to accompany lyric poetry and songs. There was one story of a competition between Apollo, playing his lyre, and Marsyas, a Phrygian priest to Cybele, playing the flute. After Marsyas played his flute, seemingly besting Apollo’s lyre due to the crowd’s reaction, Apollo turned his lyre upside down and sang. Marsyas cried foul since Apollo sang rather than playing his instrument, but the god claimed that Marsyas, by blowing his pipes, had in effect sung. The judges proclaimed Apollo the victor. Apollo then punished Marsyas for challenging a god by flaying him alive. This legend accounted for the supremacy of the lyre over the flute.

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accompaniment and ultimately produced poetry that was without song or even spoken, just read. The choral dance split into choral singing and dance. These in turn led to the development of drama, where the role of the chorus was reduced so that a single player went forward to speak; this created the major performers or the protagonists, instead of the chorus being the dominant performers. Music and dance in time helped create the art form of theater. See also: Comedy; Theater; Tragedy

Further Reading

Hagel, Stefan. 2010. Ancient Greek Music: A New Technical History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Levin, Flora R. 2009. Greek Reflections on the Nature of Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Naerebout, F. G. 1997. Attractive Performances: Ancient Greek Dance: Three Preliminary Studies. Amsterdam: J. C. Gieben. West, M. L. 1992. Ancient Greek Music. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. For an examination of music in ancient Greece featuring examples from art, see Hemingway, Colette and Seán Hemingway, “Music in Ancient Greece,” in ­Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, ­October 2001), https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grmu/hd_grmu.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Mycale, Battle of Mycale (the modern-day Dilek Dagi in Turkey) is a mountain on the western coast of Asia Minor north of the Meander River, with the island of Samos about a mile offshore. In antiquity, it was a famous promontory, with the city of Pirene to the south and Miletus lying across the southern bay, into which the Meander flowed. To its north was Ephesus. The promontory, therefore, was crucial to three major cities and an island, all in Ionia. The mountains of this region are steep, running west to east with rivers flowing westward through the rifts. Mycale is part of these ridges, which continue out into the sea and onto the island of Samos. The region was originally inhabited by Carians, and during the Dark Ages or Geometric period, Greek colonization occurred. The promontory became an important site for navigators, as it allowed them to spot the region of Samos from the Aegean before the island and cities could be seen. What made Mycale important politically and militarily was the great battle that took place in 479 against Persia. Legend had it that on the same day that the Spartans and Greek army won at Plataea in central Greece, the allied fleet under the Spartan admiral-king Leotychidas won a great naval battle. One of the two kings in Sparta, Leotychidas was from the Eurypontids and came to power in 491 by challenging Demaratus for the throne, who then went into exile to Persia. In 480, after the other king of Sparta, Leonidas, had died at Thermopylae, Leotychidas commanded the fleet, and in 479, Sparta had a force of 110 ships at Delos to support anti-Persian uprisings in the east. It was here that Leotychidas decided to bring his fleet to Samos to induce them to defect, and perhaps cripple the Persian fleet.



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The Persian army under Xerxes had crossed over into Europe in 480 and defeated the Spartans at Thermopylae and taken Athens. In the late summer, his fleet was defeated, but not destroyed, at Salamis by the Athenian and Greek fleets. Xerxes then retreated into Asia with his fleet and most of his army, but he left behind a large force under his general, Mardonius, to finish off the Greek army in 479. The Spartans marched north to Plataea and defeated and killed Mardonius, ending the military conquest of Greece. Leotychidas now followed the same plan to eliminate the Persian fleet. Augmented by the arrival of a large Athenian fleet under Xanthippus, the Greek fleet probably numbered about 300 warships, equal to the Persian fleet, which had been reduced in size since the Phoenician fleet was sent home. It is unclear why the Persians sent the Phoenicians away. It is possible that the Persians feared losing all of their fleet in one battle, and Xerxes may have wished to have a large fleet in reserve. It is also possible that he was afraid that Egypt, which Persian never thoroughly conquered or controlled, might rise up in rebellion if the fleet was away or destroyed. Regardless, the Persian fleet was greatly reduced not only from the Phoenician fleet’s removal, but also from the losses from Salamis. More important, the defeat at Salamis thoroughly demoralized the Persian navy. The Persian navy also had a large number of Ionian Greek ships and crews, and the Persians were not confident about their loyalty. Xanthippus was an Athenian general who married into the Alcmaeonid clan when he married Cleisthenes’s niece; he was also the father of Pericles. He was in conflict with Themistocles and ostracized, only to be recalled when the Persians invaded. He probably fought at Salamis since he was given command of the fleet the next year. The allied fleet made its way to Delos to fight the Persians, who then fled to Samos with the Greek fleet in pursuit. When the Persians received reports of the allied fleet approaching, the commanders decided to sail to the Ionian coast, beach the ships, and build a palisade or fortress to defend them. It is clear that the Persians had decided not to attempt to engage the Greek fleet in an open sea battle. At this point, the Phoenician fleet was sent away, and the remainder of the Persian fleet went to the region under Mount Mycale. The Persians were commanded by Tigranes, the governor of Ionia. When the Greek fleet arrived at Samos and realized that the Persian fleet was gone, they were uncertain about their next move. When they sailed near Mycale and the Persian fleet did not engage them, Leotychidas and the allies decided to engage them on land. The ensuing battle, therefore, should be seen not as a naval battle, but rather as a land battle waged by the Greek marines, heavy hoplites, and other lightly armed troops against the Persian naval crews. The ships were not involved in the actual fighting. It is said that Leotychidas sent out heralds to exhort the Greek Ionians in the Persian camp to be ready to fight for the Greeks. This was said to have been done in Greek so that the Persians would not understand them, and even if they did (which was probable), to sow discord among the Persians and Ionians. This tactic apparently succeeded, as the Persians disarmed the Samians and sent those from Miletus into the mountains, ostensibly to guard the passes but really to put them out of commission in case they decided to join the Greek navy. Before the battle, it is said that news reached Leotychidas, perhaps by signal stations, that the Greeks

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had just won at Plataea, and rumor spread of the victory among the Persians and Ionians. While there is no way to know if it is true, the story had the battles occurring on the same day, amplifying both victories for the Greeks showing their superiority in battle against the Persians. The allied fleet beached their ships, disembarked, and prepared for a land battle. The historian Herodotus states in his account that Tigranes and the Persians had 60,000 men, while Diodorus, a later Greek writer from the first century, indicates that they had 100,000. It is possible that the 40,000 difference lay with the Persian navy, which Herodotus did not include in the total, an amount that would come close to the number of men needed to outfit a warship, with 200 men on each of the 300 ships. Although the 100,000 figure is probably exaggerated, it is conceivable that there were 60,000 Persians. Most of the men would have been spearmen and archers, but probably not front-line troops; there were also Greek mercenaries and Ionians, but they defected to the Greeks during the battle. The Greeks probably had 300 warships with 200 men each, with marines numbering anywhere between 14 to 40 per ship, or 3,300 to 11,000 hoplites and 18,000 to 45,000 auxiliaries (i.e., lightly armed rowers who probably did not fight, or if they did, only as skirmishers). The actual number was probably between these extremes. The Persians marched out from a strong defensive position and engaged the Greeks. The Persians gave up any tactical advantage and met the heavily armed Greek hoplites, who were superior on land. The Athenians and their allies formed on the right wing near the sea and marched over even territory toward the Persian camp. The Spartans on the left wing had to traverse the rocky terrain, which took more time to advance compared to those on the plain near the sea. The Athenians engaged the Persians, who held their ground for a bit, but the Athenians desired to achieve a complete victory before the Spartan wing arrived, so they continued to press them hard. The Persians finally broke and fled to their camp. The Athenians followed, breaching the camp before it could close. Many of the Persian troops fled except for the Medes and Persians. At this point, the Spartan wing arrived and attacked the rear of the camp. During the battle, the disarmed Samians attacked the Persians, presumably when the fighting was happening in the camp, and the other Ionians went over to the Greeks. Herodotus indicated that the fighting was hard and casualties heavy, but when the Persian camp was taken, the Persian fleet was burned and destroyed by the Greeks. The victory was complete. After the Battle of Mycale ended, the Greeks sailed to the Hellespont to destroy Xerxes’s great bridge, but when they arrived, they found it already destroyed. The Spartans returned home, while the Athenians attacked Sestos and encouraged other Greek cities to revolt. This led to the formation of the Delian League. The twin battles of Plataea and Mycale ended the Persian threat for Greece. Without a significant army and navy, Persia could not retake the initiative. Both battles showed the superiority of the Greek hoplite system over the Persians, an observation begun at Marathon ten years earlier. Although it was uncertain at the time that Xerxes would not come back, the liberation of the Greeks from Persia began at Mycale.

Mycenae 375 See also: Delian League; Persian Wars; Plataea

Further Reading

Burn, A. R. 1984. Persia and the Greeks: The Defence of the West, c.546–478 B.C. Postscript by D. M. Lewis. 2nd ed. London: Duckworth. Green, Peter, and Peter Green. 1996. The Greco-Persian Wars. Berkeley: University of California Press. Holland, Tom. 2007. Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West. New York: Anchor Books. Lazenby, J. F. 1993. The Defence of Greece, 490–479 B.C. Warminster, UK: Aris & Phillips. Olmstead, A. T. 1948. History of the Persian Empire. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. For a discussion of the battle, see Rickard, J., “Battle of Mycale, 479 BC,” July 21, 2015, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_mycale.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Mycenae The Mycenaean period covered the final stages of the Late Bronze Age, similar to the Late Minoan period, as well as the New Kingdom in Egypt, roughly the period 1500 to 1100. Known in antiquity as being rich in gold, the Mycenaean civilization flourished. This period witnessed the rise of the Greek mainland cities and their ultimate domination over Crete during the Late Helladic II and III, corresponding to the Late Minoan II and III.

Lion gate at Mycenae. (Larisa Irimeeva/Dreamstime.com)

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The development of Mycenaean culture and mythology is closely intertwined. The period and culture took their name from the city of Mycenae, in the Argolis of the Peloponnese. Other fortress-palaces were located at Tiryns, Pylos, and Thebes. These centers were dominant, and around them sprang up less-fortified sites, which probably submitted to them as overlords but were still independent and free, even though they did owe some kind of fealty and service. Around these sites arose sophisticated metalwork, such as gold making, seen in grave goods. The Mycenaeans were known as seamen, having established outposts throughout the eastern Mediterranean. These commercial interactions probably brought them into conflict with other cities in Asia Minor, perhaps including Troy, which had become a great commercial center. The story of the Trojan War contained in the Iliad may have been based upon a real-life fight between rival commercial powers rather than being about a kidnapped woman. The war coincided with a general period of migration and convulsion in the eastern Mediterranean, such as the fall of the Hittites and other kingdoms. Mycenae was strategically located on a hill overlooking the sea twelve miles away. It commanded the approach to and from the Isthmus of Corinth and overlooked the Argive plain. It had an impressive stone walls and a monumental gate, called the Lion Gate due to the relief figures placed above the entry. This triangular base of two lions opposite a pillar formed the upper lintel, a common motif, and occurred in other smaller friezes throughout the Mycenaean period; the motif may point to a cult figure, a lion, for the society. This same depiction of a pillar is

Mycenae and the Trojan War The story of the Trojan War is also wrapped up with Mycenae. Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, had married Clytemnestra, the sister of Helen of Troy. They had four children—a son, Orestes, and three daughters, Iphigenia, Electra, and Chrysothemis. The most famous version of the war had it beginning with the abduction of Helen, wife of Menelaus, the king of Sparta, by Paris, the prince of Troy. Menelaus called upon his brother, Agamemnon, to help him. Agamemnon collected a great army and sailed to Troy. He could not sail to Troy at first since the Greeks had offended the goddess Artemis, who demanded that he sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. This act earned him the hatred of his wife, who took a lover and conspired against him. The story has the Greek army remaining at Troy for ten years before it finally succeeded. During the war, Agamemnon is recognized as the great king who directed the battle, but also acted arrogantly, such as when he took his comrade Achilles’s slave and refused to give her back, causing the Greeks to lose until he and Achilles reconciled. Agamemnon was recognized as a great warrior, praised even by Achilles. With the fall of Troy, he took Cassandra, the prophetess whom no one believed, as his prize and returned home. Upon his return, Cassandra warned him of danger, but of course he refused to believe her prediction, and his wife and her lover, Aegisthus, Agamemnon’s cousin, killed him while he bathed. With the death of Agamemnon, Aegisthus ruled until he and Clytemnestra were killed by Orestes, Clytemenestra’s son. Forced to flee and hunted by the Furies, Orestes went to Athens, where he was acquitted of regicide and matricide by the Athenians and returned to rule. The fall of Mycenae took place after Orestes came back.

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also found on Crete, but here the pillar is a goddess. The fortress-palace walls were thick and high. The orientation of the gate forced the attackers to present their unprotected side (nonshielded), thus opening themselves to attack from above. Below the citadel, a series of houses were situated among some of the grave circle, which was the original graves of the earlier leaders. The houses were well constructed, and archaeological finds show that they possessed fine ivory and metal goods, suggesting that they may have been used for crafts. They may also point to palace workings; one house was called the “House of the Oil Merchant” due to the number of amphorae located there, and like other palaces, it related to the commercial activities of the palace. From the Lion Gate (also known as the West Gate), a monumental ramp led to the palace on the citadel or acropolis. The hill was terraced, and the choicest section for views was given over to the royal apartments. The public areas had the colonnade and then a vestibule, followed by the Megaron, Great Court, and Throne Room. The religion of Mycenae appears to follow those of Crete in the general outline but not as pronounced. Unlike Crete, with its prevalence of the double ax, Mycenae does not have many examples, and there does not appear to be any temples or cult rooms. But like Crete, the most common figures depicted nature or fertility goddesses. There are some references and examples of the early Olympian gods, the most notable of which is Poseidon, found at Pylos. Zeus and Hera appear at Pylos and Crete. While fewer Linear B tablets were discovered at Mycenae as at Pylos, this may in fact be due to the archive rooms not being found (they likely may have been destroyed). The tablets that do survive, there and at other palaces, relate to day-today activities. The wanax, or chief monarch, and the various official under him show a sophisticated palace administration. The tablets also show outlying areas, including minor palaces, acting and communicating with the central palace. These palaces could provide security for the region, offering outlook positions near the coast and provisions for the central palace. The tablets show that the palaces were concerned with the production of weapons, probably for the outfitting of the palace guard and the king’s forces, which were needed to maintain order and protect commercial life. The tablets show some of the social structures of the nobility. The wanax was supreme, with the lawagetas, or leaders of the people, who were probably commanders of the king’s army; and also the hepetai, who appear to be like the later hetairoi, or companions who advised the wanax in peace and war. In addition, the basileus were probably lesser kings, or more likely governors who controlled some of the outlying palaces and later developed into kings during the Dark Ages. There were a large number of palaces, as seen in excavations and tholoi tombs, attesting to a prosperity that would not be seen again until after the Dark Ages. Around 1300, the walls of Mycenae were replaced with a new wall of dressed stone laid out in a regular pattern that encompassed the Circle A graves. The culture of Mycenae was influenced by the Minoans. The early period shows the Minoans’ free-flowing style. This in turn transitioned to a stabler system, with less creativity. Shaft graves were discovered, with immense treasures of gold in six graves, as well as a large number of weapons; these graves were labeled Circle A. Another set of earlier shaft graves, Circle B, were found nearby, some of which

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overlapped with Circle A. Circle A graves, probably royal due to the increased wealth they contained, were included in the palace compound and had reconstructions into monuments in the sixteenth century, while the Circle B graves, those of nobles, were neglected. These were replaced for the nobility with the tholos tomb, the most famous of which was the Tomb of Atreus. Often called a beehive tomb, it was made of concentric circles of stone that narrowed at the top and was covered with a large stone roof, all covered in a mound and approached by a 20 foot wide by 110 foot long and 30 foot high dromos (passageway), with a cement floor. The economy was not self-sufficient. Although they were able to feed themselves by growing local grain, raising cattle, and other natural resources, the Mycenaean states could not supply their own raw materials for weapons and other crafts. Greece had no tin and little copper for making bronze, requiring them to trade with other regions, such as the Lipari Islands in the west and Asia Minor. This can be seen when, around 1400, Mycenaean pottery superseded Minoan pottery in Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, and other eastern sites. This trade allowed gold from Nubia to make it to Mycenae via Egypt, while textiles arrived from Syria. Cyprus provided Mycenae with copper, and it established colonies on Rhodes, Cos, and the mainland. It is probable that Mycenae controlled the nearby palaces, while those farther away, such as Thebes, Athens, and Pylos, probably deferred to them and even were persuaded by them, but were not subservient to them. Other Mycenaean sites in southern Greece are well known. The most important were at Pylos and Tiryns, near the Gulf of Argolis. Tiryns stands on a long rock about a mile and half from the sea and appears to have been settled before Mycenae. It had a strong wall for defense, and inside was a great palace. The main entrance was well defended. The palace had a large courtyard, with a gate leading to an inner courtyard, where an altar was located. From there, the hall led into the main megaron, while off this room was a small megaron and a separate courtyard. The rooms contained frescoes, and the palace had more than one level. Another palace was in Messenia in western Greece at Pylos. It too had a great courtyard and megaron. Found here were Linear B tablets, which help explain some of the palace’s workings. The palace had over thirty great storage jars in two great rooms behind the megaron. This may have been the site of Nestor’s palace mentioned in Homer’s Iliad. The general invasions of the late Bronze Age resulted in the destruction of numerous regions. The ancient Greeks called this set of invasions the Dorian invasion. Modern scholars have attempted to identify who these Dorians may have been. One theory is the Dorian invasion can be identified with the Sea Peoples which destroyed the Hittite kingdom in Asia Minor and then attacked in Egypt where the term Sea Peoples is used. This theory argues that a general migration took place during this time throughout the eastern Mediterranean. In Greece, the invasion came from the north over a series of generations (perhaps over a century), and the Bronze Age civilization was overrun. Another theory had internal strife as the main force behind the destruction, while others argue that it was due to climatic forces, such as decreased rainfall and drought. Mycenae was destroyed about 1250 and was never rebuilt. It is unclear if this was due to internal conflict, local uprisings by other Mycenaean powers, or a foreign invasion. Within fifty years, the other palace-fortresses were also destroyed, and Greece descended into



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a period without producing any writing or sophisticated cultural development. The destruction of Mycenaean culture is closely associated with the fall of Troy, and the two may have been caused by the general migrations that occurred during the late Bronze Age. See also: Argos; Bronze Age; Burials; Homeric Age; Linear B; Minoan; Peloponnese; Pylos; Sparta; Troy

Further Reading

Cartledge, P. 2009. Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kakourē, Athēna, Robert A. McCabe, John Guare, E. B. French, and Daniel Fallu. 2016. Mycenae: From Myth to History. New York: Abbeville Press. Mylonas, George E. 1966. Mycenae and the Mycenaean Age. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Wace, A. J. B. 1949. Mycenae: An Archaeological History and Guide. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. For an introduction to Mycenenae with illustration, see Hemingway, Colette and Seán Hemingway, “Mycenaean Civilization,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2003), https://www.metmuseum.org/toah / hd /myce/ hd_myce.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Mystery Religions In ancient Greece there were the state religions of each city and mystery religions, which could be state or individual. State religious services provided protection for the city. These were often the typical Olympian gods, such as Athena for Athens, Apollo for Delphi, or Poseidon for Corinth. The State Religion festivals were open to the state’s citizens and were meant to encompass society and its response to issues. Opposed to them were the mystery religions, which were meant to be secret and open only to those who had been initiated. These initiates would have knowledge that the general public did not have, and by knowing these secrets, they would receive favors from the

Relief fragment from the Great Eleusinian Mysteries. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art/ Rogers Fund, 1914)

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Human Sacrifice by the Athenians While human sacrifice was known in the Greek world, it was not commonly practiced. Some authors described human sacrifice to mystery religions such as to Dionysus (Bacchus). Before the Battle of Salamis, it was said that the god Bacchus required a sacrifice of Persian captives. While Herodotus omitted the story, Plutarch, in his (Life of Themistocles), a Greek writing under the Roman Empire, described it as shown in the following extract. When Themistocles was about to sacrifice, close to the admiral’s galley, there were three prisoners brought to him, fine looking men, and richly dressed in ornamented clothing and gold, said to be the children of Artayctes and Sandauce, sister to Xerxes. As soon as the prophet Euphrantides saw them, and observed that at the same time the fire blazed out from the offerings with a more than ordinary flame, and that a man sneezed on the right, which was an intimation of a fortunate event, he took Themistocles by the hand, and bade him consecrate the three young men for sacrifice, and offer them up with prayers for victory to Bacchus the Devourer: so should the Greeks not only save themselves, but also obtain victory. Themistocles was much disturbed at this strange and terrible prophecy, but the common people, who, in any difficult crisis and great exigency, ever look for relief rather to strange and extravagant than to reasonable means, calling upon Bacchus with one voice, led the captives to the altar, and compelled the execution of the sacrifice as the prophet had commanded. This is reported by Phanias the Lesbian, a philosopher well read in history. Source: Plutarch, and John Dryden. Corrected from the Greek and revised by Arthur Hugh Clough in 5 volumes. 1906. Plutarch’s Lives: The Translation Called Dryden’s. Boston: Little Brown and Co., Volume 1, p. 247.

particular gods. They usually progressed to understanding the ideas of attaining salvation in the afterlife. One of the earliest mystery religions was dedicated to the worship of Demeter and the Elysian Mysteries near Athens, which dated to the Mycenaean period, 1200; this became a popular belief in the Athenian city as a counter to the traditional Olympian gods and goddesses. The cult ultimately received official recognition by the city of Athens. Festivals were held outside of Athens each year, with the major festival held every five years. Ultimately, Athens took over official sponsorship, increasing the number of initiates and opening the religion to anyone not guilty of murder and/or being a barbarian (i.e., not speaking Greek). The myths show the three facets of Demeter and Persephone’s mystery: the descent (Persephone’s capture by Hades), the search (Demeter looking for her daughter), and the ascent (Persephone returning from the Underworld). This latter phase was the high point of the festival, when Persephone is reunited with her mother Demeter who returns the Earth to abundance. Its antiquity is demonstrated where the participants celebrated Potnia (the goddess of nature), mentioned in Mycenaean texts. While the celebrations did not mean that the initiative would be immortal, it was instead hoped that they would achieve a higher level in the afterworld. The Athenians who took over the celebrations separated them into the Lesser and Greater Mysteries festivals. The Lesser Mysteries were under the Archon

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Basileus during the month of Anthesteria, when initiates offered sacrifice to Demeter and Persephone and, upon their acceptance, could then take part in the Greater Mysteries celebrations. The tyrant Pisistratus transferred to Athens the Greater Mysteries, which took place in the month of Boedromion during late summer for ten days. The celebration had the transfer of the cult statue and other objects from Eleusis to Athens. The participants would make the procession back to Eleusis along the Sacred Way, where upon their arrival, they would celebrate the festival all night and take a special drink. This was then followed with the initiates taking part in the reenactment of the tale of Demeter and Persephone, the showing of the sacred objects, and the singing or saying of prayers. The initiates were sworn not to reveal the secrets, under punishment of death. Since the sentence was death for revealing their rites, only the basics are known today. After this came the Mysteries’ climax, which may have been a public speech and ceremony or a private meditation, perhaps helped along with psychotropic drugs in the drink. The ceremony ended with an all-night feast and commemoration of the dead. Another popular religion was the worship of Dionysus. Known from Mycenaean records, Dionysus was the god of wine, theater, and fertility. The worship also included the Dionysia, a large Athenian festival instituted by Pisistratus and were a crucial component of the Dionysian Mysteries. These rituals included dancing, singing, and drinking to produce orgiastic experiences. These acts often allowed marginalized groups to find relief from the constraints of social stratification. To participate in the mysteries, adherents had to be initiated into the secret rites, providing the means to find salvation. The rites celebrated the birth and death themes found in the Eleusinian Mysteries. In these rituals, everyone was seen as equal, unlike the traditional state religion, which favored the wealthy. Mystery religions provided members of society, especially the disenfranchised to find salvation. See also: Olympic Religion; Religion; Temples; Theater

Further Reading

Clinton, Kevin. 1974. The Sacred Officials of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. Cosmopoulos, Michael B. 2015. Bronze Age Eleusis and the Origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries. New York: Cambridge University Press. Mylonas, George E. 1961. Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. For background information on the Mysteries, see Harris, Tom, The Eleusinian ­Mysteries, Hellenic Museum, September 2021, https://www.hellenic.org.au/post/the-eleusinian -mysteries (accessed on May 9, 2022).

Mytilene The island of Lesbos, off the coast of Asia Minor, was settled by the Aeolians during the Dark Ages, with five major towns emerging. The most important of these was Mytilene, which dominated but did not control the island until the Classical

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Age. The location was originally on an island, but over time, silt and accretions joined it to the mainland, and the city continued to grow up and around the region’s bay, which allowed for two good harbors on the trade routes with the East and the West. The city had a part of the trade consortium for Naucratis in Egypt. Originally, Mytilene was governed by monarchs said to have been descendants of Orestes, the son of Agamemnon. The monarchy’s clan then formed an oligarchic aristocratic government that ruled until about 650, when it was overthrown and a period of violence ensued. The city was led by the tyrant Melanchrus, who was slain by the leading families and replaced by Pittacus, who led the city against Athens for control of the region of the Hellespont at Sigeum. Mytilene seems to have had three factions: the aristocrats, a group led by the house of the Cleanactidae, and a larger group (although probably not the demos) led by Myrsilus and then Melanchrus. When the latter died, he was replaced by Pittacus, who was elected for a ten-year term as a tyrant in 590 and was praised for his deeds and general goodwill toward the state. He banished the aristocratic group and reconciled with the other factions, or at least treated them with respect. After his ten-year rule, he resigned and retired. After his rule, Pisistratus of Athens forced the Mytileneans out of Sigeum; and then Polycrates of Samos defeated Mytilene since Mytilene had helped Miletus in its struggles against Samos and Polycrates desired to punish them. When Darius I attacked Scythia in 513, a Mytilenean named Coes helped him and was rewarded by being elevated to a tyrant. His rule, however, must not have been welcome, given that he was stoned to death by his countrymen when the Ionian revolt occurred in 499. After the Persian Wars, Mytilene joined the Delian League as an independent state with an oligarchic government. As a large city with extensive resources, Mytilene contributed ships. This provided it with a certain amount of latitude and allowed it to remain relatively independent. As the league turned into an empire, Athens demanded more and more from all of its members, including that they give up their ability to engage in independent foreign relations. When the Peloponnesian War broke out, Mytilene had no particular grudge against Sparta, but it probably supported Athens, or at least did not try to interfere. When the plague hit Athens and devastated the city, including killing Pericles, the Athenians were hard pressed. In addition, the Spartans invaded Attica each year. In 428, the fourth year of the war, Mytilene and Lesbos, except for the town of Methymna, rebelled. There does not seem to have been a particular reason for the uprising, unlike other cities that had resources that Athens wanted or political demands to change their government; Mytilene and its oligarchy had always been well treated by Athens. The revolt, then, was a shock to Athens. It appears that Mytilene may have objected to Athens continuing to exert control of the subject allies’ foreign relations, and their ships were being used for Athenian gains and not their own. With nearby Samos reduced from an independent state to a subject, Mytilene may have believed that the same situation would occur for them. The revolt was not well planned, with Athens learning about it before Mytilene could close off the harbor with a mole and chain, an artificial pier stretching into the harbor with a chain attached and when raised could prevent ships from

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entering the harbor. The Mytileneans did learn that the Athenians had sent a fleet to subdue them. Mytilene made a plea to Sparta for help, which agreed to but never followed through, other than sending an envoy, Salaethus, to reassure the Mytileneans. The towns of Pyrrha, Eresus, and Antissa joined with Mytilene into a single political unit, a process called synoecism, with Methymna independent. This was similar to Athens and Attica. The Athenians realized that if Mytilene succeeded, then all of Asia Minor might break out in rebellion. The Athenians, hard pressed from the ravages of the plague, were forced to institute a war tax on property to raise funds for a new fleet. Ultimately, with no Spartan help for Mytilene, the Athenians took Mytilene in 427. The leaders of the rebellion and Salaethus were taken to Athens, with the latter immediately executed. In the Assembly, the people of Athens took the extraordinary step of condemning all of Mytilene, ordering all the men to be executed and the women and children enslaved. This was a unique and harsh punishment, showing how the Athenians felt that Mytilene had completely betrayed Athens in its darkest hour. After the sentence was passed, a warship was dispatched to the island with the order for execution. When the Assembly broke up, there was an immediate second-guessing among many Athenians. The leader of the war party, Cleon, had stirred up the Athenian indignation against its ally, to punish them and teach them a lesson. With the change, the envoys from Mytilene successfully got some Athenians to reopen the case the next day. Cleon again spoke in favor of the death sentence, stating that Athens must instill fear and punish without mercy their allies that break the rules. Opposed to Cleon was Diodotus, who countered that unabashed imperialism and hard line. He did not say that the original sentence was invalid and in fact stated that the Mytileneans deserved death; but he said it was not good policy. It did not matter what Mytilene deserves but rather what Athens deserves. He indicated that the sentence of death would not deter its allies from rebelling; further, if a city knows that it will suffer this kind of punishment for rebellion, it will hold out as long as it could before surrendering, which would cost Athens more, and when the city did surrender it would be a complete wasteland. In addition, the oligarchs started the rebellion, not the popular party; if everyone was executed, then other popular parties will see how Athens treats their allies and rebel as well. The vote was close, but Diodotus convinced the Athenians of the wisdom of the new sentence to spare the citizens from execution. A new warship set out, but it was not clear that they would arrive in time to forestall the executions. The envoys from Mytilene gave supplies and promised awards for them if they arrived in time, and the second ship sailed without stopping. The first ship, which took its time due to the crew’s apprehension about the sentence, arrived only a short time before the second, so it managed to cancel the death sentence. Instead, Mytilene would lose its walls, ships, while its land was given to the Athenian cleruchs, but the Mytileneans would still live there and work the land. In 412, when the general rebellion in Asia Minor against Athens began, Mytilene and the rest of Lesbos joined the Spartans. Although Athens would win back Mytilene, it was again lost after the disaster at Arginusae when the Athenian fleet was scattered. Lysander and his Spartans ultimately took over the region.

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After the Peloponnesian War, Mytilene joined the Second Athenian Empire as one of its early members. With the downfall of Athens, Mytilene remained independent. Alexander the Great’s invasion of Asia Minor caused the Persians to attempt to take over some of the islands in hope of fomenting rebellion. Memnon of Rhodes, a Persian admiral, besieged Mytilene, and although he died in the fighting, the city surrendered to Persia. This was the last time that Persia would control the city, for after Alexander’s victory over Darius III at Issus in 333, ­Mytilene became free again. See also: Athenian Empire; Cleruchy; Delian League; Peloponnesian War; Samos; Tyrant

Further Reading

Gillis, Daniel. 1971. “The Revolt at Mytilene.” American Journal of Philology 92: 38–47. Kagan, Donald. 1987. The Archidamian War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Nichols, M. P. 2015. Thucydides and the Pursuit of Freedom. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Schmidt, M. 2005. The First Poets: Lives of the Ancient Greek Poets. New York: Vintage Books. For a discussion on the rebellion, see Rickard, J., “Siege of Mytilene, 428–427 BC,” June 16, 2011, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_mytilene.html http://www .historyofwar.org/articles/siege_mytilene.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

N Names Every culture has a different way of expressing its personal names, and in antiquity the two major Western societies, Greece and Rome, show the divergence that developed. The study of names is called anthroponomastics, derived from anthro meaning human and onoma meaning name. In Rome, the system of names influenced Western societies with modifications, but it has the general parameters of a praenomen, conveniently called a common or first name such as Michael, Susan, or George, and then a nomen or proper or family name such as Lincoln, Washington, or Smith. The Romans developed a limited number of praenomens and nomens coming from tribes, regions, or ancient families. The Greeks created a different system; typically, they had one name, although they might have put describers such as the father’s name or region. It was only with the arrival of the Romans that the Greeks began to adopt multiple names, but this practice never became universal. Although the Greeks typically only used one name, seen also during the early Indo-European periods such as the Mycenean age, it was not uncommon to add an identifier to the person, particularly the grandfather’s name or patronymic in the genitive case showing possession, so that it became Cimon, son of Miltiades. Another attribute might be the addition of a particular city or region, such as a deme. Most Greeks would not have the same name as their father, but there were exceptions; one example is the great orator Demosthenes, son of Demosthenes. Often, they would take the name of their grandfather as a way to distinguish themselves from their father. Traditionally, the eldest son was named after the paternal grandfather, while the second was named after the maternal grandfather or another male relative. There are examples of Greek names from other parts of the ­Mediterranean that include the simple common name and then a second name, “also known as” X or Y. The names followed the regular pattern of declensions for masculine and feminine forms. Greek names could also be derivatives of simple attributes such as colors, animals, body parts, or even personal natural characteristics such as beauty or ugliness. These names as recorded may have been nicknames, even if they were somewhat disrespectful, and not their actual name. Compound names occurred with the union of two ideas such as horse and victory, battle and strong, or wise and glory, as seen in names such as Sophokles from Sophos (“wise”) and kleos (“glory”). These compound names allowed the growth of differentiation of names. A name might be shortened from a compound name, such as Nikias, coming from Nikostratros (“victory”). Some names came from the names of gods or Theophoric, which has the name of the god embedded to invoke their care, such as Dionysios

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and Demetrios from the gods Dionysus and Demeter, respectively. Most gods were well represented except for Ares and Hades, the gods of war and the Underworld (as one might expect). Many of the Mycenaean names found in the Homeric poems, such as Agamemnon, Achilles, and Odysseus, were not commonly found in the Classical Age. In the Doric area, the names often had the suffix idas, meaning “son of,” so that Leonidas meant “son of Lion”; or the suffix ion, meaning a diminutive, such as Hephaestion (“little Hephaestus”). Women were named more as the daughter or wife of a person, usually a male. On gravestones, the name occurs as wife or daughter of husband or father with their own name, so Socrates’ wife (Xanthippe) would have on her gravestone: Xanthippe, wife of Socrates. It is from the examination of gravestones that the name of the woman or young girl was actually known, especially for the common inhabitants. Many of the forms came from the masculine names changed to the feminine. A similar idea of the use of the neutered form of ion, now as iwn for the diminutive was used, such as “little one.” Greek names tended to form based on family names handed down from their ancestors due to tradition and honoring the family history. See also: Athens; Family; Social Status

Further Reading

Parker, Robert. 2019. Changing Names: Tradition and Innovation in Ancient Greek Onomastics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. For a detailed discussion of Greek names, see “Lexicon of Greek Personal Names,” Stelios Ioannou School for Research in Classical and Byzantine Studies, Oxford, UK, http://www.lgpn.ox.ac.uk/names/index.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Navy During the fifth century, a revolution in military practice took place with the development of the trireme, a new warship that propelled the Greeks to victory over the Persians and became the most advanced naval ship in the Athenian Empire. Navies still maintained the penteconter, or ships with twenty-five sailors and one helmsman in one line on each side, and the bireme, which had two banks of rowers. From vase paintings before 700, the penteconter was first shown, and during the next century, it became the dominant warship in the Greek world. Fastmoving, they had a single-pronged ram on the bow, made of bronze. The penteconter had twenty-four rowers and one helmsman on each side in two lines and two steering rudders on the stern. Although strong, the ship was too long and slender to maintain its steadiness and was vulnerable to rough seas. In addition, it was hard to maneuver. The next innovation was the bireme. It too had twenty-four rowers on each side, but now they were placed in two rows, one above the other, so that twelve were along the gunwale and twelve were below them rowing through holes in the hull. This allowed the ship to be shorter and faster. It appears that this ship was invented by the Phoenicians, and it was more maneuverable than the penteconter, and with its increased speed, it could provide greater force when ramming. Its smaller size

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also presented a smaller target for enemy ships. Thucydides indicates that the last type of warship developed, the trireme, was a Corinthian invention. It is probable that although it was invented in the seventh century, it did not gain widespread use until the mid-sixth century. The trireme, with three banks of rowers, allowed ships to gain in speed and maneuverability, but it required extensive training to operate. The new fleets began to come into prominence around 525, when Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, sent forty triremes to help the Persians fight the Egyptians. Once the trireme was viewed as the new ship of the line, it was extensively used throughout the Greek world. It had two rows of twenty-seven rowers at each of the two levels, and then a third row was superimposed, with thirty-one rowers on either side seated three to a bench, with each rower pulling an individual oar for a total of 170 rowers. The top rowers had the most work to do since they had the longest oars, and using them required more synchronization than the other two rows. The bottom rowers were not only beneath the other two rows of oarsmen, but they were at the water line, so they had to deal with water entering through their oar holes. The bottom two rows of oarsmen could not see the water, so they rowed blindly. This new ship required great coordination of events and required the rowers to practice. Most likely, the signals to row were based on gestures since the noise generated by the rowers and the sea were too loud to hear voice commands. Ancient literary reference is made to chants being used and this may have been to create a regular rhythm or cycle for the rowers. The trireme had a larger bronze ram with had three prongs instead of the one prong for the bireme. The trireme had a deck for marines, with fourteen spearmen and four archers. This ship’s crew also included twenty-five petty officers and five senior officers. The ancient navies used several strategies so their ships could overcome enemy fleets. The main plan was for a ship to ram an enemy ship to disable it. The ram (embolon) was a piece of metal on the prow, just below the water line, which would punch a hole in the hull of an enemy ship. It was common to attack the enemy ship in the rear, where it was not only most vulnerable but also presented the largest target. Another strategy was for the ship to come up beside the enemy ship, retract its oars, and then ram the enemy’s oars to break them off, disabling the ship so it could be attacked later. If the ship hit a foe at an angle, the damage could be quite extensive, not only due to the force but the angle producing a ripping effect along the hull. The typical strategy when engaging the enemy was to get the upper hand by having the fleet sail around the enemy fleet and attack from the rear. The fleet would attempt to send some of their ships around one or both sides while the center held the enemy in check. This way, the attackers could move past the flanks and then wheel about, attacking the enemy in the rear. This tactic was called the periplous (“sailing around”). Another tactic was the diekplous (“sailing through”). This strategy concentrated a number of ships in one spot and then attacked the enemy line, punching a hole in the line by sinking a few ships and then allowing some of the attacking fleet to sail through and then wheel about and attack the enemy in the rear. Also, if the enemy fleet incurred a hole, then the attacking fleet would effectively cut the fleet in half, allowing it to deal with both groups more effectively as two smaller fleets.

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The defending fleet would attempt to counter these attacks by arranging itself in a half-circle or crescent-shaped moon called the menoeides kyklos. Here, the defending fleet would draw in the center with their wings in front to pull the attackers into the middle and then they would attack them on the sides and envelop them. Or they would use the inverted moon shape to prevent the enemy from being able to sail around their flanks unopposed. Another defensive tactic was the kyklos (“circle”), where the defenders would arrange themselves in a circle with their prows sticking outward so as to protect the ships from attack and prevent the enemy from coming in at an angle to deliver a critical hit. In these maneuvers, it was important for the ships to have speed and agility. Whichever side could gain these attributes would often win. During the Persian War, the Athenians defeated the Persian fleet at Salamis by luring the Persians into the narrow straits using the shores to protect them from being outflanked, while using their faster and more agile ships to ram the Persian ships. The narrow straits hemmed in the Persian fleet nullifying their superior numbers and preventing heir maneuverability. The Greek ships only needed to neutralize the advancing group to force the Persian fleet to a standstill; and without the ability to maneuver, the Persians could not turn and attack the Greeks who also came in from the sides. Unlike land battles, in which the casualties were often small (no more than 15 percent of forces), at sea the losses were usually extensive. When a ship sank, many of the crew could not escape in time, and since each ship had a contingent of nearly 200 sailors, the loss of just five ships could be traumatic. Many of the victims died of drowning, and after the Battle of Arginusae, where the Athenians won but bad weather capsized a portion of their fleet, the sailors could not be rescued, and six Athenian generals were executed for incompetence. Those who did not drown but were captured were often executed on land or maimed, such as having their right hand or thumb cut off so they could not row or be sold into slavery. The loss of a fleet could result in the loss of thousands of men. Since the ships were rowed by citizens and not slaves, this reduced the power of the entire city.

How a Land Army Defeated a Naval Power at Sea During the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians were known as the best sailors, and under Pericles, their strategy was to outlast and exhaust the Spartans. By not engaging in land battles but rather sailing their fleet around the Peloponnese and attacking wherever they wished, the Athenians could use their hit-and-run tactics to turn the war in their favor. The Spartans ultimately realized that to defeat the Athenians, they would need a fleet themselves. Their alliance with the Persians, who supplied the Spartans with funds to build a navy, was crucial. The Spartans, however, used a strategy of not attacking in the open sea; rather, they used their ships to pin the Athenians near the shore. Their victories then came when they attacked the Athenians on land when they had their ships beached, such as at the Battle of Aegospotami, where the Spartans caught the Athenians off guard when they were foraging. In essence, the Spartans attempted to turn a sea battle into a land battle. The same thing happened at Syracuse in 413, where the Athenian fleet was forced to retreat to land and its ships were attacked by forces from both land and sea, resulting in its total destruction.

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Naval battles could range from a small squadron of 30 ships to a large flotilla of 200 ships. The battles in the fifth century determined the outcome of the great contests between Greece and Persia, and later between Athens and Sparta. See also: Aegospotami, Battle of; Arginusae, Battle of; Athenian Empire; Athens; Delian League; Military Ships; Mycale, Battle of; Phoenicia; Rhodes; Salamis, Battle of; Sicilian Expedition; Syracuse; Thasos; Weapons

Further Reading

Simpson, R. Hope, and J. F. Lazenby. 1970. The Catalogue of the Ships in Homer’s Iliad. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Strauss, Barry S. 2004. The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece —and Western Civilization. New York: Simon & Schuster. Wallinga, H. T. 1992. Ships and Sea-Power Before the Great Persian War: The Ancestry of the Ancient Trireme. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill. For an overview of the Athenian navy and its power, see “The Athenian Navy,” American School of Classical Studies, http://www.agathe.gr/democracy/the_athenian_navy .html (accessed May 11, 2021).

Naxos Naxos, which in earlier times had a large population, was the most fertile and largest of the Cycladic islands. The island was known for its statuary of the Naxian Stone, a gray-colored marble with calcite giving it a blue-gray shimmer depending on the light. The Naxians were known for their art, which they exported to the other Cycladic islands. The original inhabitants were said to have been from either Caria or Thrace; the Cretans or Minoans were then said to have arrived, establishing dominance on the island. The island was well poised for Eastern trade and became an important Mycenaean outpost. The island was known for its wine production and its relationship to the supposed birthplace of the god Dionysus. It was also on Naxos that Dionysus met his Cretan bride Ariadne, who had been abandoned by Theseus. Naxos was associated with the city of Chalcis on the island of Euboea and supported them in their war against Eretria in the Lelantine War around 700. Oligarchs or wealthy nobles, derisively called “the fat ones,” originally ruled the island. One of them, Lygdamis, established a tyranny with the help of the Athenian tyrant Pisistratus in 545. About twenty years later, with the help of a Spartan army, his opponents drove Lygdamis out and the oligarchic government was reestablished. The island then grew in prosperity and could field an army of nearly 8,000 hoplites and a large fleet as well, allowing them to become a power in the eastern Aegean. As with many of the Greek city-states, competition within the ruling party created dissensions and division. Naxos’s wealth and strategic position made it a target of Persia and its subject Miletus, ruled by its tyrant Aristagoras. When some Naxian exiles went to the Persians and Miletus for help, Aristagoras was only too eager to help. Sending a fleet composed of Persians, Milesians, and exiles, they failed to take the island after a four-month siege. Aristagoras, humiliated after this setback, helped lead the Ionian rebellion to keep

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from being replaced as punishment. Naxos joined the Ionian Revolt, and in 490, when the Persians sailed across the Aegean to attack the Athenians, they destroyed the city of Naxos, which controlled the island of Naxos. After this, the Naxians rebuilt their city and once again, their island prospered as it joined the Delian League and Athens after the Persian defeats at Plataea and Mycale. During the next twenty years, the island supported the mission of the league in its campaign against Persia. In 469, Naxos believed that the league had accomplished its task and that it was becoming an Athenian empire, so it decided it wanted to leave. The Athenians under Cimon reduced the island, forcing it to become part of their empire. The island lost its independence, and by the 450s, an Athenian colony or cleruchy was established. After the Peloponnesian War, the island was allied first with Sparta. In 376, an Athenian fleet destroyed the Spartan fleet, making Naxos vulnerable. It then became less crucial to the political life of the Aegean, especially after Alexander’s conquest of Asia Minor when other islands and cities could contribute more to Alexander’s army and fleet. See also: Cyclades; Delian League; Ionian Revolt; Mycenae; Samos

Further Reading

Lemos, I. S., and Antonis Kotsonas. 2020. A Companion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Robinson, Eric W. 2011. Democracy Beyond Athens: Popular Government in Classical Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Robinson, E. W. 1997. The First Democracies: Early Popular Government Outside ­Athens. Stuttgart: F. Steiner.

O Officials Athens provides the best and most complete example of known government officials in ancient Greece. This is in part due to a later pamphlet, ascribed to Aristotle, entitled “The Athenian Constitution,” which described the working of the government and its officials. At the deme level, the local unit for the democracy, was the demarch, which might be akin to the mayor of a town or city. He held office for a year, and he probably was not able to hold it more than once. This was the one officer common to all demes; other offices such as accountants, treasurers, and secretaries were found in some demes, but not all. Their roles were not only to lighten the burden for the demarch, but probably to keep tabs on his authority. The demarch was the link between the local community and the central government and the entire population. In addition to keeping the deme register, he presided over the local deme assembly, collected any special taxes, received the first fruits for the Eleusinian Festival, enforced debt collections, provided funerals when needed, and administered other local functions needed to run the local demes. The demarch’s authority and duties fell into those specifically mandated by the central government (i.e., the Assembly, which was uniform throughout all the demes), and those functions that the local demes controlled, which varied from deme to deme. At the central level, there were a variety of state offices. Here, the selection of officers was divided into two types, those filled by lot and those elected. Those that were filled by lot could be carried out by any Athenian citizen and required no special training or knowledge. These positions typically were held only once during a citizen’s lifetime. Those officials that were elected were believed to require some special knowledge or skill, and they could be elected multiple times. The most prominent example of this latter type of office would be commanders of the army or navy. Since the beginning of its democracy, Athens elected ten generals or strategoi, who were at least thirty years of age. Up to the Battle at Marathon in 490, one of the ten generals, the polemarch, remained in nominal command of all of the other generals, but this stopped after the battle. Each tribe had a member be elected as general by the people, although later, it became possible for more than one general to be elected from the same tribe. Later, in the fourth century, the connection between tribe membership and being a general appears to have been abandoned, and the selection of each person was based on his abilities, regardless of what tribe he came from. More important, the strategoi could be reelected year after year (one example of this is Pericles). Originally, the generals were in command of their own tribal contingent, but by the fourth century, this task was performed by other commanders and the generals were often given control over a

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broader region or duty. After the Peloponnesian War, five of the ten generals had specific duties—one commanded the armies outside Athens, a second commanded the home defenses, one outfitted the fleet, and two supervised the harbors. Other elected officials included the ten commanders of the tribal regiments, two cavalry commanders, ambassadors, and the heads of special projects or plans. Those that were selected by lot included the archons. Originally, there were nine archons, the eponymous archon used to give the year, the king-archon, the polemarch, and six thesmothetai. To this group was added a secretary to the thesmothetai, so ten individuals, one from each tribe, were selected as archons. In the democracy, the archons did not decide cases but rather prepared them for the courts. The eponymous archon held jurisdiction over family cases; the kingarchon over religious crimes, which included homicide and arson; the polemarch over private suits involving metics and other important noncitizens; and the thesmothetai over the rest, including allocating courts to the magistrates; running impeachments against officials or prosecuting charges against those who submitted improper decrees to the assembly; and adjudicating issues of citizenship, bribery charges, adultery, and other court cases. The nine archons and the secretary were responsible for the annual selection of the 6,000 jurors, or dicasts. The three senior archons also performed religious functions. Other officials were chosen by lot, including over 300 offices, but the 500 bouleutai, members of the boule or council, were not so chosen. These other offices included an archon who administered the island of Salamis; a demarch over the Peiraeus; and eleven police commissioners over the slaves, who kept public order and ran the prisons. In addition, there were superintendents, or masters of the agora, who were responsible for ensuring the peace of the marketplace; for overseeing the distribution and purity of grain; and supervising the production of silver coins, including procuring silver, producing the dies, and striking the coins, ensuring their purity, and preventing theft. Other superintendents included those in charge of street cleaning, to ensure that cities did not become overrun with refuse. There were superintendents for the maintaining and repairing roads. An important office was the superintendents in charge of wells and springs who maintained the city’s water supply and potability. A superintendent was in charge for ensuring the correct and proper use of standardized measurements for commerce. Additional superintendents oversaw sacrifices and religious celebrations as well as those who provided public assistance to make sure the population remained healthy. To safeguard the city’s wealth, there were superintendents in charge of temple treasures and furniture and superintendents who oversaw the expenditures from the treasuries to fund important projects, pay for public purchases, and collect taxes and debts for the city. In addition to these superintendents, each officer or office had secretaries and treasurers, who were also chosen by lot. While these offices were unpaid for the most part, they did not require extensive amount of time since much of the actual work was done by slaves and other paid individuals. What these officials were responsible for was to make sure that there was no issue of corruption. Since many of the superintendents were members of a board overseeing each area, there was always multiple people to do the work and check up on each other.

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These nonelected offices were normally restricted to being held once in a lifetime, but a citizen could be selected to fill several different offices during his lifetime. Including the total number of officials selected by lot (not including the 6,000 jurors), the number would approach nearly 1,000 each year. For a population of 40,000 citizens, the participation rate would be extremely high, especially since a person would hold an office only once. This rate of participation was much higher than any other period or political entity. Most of their functions were simple and straightforward, involving checking lists and inventories, allocating sums of money for payment, and making sure that tasks were done appropriately. For most of these officials, there was little initiative to be ambitious to change how the system worked, especially since they would not have time to implement new policies. Further, since each official was limited to a small sphere of duties, there was little room to move beyond it to create more wide-ranging policy. The major area where one could make a difference and promote new policy was in the area of politics. A speaker who promoted a vision and idea persuasively enough could get a crowd to fund and back a bold venture, such as Pericles advocating a building program for the Acropolis and Alcibiades promoting the adventure to Sicily to take over the island and its resources for Athens to control all of the Mediterranean. These proposals, often made by the elected generals, went beyond the individual scope of an office and produced programs to lead Athens in new directions. The offices of the Athenian state seem to make Athens inefficient and unprofessional; but on the other hand, the system was very participatory and efficient since all members of the state were required to be involved. It made corruption difficult since all the offices were temporary and transparent. This fit well into the idea of the Athenian government not being open to corruption. This system allowed Athens to become the most important city-state in Greece from 500 to 300 and leave behind a legacy of accomplishments and influence. See also: Archon; Boule; Deme; Democracy; Ephors; Law Courts; Prytaneis; Tribes

Further Reading

Beck, Hans. 2013. A Companion to Ancient Greek Government. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. Hignett, C. 1952. A History of the Athenian Constitution to the End of the Fifth Century B.C. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Stockton, D. L. 1991. The Classical Athenian Democracy (Reprint with corrections). Oxford: Oxford University Press. For descriptions of the various officials, see “Officials in Ancient Athenian Democracy,” The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition, May 6, 2007, https://h2g2 .com/edited_entry/A6583214 (accessed May 18, 2021).

Oligarchy The three main types of governments acknowledged in antiquity and continuing into the present day are monarchy (rule of one), oligarchy (rule of a few), and democracy (rule of many). Each of these could be further delineated—for example, monarchy, claiming power divinely gleaned from the gods and hereditary

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tradition, could include tyrants, individuals who ruled outside a set of laws; or dictators, individuals who ruled either through a constitutional position (such as at Rome for a set period, such as six months) or some other kind of position voted upon by the government. Democracies, the rule of the people, did not necessarily include all the people; participation could be limited, such as through a property qualification or ethnic background. The final and probably the most diverse category was oligarchy. Such governments could be aristocracies, where hereditary families controlled the major offices of the government (typically magistrates and judicial positions of power). Oligarchies could also be based on a limiting factor such as land or property, which could change periodically, or military obligations, such as those who were knights or cavalry or hoplites, soldiers who could supply their own armor. Oligarchies could be relatively small or large, depending upon the city and the period. Monarchies typically fell to aristocratic governments with the development of the polis and their increasing populations, which opened the way for more individuals to run the government. Since cities did not maintain a standing army as done in the Near East, a monarch could not hold onto power indefinitely. Monarchs often found it more palatable to share power with their leading advisors and families, while retaining some semblance of control. Ultimately, power was transferred to aristocratic families, who often maintained their power through narrow hereditary means to prevent outsiders from joining. These families attempted to guard entry into their cohort, but they soon faced challenges, especially in the maritime cities. New members of the population, particularly merchants and traders who had been kept out of the power system, soon developed rivalries. Desiring to gain some kind of power, these groups often banded with poorer farmers and city inhabitants to support someone, typically a disaffected aristocratic leader, in order to overthrow the aristocrats. This produced a tyrant who soon expanded his power base beyond the aristocrats, who were often punished either by killing or exile. Often, the progression of government was monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny (if it occurred), and then oligarchy; occasionally the power of the oligarchs was further diminished so that democracies developed. The major difference between aristocracies and oligarchies was size, with oligarchies tending to be larger. Exclusivity continued as before, although the determining factor was something other than birth. In Athens, the aristocracy had taken power from the monarchy piecemeal with the establishment of the archons, and later, the Council or Areopagus, which may have been limited to the heads of aristocratic families. When Solon reformed the Athenian government, he created four tribes based on wealth, which allowed many of the old aristocracy together with wealthy newcomers to be put into the top two tribes, creating an oligarchy based on wealth. The nearby city-island of Aegina avoided the traditional tyranny and was ruled by a mercantile oligarchy. The city became one of the great maritime powers of the seventh century under oligarchy. In Corinth, the aristocratic families included the Bacchiad, who claimed descent from Bacchis, the sixth king of Corinth, and abolished the monarchy and ruled in their stead. They limited the assembly to 200 of their own members, with a further constriction of a council of 80, a steering committee of 8, and a yearly

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president. The aristocracy was tightly controlled, with membership into the family guarded. The Bacchiad exploited their geographical position and constructed a fleet to engage in commercial activities, including the establishments of colonies. This period witnessed the rise of Corinthian commercialism and the expansion of Corinthian pottery. The Bacchiads ruled for a century until one of their own, Cypselus, seized power in 658, breaking their power. He killed many of the Bacchiads and drove more into exile, seizing their property and distributing it among his followers. He also put an end to the arbitrary laws of the Bacchiads and created a formal system of writing of laws; in addition, he organized the tribes across the population to break up the power of the old aristocracy. With the fall of Cypselus’s family and the tyrants, Corinth became an oligarchy in 581, continuing this system for two centuries. The new system expanded the assembly base beyond the traditional Bacchiads to include the increased number of hoplites that countered the smaller council of 80. To celebrate the return of a republican government, the new oligarchy established the Isthmian Games, and in 570, the city inaugurated a new type of silver coin with the image of Pegasus, a symbol of the state. What Does an Oligarch Look Like? The philosopher Theophrastus’s description of an oligarchy contained in his chapter “The Oligarch” in his work on Characters is closer to that of a tyrant. Many viewed the oligarchs as tyrants who desired to destroy the power of the masses. The oligarchs desired to maintain control of state and keep the masses at bay as shown by Theophrastus in his extract. The Oligarch OLIGARCHY IS a love of power that clings tightly to personal advantage. The oligarch rises in the people’s councils, when assistants to the archon are elected for the management of a fete, and says: “These men must have absolute control.” And although others have suggested ten, he insists that one is enough, but he must be a man. The only line of Homer that stays in his memory is: “A crowd’s rule is bad; let there be one ruler.” He knows no other verse. He is, however, an adept at such phrases as this: “We must hold a caucus and make our plans; we must cut loose from mob and market; we must throw aside the annoyance of petty office and of insult or honor at the masses’ whim; we or they must rule the state.” . . . he promenades down Odeon Way ejaculating: “Sycophants have made the city no longer habitable. What outrages we endure in court from our persecutors! Why men nowadays go into office, is a marvel to me. How ungrateful the mob is! although one is always giving, giving.” If, at the Assembly, a naked, hungry vagabond sits next to him, he complains of the outrage. “When,” he asks, “is a stop to be put to this ruin of our property by taxation for fetes and navy? How odious is this crew ‘of demagogues! Theseus,” he says, “was the forefront of all this offending, for out of twelve cities, he brought the masses into one, to overthrow the monarchies. He met his just reward,—he was the first to fall a victim at their hands.” Source: Theophrastus, Charles E. Bennett, and William A. Hammond. 1902. The Characters of Theophrastus: A Translation, with Introduction. New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., pp. 71–73.

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To the north of Corinth lay Megara, controlled by an aristocratic government, which underwent a series of quarrels by competing families in the late seventh century. These quarrels allowed the aristocracy to be overthrown by Theagenes. His power was broken by a group of oligarchs, men who were engaged in the wool industry, rather than the aristocratic birth qualification requirements imposed by the former type of government. This oligarchic government was then overthrown by a larger group of poor men in a form of democracy, only to fall to an oligarchy again after a debtor law on returning interest of loans to the poor proved unpopular with the wealthy. This continual oscillation among aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, democracy, and back to oligarchy in such a short time became a model of the Greek’s concept of stasis, or internal warfare between rich and poor, which infected so many of the Greek states. The nearby Sicyon was ruled by an oligarchic government until 655, when Orthagoras established a tyranny that ruled the city for over a century. After the expulsion of the tyrants in 555 by the Spartans, an oligarchy was reestablished. Thebes was ruled by a small number of aristocrats, who controlled the city through the creation of arbitrary laws. The city did receive a set of laws from Philolaus of Corinth. The government then gave way to an oligarchy, in which wealth superseded birth, at some time before the Classical Age. The city became famous for the breeding and selling of pigs. On the nearby island of Euboea, the city of Chalcis was ruled by an aristocratic government whose members’ wealth came from the plains, earning its landowning rulers the term Hippobotae or “Horse-Breeders.” After a period of rule by tyrants, the aristocrats regained their preeminence. To the east in the Aegean, the island of Chios had an aristocratic government, at least during the sixth century, where a council of three hundred with a committee of fifteen controlled the state. At some point during this period, the government was replaced by a democratic form of government, which was ultimately taken over by Persia. Likewise, on the island of Samos, the aristocrats succeeded the monarchy, who owed their wealth to fertile lands on the island. In addition, due to their position on the routes to and from Miletus, their archrival, the Samians, were able to intercept trade. Ultimately, the aristocracy was further enlarged, but due to its wealth, Samos’s aristocracy was overthrown by Polycrates. Naxos went from an aristocracy to a larger group of oligarchs; this growth of the size of the oligarchs was increased by the island’s wealth and the oligarchs were called “the fat ones,” since they began to increase their dominance over the general population by taking more and more resources. They became more and more involved in interpersonal disputes amongst the families, which allowed one of their own, Lygdamis, to gain control. After ruling for about thirty years, he was expelled by the Spartans in 517 and the oligarchy government was reestablished. On the Ionian coast, the Greek cities show a similar pattern as the islands, with a change from aristocracy to tyranny during the sixth century. At Ephesus, the monarchy was replaced by the Basilidae, aristocratic families claiming descent from royalty. These families controlled the rich trade routes and imposed tolls. As with other cities, its aristocracy was overthrown by one of its own members, Pythagoras, who became a tyrant.

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The cities on Crete with established agrarian economies were controlled by aristocratic governments that ruled the inhabitants with near-complete control. The aristocrats controlled the local population, who were often placed in a status similar to the helots of Sparta. Throughout the Greek world, the development of the polis allowed continual political development, which ultimately divided the Greek cities mainly into oligarchies and democracies. The oligarchic governments attempted to keep power in the hands of a relatively small number of individuals. Many of these cities continued to be ruled by members of the former nobility, which was then enlarged by new members based on wealth. The normal progression of power from monarchy to aristocracy to tyranny to oligarchy was common enough to allow many ancient writers to predict the evolutionary development of governments. For many cities, this was disrupted during the Athenian Empire, when Athens forcibly imposed democracy on many of its subjects. The oligarchic governmental system nevertheless returned and was often favored by monarchs as being easier to impose their rule. See also: Athens; Corinth; Megara; Sparta; Syracuse; Tyrants

Further Reading

Simonton, Matthew. 2017. Classical Greek Oligarchy: A Political History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Whibley, Leonard. 1975. Greek Oligarchies: Their Character and Organisation. Chicago: Ares Publishers.

Olives Olives and their products became a major staple for the ancient Greeks, used as food, fuel, and soap. The harvesting of olives had existed in Greece since at least the Neolithic Age. The olive tree was revered by the Greeks, and during a contest between Poseidon and Athena over the city of Athens, the goddess won by striking a rock on the Acropolis, where an olive tree sprung up. This type of tree is slow growing, with deep roots, and for this reason, olive trees were usually spared during war since it took so long for them to mature. Olive trees can live for long periods of time, even centuries, producing fruit, far longer than most fruit trees. There are a variety of olives, with some better for eating and others for producing oil. The fruit contains a glucoside, which makes it bitter; as such, it cannot be eaten raw. Olives must be prepared by soaking them in brine or saltwater and then in vinegar for a few hours to eliminate the bitterness. They can then be stored for later use. There are a variety of edible olives, such as thlastae, usually from the rustic areas, which were crushed and cured in salt, but they were not able to last long. The halmades and kolymbades were green olives, which were often preserved in brine for extended periods. The wrinkled drypepeis and gergerimoi were black olives commonly used for consumption, while the cheapest was the pityrin. Pressing olives naturally allowed the glucoside to separate during the extraction of the oil. The oil was the main product of the olive, making it more profitable than wheat. For pressing, the skin of the olive had to be broken and the flesh crushed.

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Care had to be taken not to crush the stone, or pit, as this would add impurities. The pulp was then crushed, typically with an olive press, allowing the amurca to flow out and the water to be separated. The oil was then stored in the dark, usually in amphorae, which were sealed to ensure quality control. So long as the oil was preserved in airtight containers, it could last for extended periods of time. Once the containers were opened, however, the oil needed to be used quickly. The oil could be used for marinating food, as cooking oil, and in dressings. It could also be used for preserving foods. As a cooking oil, it was not only healthy, but its high boiling point allowed it to be used without burning the food that was soaked in it. Olive oil could also be used for fuel in lamps. Since the ancients did not use petroleum-based products, this oil allowed individuals to function at night and indoors. In addition, it could be used as soap, where an individual would put it on the body and either wash it off or scrape it off with a strigil, an especially common practice with athletes. It was used for cosmetics as well. Additional items could be added to the oil so that when burned or applied, it gave off a pleasant smell. The tree was actively cultivated during the Minoan period on Crete, and by 2000, it was being exported to the islands, mainland Greece, and Asia Minor. On the mainland, its economic value increased under the Mycenaean kingdoms, as seen in Linear B tablets. In Athens, the reformer Solon ordered in the sixth century that the trees there must not be cut down because of their value. Olympic athletes were given an olive branch to symbolize peace. During the Panathenaic Games at Athens, the winners received high-quality oil, valued at over 700 amphorae, which they sold at a huge profit, often abroad. This was an exception to a law prohibiting oil from being sold abroad by Athenians. The olive, with its many uses, became a valuable trade commodity and currency in the Greek world. They were transported in amphorae, usually at a volume of about 40 liters. The amphorae usually had pointed bottoms that allowed them to be stuck in the ground if needed and to be easily grasped. The transport of oil allowed it to reach areas of the world where the olive tree was not cultivated, giving it an important value to all regions of antiquity. See also: Agriculture; Economy; Food

Further Reading

Dalby, Andrew, and Sally Grainger. 2012. The Classical Cookbook. Rev. ed. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum. Dillon, J. M. 2004. Salt and Olives: Morality and Custom in Ancient Greece. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Donahue, J. F. 2015. Food and Drink in Antiquity: Readings from the Graeco-Roman World: A Sourcebook. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Foxhall, Lin. 2007. Olive Cultivation in Ancient Greece: Seeking the Ancient Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. For a discussion of the role of olives in antiquity, see Thomas, Sarah and Debby Sneed. “The Social and Economic Value of Oil in Ancient Greece,” Department of ­Classics, University of Colorado Boulder, June 18, 2018. https://www.colorado .edu/classics/2018/06/15/social-and-economic-value-oil-ancient-greece (accessed October 24, 2021).

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Olympia The city of Olympia was not an inhabited site of permanent residents; rather, it was the site of the administration for the Olympic Games. Traditionally, it was thought that the site had been used since the Bronze Age as a sanctuary for Zeus, although no buildings exist from this time. The site held religious festivals probably from the ninth century onward and was organized by the city of Elis. Traditionally, the games were established in 776, but they probably did exist some years earlier. When the power of Elis diminished, the site was taken over by the nearby city of Pisa. By 600, the site was restored to Elis and placed under its control. It was during this period that the earliest buildings were constructed. The Temple of Hera was built around 600, while the treasuries, Pelopion, Bouleterion, and athletic structures were constructed in the seventh century. In the sixth century, the stadium was built. During the Classical Age, from 550 to 400, numerous buildings were constructed, including the Temple of Zeus, the hippodrome, baths, and prytaneion. In the late Classical Age, the Metroon, Echo Stoa and South Stoa completed the major buildings, while the early Hellenistic Age saw the erection of the Phillipeion and Leonidaion. During the later Hellenistic period, the palaestra, gymnasium, and additional baths, were constructed, with the propylon completing the pre-Roman site. The central region of Olympia lay to the south of Mount Cronus and east of the River Kladeos, a tributary of the River Alpheios, which ran south of the Altis. It was located in an ancient grove or sanctuary called the Altis, with 600 feet on each side being walled on the west, south, and east sides, while the north was open, bounded by Mount Kronus. By the Roman period, there were over seventy buildings, including temples, treasuries, athletic facilities, and civic buildings. Many of these buildings were beyond the walled Altis. Although buildings were arranged around the Altis, it was still open and contained open green space. Sites from the Archaic and Classical period exist and were arranged in the Altis or Sacred Grove of Olympia from the northwest moving east. At the northwest corner was the Propylon, a monumental gateway to the city proper dating from the Roman period. To the north of the sanctuary was the Prytaneion from the Classical period, lying just east of the gateway. It was here that the city’s hearth was kept and where the chief magistrate or king lived. Originally, it was the main center of the government, and often the city’s laws were kept there. It is possible that at Olympia, the magistrates and priests lived in the large Prytaneion, a structure which was doubled in size during the Hellenistic period to accommodate the increase in priests. Just to the south of this building, and also outside the sanctuary, was the Hellenistic Philippeion, a circular temple about forty-five feet in diameter, which contained statues of Philip II of Macedon; ­Philip’s son Alexander the Great; his mother, Olympias (the former wife of Philip); Amyntas III, the king and father of Philip II; and Eurydice, the wife of Amyntas III. Just east of the Prytaneion and Philippeion, inside the sanctuary, was the ­Temple of Hera or Heraion, which was the oldest temple at Olympia and probably reflects the ancient history of the city. Originally a joint temple between Hera and Zeus, it was built at the beginning of the sixth century, and an earthquake destroyed it in the early fourth century. It was the oldest peripteral (having

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columns around all four sides) at Olympia and measured 61.5 by 164.1 feet, having six columns across and sixteen columns in length. The temple housed many treasures from antiquity, including the so-called chest of Cypselus. To its south, beside the later Phillippeion, was the Pelopion, allegedly the tomb of the legendary Pelops, the king of the Peloponnese. In the pentagonal structure was a dirt mound altar used for animal sacrifice since the Archaic period. Farther east was the Metroon, an ancient Greek temple to the mother goddess, Cybele or Demeter. Although the structure dated from the fourth century, it was probably built on a much older site. To its north, also outside the Altis, was a series of temples or treasuries that housed the goods donated from each city. Located on the north side of the Altis, they were built on the terraces of Mount Kronus. Each treasury was a single room with a single door, for security. Running from west to east were the treasuries of Sicyon and Syracuse, followed possibly by buildings from Epidamnus, Byzantium, Sybaris, Cyrene (then an unknown city), possibly an altar, Selinunte, Metapontum, Megera, and Gela. To the east of the treasuries was the great stadium and hippodrome used for the Olympic Games. Connecting the north-to-south side of the Altis was the 300-foot Painted Stoa, begun in the fourth century and later known as the Echo Stoa due to its acoustic ability; the finish line of the stadium was in full view from here. Farther south was the Hestia Stoa, completing the eastern side of the Altis. Along the southern side of the Altis was the great temple of Zeus. It became the idealized Doric temple of the Classical Age. Begun in the fifth century, it was built on a preexisting religious site and completed in 457. It was also a peripteral temple measuring 230 feet long by 95 feet wide, and 68 feet high. The temple contained a 40-foot statue of Zeus by Phidias, the great sculptor who also created the statue of Athena in the Parthenon. Farther south, outside the Altis, was the Stoa and Bouleuterion, or local assembly building. It included two buildings dating from the sixth century, a square structure, and a stoa. The square building had two apsidal halls projecting in parallel from the west side. The Bouleuterion was the meeting place for the local Elean senate, which controlled the Olympic Games and was used for their administration. This building is where the athletes registered to compete and drew lots for the competition. If a controversy or complaint reared its head, it was decided here, and penalties were meted out when appropriate. Athletes would take their oaths at the beginning of the games at an altar to Zeus. On the western side, outside the Altis, was a series of buildings running north to south: the gymnasium or training ground for athletes, and the palaestra, part of the gymnasium, a square building about 215 feet by 215 feet wide, built at the end of the Classical or early Hellenistic period. The central part of the building was an open arena used for boxing and wrestling training, with rooms arranged along four sides. Farther south was a Heroon, or tomb for an unknown hero. It was near the workshop of Phidias. To the west, the earliest baths were constructed in the fifth century for the athletes. Finally, at the southwest corner was the Leonidaion, a place for the athletes to reside during competitions. It was built at the end of the Classical Age in 330 by Leonidas of Naxos. Olympia was an important religious site that helped unite Greece every four years for the Olympic Games held in August and September. Since the site was



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not a residential city, but rather a religious site with games associated with it, the desire by nearby cities to control it was more about prestige and potentially commerce than territory. The major Peloponnesian forces were often willing to interfere with who controlled Olympia, backing either Pisa or Elis, allied with Sparta. The Temple of Zeus was named one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. See also: Elis; Games; Olympic Games; Panhellenic Games; Sparta; Stadium

Further Reading

Andronikos, Manolēs. 1995. Olympia: The Archaeological Site and the Museum. Athens: Ekdotike Athenon. Gardiner, E. Norman. 1973. Olympia: Its History & Remains. Washington, DC: McGrath Pub. Co. Scott, Michael. 2010. Delphi and Olympia: The Spatial Politics of Panhellenism in the Archaic and Classical Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For more information about Olympia, see Sakoulas, Thomas, “Olympia,” Ancient Greece. org, https://ancient-greece.org/archaeology/olympia.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Olympian Religion The Greek religion centered on a series of myths concerning creation and nature. While myths grew out of a variety of needs, especially to explain nature and its influence, both human and physical, they attempted to cast the various aspects of life in terms that could be readily understood. This in turn allowed stories to spring up that explained the origins of complex actions and events in terms that would allow people to understand and reconcile their lives to the surroundings. Many of the myths competed with each other and were based upon different regions and slants. These tales show competition with a younger generation of deities who had the same attributes as earlier gods and overthrew them to establish themselves as supreme. This struggle may represent the infusion of new ideas from a different and more recent society superseding an earlier native group, but keeping the earlier stories and fusing them with the more recent additions. This fusion may be seen in the various creation myths, in which some Greek gods have similar attributes. For example, the god of the sun, Hyperion, one of the Titans, begot Helios, who was also the god of the sun; his power was then

Statues of 12 Olympian gods, Greek pantheon, from the Acropolis Museum in Athens. (Antonios Ntoumas/Dreamstime.com)

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Hesiod and Creation The poet Hesiod explained that the Universe came into being through Chaos, the void. From Chaos came Ge (Earth), Tartarus (depths of the Earth), Eros (love), Erebus (the gloom of Tartarus), and Night. Night and Erebus mated and produced Aether (the bright upper atmosphere) and Day. Ge then produced Mountains, Pontus, and Uranus (Heaven) alone and mated with Uranus, producing the twelve Titans: Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys, and the last-born, Cronus. These gods were mainly the personification of nature, and it is from them that the main Olympian gods descend. For example, Oceanus and Tethys produced numerous offspring, such as the Oceanids. Hyperion and Theia produced Helios, Selene, and Eos (goddess of the dawn); Coeus and Phoebe produced Leto, and most important, Cronus and Rhea producing the major gods and goddesses of the Greek world. Their offspring were Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. With the exception of Zeus, Cronus swallowed his other children and kept them until Zeus rescued them. Like Uranus and Ge, representatives of Sky and Earth, so were Cronus and Rhea another continuation of the struggle between old and new.

transferred to Apollo, probably not originally a sun god, although he shared the same epitaph, “Phoebus” meaning bright with the sun god; as such Hyperion, Helios, and Apollo were all seen as gods of the sun. Likewise, Selene, the sister of Helios, and Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo, merged into the moon goddess with both Selene and Artemis given the name depending upon the situation and location. The two deities, Apollo and Artemis, were the offspring of Zeus and Leto, who was a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, the feminine version of Phoebus, who could have been another moon goddess like her granddaughter Artemis. The story of the Olympian gods relates to their interactions with humans. They were often seen as vindictive, immoral, petty, and disruptive to society. These attributes may be posited to show how the world was not perfect, and the gods represented human behavior so that society could learn. The first deed was the overthrow of the titan Cronus by his children. Zeus with his siblings, along with the Cyclopes, who forged for Zeus thunder and lightning, and others such as Cronus’ sister Themis and her son Prometheus banded together to fight Cronus. Opposed to Zeus were Cronus and his fellow Titans, as well as Atlas, the brother of Prometheus. For ten years, Zeus from Mount Olympus and Cronus from Mount Othyrs struggled for dominance, with Zeus finally winning and imprisoning Cronus and his Titan allies in Tartarus; Zeus punished Atlas by forcing him to hold up the world for eternity. Zeus then had to battle the Giants, produced earlier from the blood of the sky god, Uranus. These two great battles may be seen as the subjugation of nature by the gods (i.e., humans). One of the casualties was Prometheus, who had helped Zeus but then brought fire to humans and was now punished by the chief deity. But Prometheus knew the secret to Zeus’s potential downfall—namely, that the son of the sea-nymph Thetis would be mightier than his father; when Zeus found this out, he refused to mate with the sea nymph.



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With Zeus supreme, he ruled his sphere, the skies. He gave his siblings certain powers and regions to control. His brothers Poseidon and Hades were given the seas and the underworld, respectively. One story has the three brothers casting lots to see who would control which region; in another, Zeus claimed the right to decide the matter himself. Zeus then took his sister Hera as his wife, and although she was his queen and wife, she was subordinate to him. His sisters Hestia and Demeter were given other powers. The original group consisted of fourteen: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Hephaestus, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes, and Dionysus. Ultimately, the list was reduced to twelve by removing Hades, as he had his own world to rule; and Hestia, who was replaced with Dionysus; Hestia became a limited goddess, although she was the eldest of Cronus and Rhea’s children, and was put in charge of the hearth and home. The major emphasis of the Olympian stories was Zeus and his amorous exploits. These stories are set in a monogamous society in which men were dominant and a double standard existed. His exploits may point to how society dealt with immorality in such a structured system. He mated with the Titaness Mnemosyne (Memory) to produce the nine Muses. Zeus’s union with Themis, anther Titan, begot the Fates as well as the four seasons. His marriage with Hera (another Sky-Earth relation) produced Eileithyia (the goddess of childbirth), Hebe (the goddess of youth), Hephaestus (the god of fire and blacksmithing), and Ares (god of war). Hera is the goddess of women and childbirth. She is known for her jealousy and vengeful behavior against Zeus’s (many) paramours. Hebe is known for providing services to the gods as a cupbearer, and when Heracles becomes a god, she became his wife. Hephaestus, a cripple from birth, was known for his work as a smith and fashioner of armor for Achilles, the son of Thetis. He was often abused by his parents but was an expert in his craft and known for his love of his wife, Aphrodite, with whom he was joined in a tempestuous union. She had contempt for him and turned to his handsome, strong, and virile brother Ares for love. The triangle would be common enough to Greek society and echoed the struggles of normal life. Ares, the final son, embodied the ideal male in the Greek world. His origins came from Thrace, and his union with Aphrodite produced Eros. One of his mistresses was Dawn (Eos), who evoked great jealousy in Aphrodite. Zeus also mated with others. With the goddess Leto, he had the twins Artemis and Apollo. Artemis was born first and helped deliver her brother Apollo, a duty, child birthing, early associated with Artemis along with Hera and Eileithyia. She was the goddess of the hunt and chastity. This chastity is in counterbalance, and in some ways opposite, to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, for whom she acts as a foil. Her brother was Apollo, sacred to Delos and Delphi, as well as Crete, showing the universality of the god. At Delphi, the Pythian Games were celebrated in his honor, games second only to his father’s Olympic Games at Olympia. Whereas Artemis was chaste, Apollo was most definitely not. His many loves included Cassandra, the daughter of Priam. She initially agreed to give herself to Apollo in return for the gift of prophecy, which he agreed to give her. But then she refused him. He asked for a kiss, which she gave him. When they kissed, he spat in her mouth but did not revoke his

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gift; instead, all of her prophecies were true, but no one would believe them. It seems that his affairs were tragic. One example was Daphne, who turned into the laurel tree for refusing his advances. He attempted to seduce the mortal Marpessa, daughter of Evenus, and granddaughter of Ares, who chose instead the mortal Idas because she feared as a mortal that Apollo would abandon her when she grew old. One who did not spurn his love was Cyrene, a nymph with whom Apollo grew enamored when wrestling a lion. He took her in his golden chariot to Libya, to the city that would bear her name, and they had a son, Aristaeus. In addition to prophecy and piloting the Sun, Apollo was associated with music and medicine, the latter of which was taken over by his son, Asclepius. When Zeus killed Asclepius, Apollo killed the Cyclopes, who had forged the thunderbolt. The story related to the concept of community blood guilt, and Apollo was sentenced to a one-year exile. Apollo was viewed as the rational god compared to the irrational Dionysus, even though both were often presented in the same vein. Zeus’s brother Poseidon was ruler of the oceans. He was not the first god of the seas, as Pontus had formerly held that honor, as well as the numerous children of the Titans, Oceanus, and Tethys. Pontus mated with his mother, Ge, and produced Nereus, who had fifty daughters or Nereids, and one of the mermaids was Thetis, who was destined to bear a son who was foretold to be mightier than his father. She mated with a mortal, Peleus, and had a son called Achilles, who was mightier than his father, Peleus. Another was Galatea, who was the amorous object of Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon and a boorish giant; she spurned him for Acis, who was then killed by Polyphemus. A third Nereid, Amphitrite, became the wife of Poseidon. Like his brother Zeus, he had a compulsion to seek out other women, and like Hera, Amphitrite was jealous. Together, they had a son, Triton. Poseidon physically appeared like Zeus and was known as the Earth shaker, the one who brought earthquakes. He was associated with horses and bulls, which may point to his origins as a male fertility god. He mated with his sister, Demeter, as a stallion when she changed into a mare to attempt to escape him; their union produced a daughter, Arion. He mated with Ge and produced the giant Antaeus, who would fight Heracles, and Charybdis, a sea monster who aided her father Poseidon against Zeus who then punished her by transforming her into a monster with a thirst for the sea and a companion to Scylla together creating the hazards of the Straits of Messina. Zeus had mated with Metis (wisdom) and swallowed her when she was pregnant with Athena, afraid that she would bear a son who would topple him. When Zeus suffered a severe headache, Hephaestus splits Zeus’s head with an ax, and giving a great cry, Athena sprang out in full military uniform. Her three characteristics were displayed in that one action: her prowess, wisdom, and masculine virginal (Parthenos) nature, which came from the male side (Zeus). She became his favorite daughter. Beautiful and wise, she was the goddess of war, but also of the household. Another goddess was Aphrodite; one story has her born from the castrated genitals of Uranus, while another says that she was born from the union of Zeus and Dione (a feminine form of Zeus), perhaps showing that there were two goddesses named Aphrodite that merged into one goddess over time before the Archaic period with the migration of Near Eastern religions during the Dorian



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invasion. She was the goddess of love and marriage, the opposite of Athena and Artemis. She was honored in various ways, in Athens, her followers were chaste and pure, while at Corinth, they were temple prostitutes. She bragged that she had never succumbed to human lusts or bore a child from such a relation. Zeus, annoyed at her boasts, caused her to fall in love with Anchises of Troy, and they had Aeneas, who later traveled to Italy and founded the ancestors to Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. Hermes was Zeus’s son by the goddess Maia and was often associated with Apollo, who reared him, and the two are often presented as similar. He is mischievous but fun. Hermes is a thief, but also the divine messenger of Zeus, his herald. His statues, called Herms, are represented with the phallic symbol, which probably associates him with fertility. Another son of Zeus was ­Dionysus, born from Semele, the daughter of Cadmus. Hera found out about his advances, and she tricked Semele by telling her to have Zeus appear in his divine form, and when he did, that caused her to burn up. The unborn child was not consumed, however, and Zeus sewed him into his thigh until he was born. His arrival in Greece indicates that he was a latecomer to the Greek religion and world. His origin is from Phrygia coming to Greece through Thrace probably during the period of Mycenae (Linear B tablets have his name) or after, during the Dorian invasion where he becomes an important god. He is the god of wine and revelry, sponsor of the Dionysian Mysteries. He is not an immoral god, as seen in his acts; rather he is a nonmoral. He leaves chaste women alone while pursuing lewd ones. Similar to the orgiastic celebrations of Dionysus, Demeter, the sister of Zeus, is credited with the creation of the Eleusinian Mysteries associated with her daughter, Persephone, whom she bore by Zeus. When Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and made his wife in the underworld, Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, searched for her, and in so doing neglected her duties. As crops withered and died, Zeus brokered a compromise, arranging for Persephone to return to her mother for six months (spring and summer), allowing the crops to grow during that time, and going back to Hades for six months (autumn and winter), when the crops faded. The story dealt with the eternal struggle of life and death. It also shows how Hades acted and was represented. A brother of Zeus, he was originally associated with fertility. Desiring a bride, he took the Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of fertility. Upset Demeter grew sad and caused nothing to grow. Zeus demanded Hades return Persephone and still desiring her as his bride made her eat some pomegranate seeds, which was the food of the underworld, which forced her to return to the underworld since she was tied to it. These major stories relayed the many issues facing the Greek world and how they attempted to explain difficult issues. Many of these myths dealt with basic emotions facing humans, including dealing with birth, life, and death, while others show the foibles of people, such as adultery, greed, and warmaking. The myths allowed people to anthropomorphize the forces of nature so they could relate to their power. The gods lived in a house, on Mount Olympus, a natural setting, looking down upon the world and interfering with it. Their powers, such as speed and strength, are merely amplified. Their form can change at will, but they are

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familiar to people. In addition to these gods, there were numerous others created by the gods themselves. Some humans were also in line to become divine, and these demigods or heroes, such as Heracles, became idolized. See also: Asklepios; Dionysus-Bacchus; Mystery Religion; Religion; Temples; Thebes

Further Reading

Graves, Robert. 1960. The Greek Myths. Rev. ed. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin Books. Gantz, Timothy. 1993. Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources. ­Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Hansen, William F. 2020. Classical Mythology: A Guide to the Mythical World of the Greeks and Romans. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Morford, Mark P. O., Robert J. Lenardon, and Michael Sham. 2018. Classical Mythology. 11th ed. New York: Oxford University Press. For a general overview, see Hemingway, Colette and Seán Hemingway, “Greek Gods and Religious Practices,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2003), https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grlg /hd_grlg.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Olympic Games and Festival The ancient Olympic festival at Olympia was originally established as a religious festival to honor Zeus, the chief deity in the Greek world. The site of Olympia was in a rural setting in the western Peloponnese. The festival was held in the sacred grove between August and September between grain harvesting and the garnering of grapes and olives. While the ancient Greeks worshipped the same pantheon of gods, each city would have a different primary deity; for example, in Athens it was Athena, and in Thebes it was Apollo. The athletes came from throughout the Greek world to compete in athletic contests. During the period of competition, the Greeks were supposed to observe a general peace suspending conflict during the time of the Olympic Games. Heralds were sent from Elis throughout the Greek world to announce the games, and during this time, no war would occur. If war continued, a fine was levied on the fighting states based on the number of troops in the field. The primary focus of the festival was the games. Victors carried an olive branch and would receive an olive crown, the symbol that Heracles won at the first games. In mythology, the goddess Nike conferred victory or defeat to the athlete. The victor was showered with leaves and twigs in the celebration phyllobolia (analogous to a modern ticker tape parade). The games lasted five days, of which only two were used for the actual sporting events. The first day saw the traditional oath to Zeus and the sacrifices. The second day was given over to horse and chariot racing, as well as the pentathlon. The third day was the great festival to Zeus, when sacrifices were offered to him. This was the most important job of the representatives who oversaw them. These were ambassadors who accompanied their athletes throughout the Greek world and helped celebrate the festival to Zeus. The fourth day saw running races, wrestling events, and boxing matches. The fifth day witnessed the victory celebrations and festivals. Since victory was won through



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the graces of the gods, the victor would dedicate his victory crown to the temple of the home city’s chief deity. Traditionally, the games began in 776, when Koroibos, a cook from Elis, won the foot race, the only event held for the first sixty years. Other evidence, particularly archaeological, indicate that the games began as early as the tenth century. Found at Olympia were bronze tripods dating to at least the ninth century, which may have been rewards for athletic victories. The god Heracles supposedly started the race in honor of his father, Zeus. As part of the Olympic Games, the victors were permitted to set up statues of themselves in the shrine of Zeus. If a victor won three times, he could then have a portrait, presumably an accurate representation of himself, put up. These portraits were very expensive and point to the status of these people in the games and in society. The victor would also tie a ribbon around his head as a symbol of winning the games. Although the games lasted for only a few days, the athletes would arrive a month before and train at the nearby town of Elis. This presumably would allow all of the athletes equal time and conditions to train and get ready for the contests. As with training in their hometowns in the gymnasion, these events were religious. The gymnasion had deities who protected and honored them, mainly Heracles, Hermes, and Apollo. On the first day of the event, the athletes swore an oath not to cheat or otherwise corrupt the games. If they broke the rules, they were punished by a beating for cheating and a fine for corruption. The hellanodikai (judges) swore to adjudicate the contests fairly and not take bribes, probably an occurrence that tainted the games which would leave the victor suspect. In addition, these individuals would help organize the games. The festivals were therefore a combination of religious, athletic, and political forces that allowed the Greek cities to come together. While the Olympic festivals were held every four years, there were other festivals, so there was a celebration at least every year. See also: Athletes; Elis; Games; Olympian Religion; Panhellenic Games; Religion; Sparta; Stadium; Syracuse

Further Reading

Beale, Alan. 2011. Greek Athletics and the Olympics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Perrottet, Tony. 2004. The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games. New York: Random House. Valavanēs, Panos. 2004. Games and Sanctuaries in Ancient Greece: Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia, Nemea, Athens. Los Angeles: Getty Publications. For an overview of the Olympic Games, see “The Games,” The Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games, Penn Museum, https://www.penn.museum/sites/olympics/olympicorigins.shtml (accessed May 18, 2021). For a detailed discussion of the games, see “Olympic Games,” Khan Academy, https:// www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/beginnersguide-greece/a/olympic-games (accessed May 18, 2021); and Clarysse, Willy and Sofie Remijsen. 2008. “Olympic Games,” Ancient Olympics, Leuven Netherlands, http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TB001EN.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

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Olynthus In northern Greece, on the Chalcidice peninsula, lay the city of Olynthus about a mile from the coast. The city was about six miles from the city of Potidaea. In mythology, Olynthus, the son of Heracles, established the city. Archaeological evidence shows that there was a settlement from the Neolithic period into the Bronze Age, when it was abandoned. The site was then occupied by the Thracian tribe called the Bottiaeans, who had been forced out of their territory by the Macedonian king Alexander I before the Persian Wars. When the Persians arrived in 492, the city probably came over and submitted to them. When Xerxes invaded Greece in 480, Olynthus was still under Persian control. After the Persian defeat at Salamis, Xerxes and his army retreated north across the region to the Hellespont. With a force left behind under Artabazus, the Persians feared that the region around Potidaea and Olynthus had already planned to rebel. Artabazus marched to the peninsula and attempted to take Potidaea, which failed, and then took Olynthus, slaughtering its inhabitants, who were probably not only the local Bottiaean tribesmen, but also Greeks from the neighboring region. The remaining Bottiaeans continued to live in the region. After its destruction, Olynthus was reestablished with Greek inhabitants. It was not as famous or large as its neighbors, but it became part of the Delian League. As documented on the tribute lists, it paid two talents a year, whereas other nearby towns paid three to seven times that amount. The city continued to remain in the Athenian Empire at the start of the Peloponnesian War, when the region became an area of conflict. Athens had demanded that Potidaea, a member of its empire, tear down its walls since it was a daughter city of Corinth, Athens’s enemy. At the same time, and probably realizing that the region was becoming disaffected with Athens, the Macedonian king Perdiccas II suggested that the cities of the Chalcidice Peninsula evacuate their homes and lands and move to Olynthus and join the rebellion of Potidaea against Athens. This synoecism, or joining of local villages and cities into a larger town, was usually due to the local population density increasing so that the local territories began to intermix. Perdiccas had once been an ally of Athens, but he was now opposed to it since Athens had recently supported Perdiccas’s brother in a power struggle. The local Bottiaeans also joined in the rebellion against Athens. During the next few years, Olynthus successfully expanded its power and prestige. It became a site for refugees fleeing Athens from Potidaea and the nearby towns under Athenian control. As the war waged on during the 420s, Olynthus became the center of resistance to Athens and the base of operations for the ­Spartan general Brasidas in 424. In 423, Olynthus organized the Chalcidian League. When Brasidas and the Athenian general Cleon fought and died at the Battle of Amphipolis in 422, both Athens and Sparta were eager for peace. The subsequent treaty, the Peace of Nicias, mandated that the league be broken up and the cities return to the Athenian sphere of influence, but they would remain free and independent and pay the original tribute established by Aristides from 478. It appears that the league was not disbanded, though, and many of the cities in the region, including recent cities

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controlled by Athens continued to join the Chalcidian League. The major reason why the league could continue and expand was that Athens and Sparta were drawn to other areas of operation, especially Sicily. It appears that Sparta continued to exercise some influence in the region by sending out governors until at least 392. After the Peloponnesian War, Sparta attempted to take over the leadership of the Greek states. Sparta suffered from being too high-handed, which created dissension among the states under their control. Olynthus continued to lead the ­Chalcidian League, but not as its nominal head since all of the cities acted as equals. The league’s cities had common laws and citizenship, and its citizens could intermarry and engage in mutual commerce. The league in 383 embarked on a new push for membership, and some nearby cities such as Potidaea joined them. The Macedonians, needing help against northern tribes, agreed to give the league control of some Macedonian cities and land in exchange for aid. As the league grew, Olynthus and the other cities had to deal with Chalcidice cities that did not desire to join. The league decided to impose its power on the peninsula, and many cities responded by asking Sparta for help. At the same time, the Macedonians recovered their position and demanded the return of the territories they had given to the league, which refused. The Macedonians asked Sparta to intervene. The Spartans traditionally feared unions such as the league and preferred to keep cities independent, and thereby weakened. The Spartans agreed to help the Macedonians and others opposed to the league. In 382, the Spartans sent an army north to deal with the league. In the first two years, the Spartans suffered setbacks, but finally in 379, the Spartans successfully forced Olynthus to sue for peace, break up the league, and become part of the Spartan coalition. While Sparta could be hailed as the restorer of Greek freedom, its actions against Olynthus would have dangerous consequences since they allowed Macedon to grow without any formable opposition. By 375, Olynthus had ejected Sparta and reestablished the Chalcidian League. The league would occasionally align itself with the Athenians and Macedonians depending on whoever gave it the most benefit. Olynthus feared the rise of Macedon and its king, Philip II, in the 350s. Olynthus and the league asked Athens for help, but Athens had been duped by Philip saying and convincing Athens that he had no intention to take the region and refused to help. When Athens realized that Philip had played them, they made overtures to Olynthus to join it against Philip. Realizing that a union of the league and Athens could prove troublesome, Philip gave the Olynthians control of the Athenian ally Potidaea, which they had recently conquered. Olynthus now played both sides by taking Potidaea from ­Athens and then turned around to forge an alliance with Athens against Philip. Enraged, Philip decided to move against the Chalcidian peninsula in 350. His movement ostensibly was because Olynthus had refused to hand over his halfbrother, a pretender to the throne, but in reality it was Olynthus’ double dealing and alliance with Athens against him. Philip reduced each city of the peninsula one by one. The cities either joined openly or, if they refused, they were destroyed. Olynthus made an appeal to Athens, which finally realized that Philip was intent on taking over all of northern Greece. Under the leadership of the orator Demosthenes, a force was raised and sent north. Philip then caused a rebellion in

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Athenian-controlled Euboea, which diverted the force, allowing him to concentrate on Olynthus while it did not have Athenian support. In 348, before Demosthenes could arrive, the city of Olynthus was taken; Philip destroyed it and enslaved its inhabitants. Philip now took over the entire Chalcidice Peninsula, and any opposition in the north ended. With the destruction of Olynthus, the Greek mainland was open to attack by Philip with no major counterweight nearby to stop him. See also: Chalcidian League; Macedon; Peloponnesian War; Thessaly

Further Reading

Cartledge, Paul. 1987. Agesilaos and the Crisis of Sparta. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Worthington, Ian. 2010. Philip II of Macedonia. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. For a discussion of an ancient house in Olynthus with a floorplan, see, “The House of Many Colors,” http://web.mit.edu/21h.405/www/olynthos/homc.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Omens An omen or oionos (Greek for “bird”) was a natural phenomenon that supposedly could foretell an outcome in the future. To the Greeks, omens were messages sent from the gods to instruct humans. Zeus’s symbol was the eagle, while the raven stood for Apollo. There were a variety of natural phenomena that could occur commonly: eclipses, births, flocks of birds, and conditions of sacrifices. In the early Greek period, the main omen dealt with birds and their behaviors and acts. In the Iliad, Homer related several stories concerning prophecies foretold by the behavior of birds. The poet Hesiod, in his Works and Days, referred to the wise man who can understand the signs of birds. The Greek augur who would undertake the observation of birds and sacrifices would face north. The augur would wear a white robe. When looking for favorable signs, the right, or east, was considered lucky. During the time after the Mycenaean period, omens moved away from just the divination of birds and more toward hepatoscopy, observing the entrails, especially the livers, of sacrificial animals. This was derived from Eastern practices where it was prevalent, such as at Babylon, and was often used to predict the weather. The practice was then transmitted to the Hittites, and it was probably from them that the Greeks learned and began to practice it, especially in Ionia. The practice was represented on Greek vases. One of the most famous natural phenomena used for telling the future was astronomical observations. The most famous story concerned Thales of Miletus, who supposedly foretold a solar eclipse, and the successful prediction soon frightened both sides into making peace. The historian Herodotus reported that Thales had predicted the event, and if so, it would have occurred on May 28, 585. In the story, Herodotus related that the Medes and Lydians were fighting a battle when the eclipse occurred, and both sides immediately stopped fighting and made a peace agreement. It is possible that the event was not a solar eclipse, but a lunar eclipse right before the battle in the morning; if so, two possible dates would be

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September 3, 609, and July 4, 587. If he had predicted it correctly then Thales may have had knowledge of astronomy that he received from the Babylonians. Other eclipses were known to have had influenced outcomes. During the Peloponnesian War, Athens was fighting in Sicily when a total lunar eclipse occurred on August 27–28, 413. The Athenian general Nicias refused to flee after seeing the eclipse, thinking that it foretold disaster. This failure to sail away led to the Athenian defeat, so in essence he was correct. Another type of omen, one that especially concerned evil portents, involved strange births. The most famous series of such events were recorded by Herodotus. The first referred to a birth of a lion to a concubine of Meles, the king of Sardis. He carried the cub around the walls except for one part, the section that Cyrus of Persia would later breach. His next references were to Xerxes’s invasion of Greece. One was the birth of a hare by a horse, meaning that he would march like a horse into Greece but would run away like a hare on his way back. Another concerned the birth of a foal by a mule that had both sets of genitals, something impossible that would predict disaster. These stories were meant to show the arrogance or hubris of Xerxes and the superiority of the Greeks, who listened to the gods. The latter story from Herodotus concerned the omen where a fish came back to life as it was being cooked. The interpretation here was that the Persians could come back in power. Here, the Persian prisoner Artayctes, who desecrated the Trojan sanctuary, is punished, and like Xerxes, he is punished. There were many centers in ancient Greece that helped to interpret omens. The most important of these were associated with Zeus and Apollo. Often the omen could be a plague or illness. When a plague descended upon Thebes, its king, Oedipus, asked how this omen should be interpreted; Teiresias, the seer, indicated that the plague would be lifted only when the murderer of the former king was punished. Upon discovering the truth that he himself had killed his father and married his mother, Oedipus exiled himself. Teiresias likewise told the new king, Creon, that the omens seen in Thebes after the battle between the sons of Oedipus were happening because one of the sons, Polyneices, must be buried. Creon responded by attacking Teiresias and his profession. Birds as Signs for the Future The poet Homer mentioned the mantis (seer) Calchas, who received his gift of divination from Apollo; he was held in high regard and was called Agamemnon’s bird-diviner. Some of the omens in the Iliad included the story of a snake devouring nine sparrows, indicating that the war would last nine long years before the tenth brought victory. Homer reported that Helenus was the best birdman on the Trojan side. The appearance of an eagle, such as when King Priam of Troy prayed for a sign and it arrived on his right, was perceived as a good omen. In another passage, as the Trojan leader Hector is attacking the Greek ships, an eagle appeared on his left side, and its talons gripped a snake; still alive, the snake bit the eagle, which gave a loud shriek, dropped it, and flew away. The Trojans took this as a bad portent, believing that Zeus had sent it. Another great seer who could observe birds and report on their impact was Teiresias, who was even said to have a bird observatory or oionoskopeion, to watch the birds, which later became a tourist attraction.

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The Greeks, like other ancient societies, viewed omens as powerful forces that influenced society and individuals. The stories all show how omens predicted an event, either positive or negative, and could be interpreted and cast light on the future. See also: Delphi; Olympian Religion; Religion; Sicilian Expedition

Further Reading

Dillon, Matthew. 2017. Omens and Oracles: Divination in Ancient Greece. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. Foster, M. 2017. The Seer and the City: Religion, Politics, and Colonial Ideology in Ancient Greece. Oakland: University of California Press. Mynott, J. 2018. Birds in the Ancient World: Winged Words. Oxford: Oxford University Press. For an examination of birds as omens in antiquity, see “Birds in the Ancient World: ­Messengers of Omens and Auguries,” Ancient Origins, June 24, 2019, https:// www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/bird-omens-0012185 (accessed May 18, 2021).

Ostracism The Athenians created a safety valve called ostracism to deal with political issues that could potentially affect their democracy. Ostracism could prevent a possible political disruption or could express anger at a particular politician’s or faction’s policies. Unlike a criminal proceeding such as embezzlement or dereliction of

Ancient ceramics used for democratic voting in Athens in the fifth century. (Charalambos Andronos/Dreamstime.com)

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duty, ostracism could be done against anyone, without a real stated reason. The first phase of ostracism was a vote by the Athenian assembly to determine if it should occur. During the sixth month, in the winter, which was January or February, the Athenian assembly was asked if it desired to ostracize an individual. If the members voted yes, then two months later, in the eighth month, the actual vote took place. Citizens would then give an ostracon (piece of pottery sherd) with a name inscribed on it. These shards were then deposited in an urn to ensure anonymity and fairness. The individual with the largest number of votes was to be ostracized, provided that a certain criterion was met. The ancient sources indicate that in order for an ostracism to take place, 6,000 votes needed to be cast. Two views of this existed, though, one that the total number of votes had to be 6,000 and the individual with the largest number would be ostracized, while a second source indicated that 6,000 votes for one person had to be cast. The first view seems to have been prevalent. Many ostraca found with names written on them were in the same handwriting. Given that individuals were often illiterate, there were shops or individuals that wrote down names given by the voters. Any name could be written, and canvassing probably occurred to pick a candidate for exile. The person with the most votes had ten days to leave the city. He was required to stay away for ten years. The individual did not lose his citizenship or property, and his family did not have to go with him. The individual did not lose any status, and his family could continue to participate in politics. The individual could be recalled to Athens by a decree of the assembly. Only one person could be ostracized each year. The system could be used to rid the city of a potential political rival of one group or another. It also allowed the city to rid itself of the leader of a faction and to rid the state of a potential tyrant. Since the system was created during the posttyrant period, many of the early recipients were followers of the tyrant Hippias. Unlike judicial trials, ostracism was a political creation that occurred every year. It was automatic and did not have to be initiated by someone, unlike a judicial case. Many of the cases resulted in the individual going into exile in a city close to home and Athens, but technically outside it. Since most of these individuals were rich and powerful, they would have had connections to allow them to set up residence in other cities. If Cleisthenes instituted the system, it appears not to have been used for nearly twenty years, when a relative of the tyrant Pisistratus was ostracized in 487. The next year, Megacles, the nephew of Cleisthenes, was exiled. In 485, another relative of Cleisthenes was ostracized, followed the next year by Pericles’s father. In 482, Aristides the Just was ostracized. In these instances, the post-Battle of Marathon period may show that there were continual fights with supporters of the tyrant’s party. The institution was not used again for another decade until 471, when Themistocles, the victor at Salamis, was exiled. Another ostracism occurred in 461, when Cimon, the son of the Miltiades victor at Marathon, was ostracized for his failure in the Peloponnese, and others occurred in 460 and 457, probably for enemies of Pericles. Likewise, in 442, Thucydides, possibly a relative of the historian Thucydides known for his work

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The Peloponnesian War, and leader of the conservative faction or group, opposed Pericles, but lost to the charismatic leader and was ostracized. The last individual known to be ostracized was Hyperbolus, who attempted to get the conservative leader Nicias ousted but was prevented when the popular leader Alcibiades backed Nicias. The early ostracism clearly resulted from the traditional conflicts against the party of the tyranny of Pisistratus and his son, Hippias, especially after the Battle of Marathon, when Hippias tried to return. The next phase of ostracism was more with preventing tyrants, a fear of Themistocles, giving way to ostracisms that punished individuals for bad policies such as Cimon. These ostracisms took place at the same time when others were ostracized for political conflicts between opposing ideologies such as Thucydides and Hyperbolus. Interestingly, after the latter occurred in 417, the system fell out of use and no one else is recorded. See also: Athens; Democracy; Ecclesia; Law Courts; Punishment

Further Reading

Forsdyke, Sara. 2005. Exile, Ostracism, and Democracy: The Politics of Expulsion in Ancient Greece. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. For information on ancient authors writing about ostracism, see Adams, John P., “Ostracism at Athens,” California State University Northridge, January 24, 2010, http:// www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/ostracis.html (accessed May 18, 2021). For an examination of ostracism, see “Ostracism,” American School of Classical Studies, http://www.agathe.gr/democracy/practice_of_ostracism.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

P Paideia Paideia was the education system for the aristocratic Greek men, idealized in the literary records from Homer to Plato. It was an attempt to achieve arête (excellence) in all things: physical, emotional, and moral. In Homer’s Iliad, Achilles was viewed as the preeminent great warrior, achieving arête. The Greek youth was expected to not only be trained in physical subjects such as wrestling, gymnastics, and military arts, but also in the liberal arts such as philosophy, music, rhetoric, and grammar. These humanities were supplemented by the sciences and mathematics, including arithmetic, geometry, and medicine. This system of education became the norm throughout the Greek world except at Sparta, which had its own system of education, the agoge. The whole purpose of the paideia was to create the ideal, which would lead to beauty and good, and ultimately perfection, so the individual could serve the state for its benefit and improvement. This perfection would then lead to arête. This concept meant moral virtue achieved through study and knowledge. The Greeks used the words arête and virtue interchangeably. Homer used arête to describe courage and strength, and this continued with the concept of paideia. In the Iliad, arête related to physical attributes, while in the Odyssey, it related to the mind. The leading schools of paideia were developed by the contemporaries Isocrates and Plato during the fourth century. Isocrates came from a wealthy family who knew Socrates; his family lost its wealth in the Peloponnesian War, forcing Isocrates to earn a living through teaching rhetoric. He earned his early living writing speeches for the court defendants. He set up the first school of rhetoric in 392 in the Lyceum at Athens. He was known for accepting only a few students at a time; he charged higher prices than others and stressed rhythm and expression. Isocrates believed that one could use language to successfully solve any issue The other school of philosophy was established by Plato. His ideas are seen in the theory of forms, where there are two worlds, the concrete and the abstract. Plato also believed in the immortality of the soul. These two schools fostered the idea of rhetoric and philosophy through the fourth century to create the ideal education for the aristocracy. See also: Aristotelian Philosophy; Family; Gymnasium; Sex; Slavery; Socratic Method; Sophists

Further Reading

Dmitriev, S. 2021. The Orator Demades: Classical Greece Reimagined Through Rhetoric. New York: Oxford University Press. Jaeger, Werner. 1945. Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture (vols. I–III). Trans. Gilbert Highet. New York: Oxford University Press.

416 Panathenaea Koskenniemi, E. 2019. Greek Writers and Philosophers in Philo and Josephus: A Study of Their Secular Education and Educational Ideals. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. Robb, K. 1994. Literacy and Paideia in Ancient Greece. New York: Oxford University Press.

Panathenaea The Panathenaea (or Panathenaia) came in two forms, an annual celebration and an event held every four years. It was the most important festival at Athens and honored both the goddess Athena Polias and one of the early kings of Athens, Erechtheus. The festival was said to have been established before the first Olympiad and originally called Athenaea. Erechtheus was a mythical king said to have been the son of Mother Earth (Gaia) and raised by Athena. When Theseus came to power, he gathered all of the villages together around Athens and called the festival Panathenaea. The festival’s origins predate the sixth century and expansion under Pisistratus, and were celebrated with sacrifices and contests. The tyrant Pisistratus had a history of developing contests and celebrations. For example, he seems to have ordered an edition of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and these epic poems would become part of his festivities for the Panathenaea. Pisistratus introduced theatrical or rhapsodic events, which were probably based on recitations of Homer. This later developed into the theatrical competition of comedies and tragedies. These contests were held in the odeum. In both musical and theatrical contests, the prizes were valuable, ranging from 200 to 1,000 drachmas (at a time when 1 drachma equaled a day’s wages). In the musical contests, the rhapsodes were required to keep to the form that they recited and not diverge from the original form created centuries earlier. Pisistratus used the enhanced festival as a way to celebrate his power and that of Athens. The festivals were divided into Greater and Lesser. The Greater was celebrated every four years, while the Lesser was held every year. The Greater became a more magnificent or enhanced version of the Lesser, and when the fourth year came around, it was added to the Lesser celebration. During the Greater festival, the procession, and hecatomb, the sacrifice of 100 oxen remained the central element. The chariot race was an early part of the festival, and supposedly Erechtheus himself rode one. The hecatomb (whose name comes from the Greek hekaton, meaning “a hundred,” and bous, meaning “bull”) was usually celebrated at the end of the festival, and its celebratory sacrifice was referenced as early as the Iliad . Other festivals had similar celebrations; for example at the end of the Olympic Games, a hecatomb was celebrated to honor Zeus. The hecatomb could be celebrated with as few as twelve oxen at some festivals. The Greater festival soon became the more important of the two; ultimately, the name Panathenaea became associated with the Greater, often without the adjective greater attached to it. When the Lesser was referenced, it was usually called the Panathenaea Mikra. The Great festival was celebrated during the third year of the Olympiads, at the same time as the Pythian Games. The date of the festival is open to interpretation, with months being June (for the Lesser), and the end of July and early August (the Greater).

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Although the total number of days for the Greater festival is unknown, it probably lasted anywhere from a week to ten days. It had as its main components contests, a great procession, and a sacrifice to Athena Polias. There were a variety of contests, which included musical and theatrical events; several types of athletic contests divided between boys and men, and equestrian and tribal events. The athletic contests included the traditional events of the Olympics: running events, boxing, wrestling, the pentathlon, and chariot and equestrian races. In addition to these traditional games, there were boat races, which probably reflected Athens’s position in the naval shipbuilding world. The first contests performed at the festival were musical. Originally, Pisistratus had the recitations of Homer. The poems were now sung in much longer versions than before. The musical competitions were introduced by Pericles during the height of the Athenian Empire. They were held in the new odeum, which he built for this purpose. The prizes for the contests were money and not in kind, as in the equestrian competitions. The Greater festival had gymnastic competitions that were not part of the Lesser version. The contests did not have anything to do with the religious festival; they were completely secular. They were a later addition to the festival, around either in 566 or soon after by Pisistratus. There were three classes of competitions, for those aged twelve to sixteen, seventeen to twenty, and above twenty. Associated with these events were the athletic competitions. There were the running events, the dolichos, or long race, of about three miles; the stadion, or sprint of about 200 yards; the diaulos, a double stadion or about 400 yards; the hippios, a double diaulos, or about 800 yards. Along with the running events were the pentathlon, wrestling, boxing, pankration, or mixed martial arts of boxing and wrestling, and hoplites (who raced in armor). There were heats or taxeis with four runners each, with the victors running in a heat afterward. The prizes for first and second place were in a ratio of 5 to 1, with the victor receiving oil in a special amphora and the second-place winner received a smaller amount. Like the musical contests, equestrian events were held only at the Greater festival. These included the chariot races and riding competitions. In addition, there were dance competitions at both the Greater and Lesser festivals. The most important component of the Greater festival was the procession for the new robe, the peplus. This procession included the victors, cavalry, and priests and priestesses making their way to the great temple. A frieze along the temple showed the procession. A new robe was made by the Elean maidens every fourth year. The procession moved to the Eleusinium, on the eastern end of the Acropolis, and then to the north of the Acropolis before reaching the Propylaea. Here, there was a sacrifice to Athena Hygiaea, and another sacrifice occurred on the Areopagus. The procession then entered the Acropolis, reserved only for Athenians. At the top, the first temple was dedicated to Athena Nike, where there was a sacrifice of one cow, and then the procession with the hecatomb proceeded to the eastern Acropolis, where a sacrifice to Athena Polias was performed. The final event, held only at the Great festival, was the boat races. The Panathenaia was the most important event in Athens. It was to celebrate the glory of Athens and its power. The festival honored Athena, the most

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important deity for Athens. With its new robe, the statue of Athena guarded the city and looked out to the sea, where the goddess’s power lay. See also: Athens; Festivals; Religion; Temples; Theater; Tragedy

Further Reading

Neils, Jenifer. 1996. Worshipping Athena: Panathenaia and Parthenon. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane, and Robert Parker. 2011. Athenian Myths and Festivals: Aglauros, Erechtheus, Plynteria, Panathenaia, Dionysia. Oxford: Oxford University Press. For general information, see Clarysse, Willy, and Sofie Remijsen, 2008, “The Greek Games,” Ancient Olympics, http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/ TB014EN.html (accessed May 18, 2021). For an overview of the festival, see Atsma, Aaron J., “Panathênaia,” Theoi Project, https:// www.theoi.com/Festival/Panathenaia.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Panhellenic Games In the ancient Greek world, the Panhellenic Games served several purposes: religious, social, economic, and chronological. These attributes allowed Greek society to function during the normal course of events during the year. The four Panhellenic Games were the Olympian, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian, and each was dedicated to a specific god or gods. Coming out of the games were victory odes composed by Pindar, mainly in celebration of the tyrants in Sicily and the aristocrats at Aegina, for all of the games in four books, one for each of the Panhellenic Games. The winner often commissioned someone to write an ode celebrating the victory; these odes were sung in honor of the events and the winners. The Olympian festival, which celebrated Zeus, was held at Olympia in Elis. The festival also gave its name to the chronological system, the Olympiads, held in a four-year cycle. The Olympian festival was held in a similar cycle. They were the starting point for Greek chronol- Amphora earned for victory in a chariot race. ogy where time was reckoned (The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Fletcher Fund, according to which Olympiad 1956)



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with each Olympiad comprised of four years before the next, with the Nemean and Isthmian games in years two and four and the Pythian Games in year three. Therefore, the Nemean and Isthmian games were held the year before and after the Olympic Games. It is possible that the Nemean and Isthmian games were held alternately in years two and four. The Olympic Games, held in honor of Zeus, were the first Pan-Hellenic games to be celebrated, perhaps as early as 776. Held in the summer, they were the most prestigious of the four games. The games lasted for five days, but the athletes arrived a month before to train under the hellanodikai (judges) to ensure that there would be no attempt to cheat or bribe the athletes. The olive wreath was the prize. A truce was held throughout the Greek world during the games even in wartime, allowing peaceful travel and interactions. The games included at least twenty competitions, featuring running, combat, equestrian, and the pentathlon. The contestants competed in the nude. The rules were few; for example, the pankration, a mixture of boxing and wrestling, had only two rules: no biting or gouging. For boxing, there were no weight classes or time limits, and victory was by submission or knockout, not points. Those who committed a false start at the running competitions received corporal punishment. While the winners did not receive money, they did earn the right to be honored not only at Olympia, but in their home polis, where they could receive prizes that often amounted to two or three year’s wages. It was such an important event that when the Persians invaded Greece in 480, the states had a difficult time putting together an army since so many of the Greeks were at the festival, and they had to wait until it was over to put their army together. As with all of the Panhellenic Games, they were primarily religious festivals, with celebrations and feasts in honor of Zeus. The games lasted five days, and the stadium could hold up to 40,000 spectators. The Pythian (or Delphic) Games, celebrated every four years and held two years after the Olympic Games, were probably the second most important games. Celebrated in Delphi in honor of Apollo, the games gave the laurel wreath, sacred to Apollo, as the prize. The games started in the sixth century as song and dance celebrations, and in 582, they were given over to Delphi in the Amphictyonic League, a loose religious confederation of twelve cities. The games were supposedly held in honor of Apollo for killing the Python, a giant serpent, and rendering the area safe. The games were held in late August. Six months prior to the games, nine Theoroi (heralds) were sent to the cities of ancient Greece to announce the games and the sacred truce prohibiting any war while the games were under way. If cities were engaging in war, they were prohibited from entering the religious precinct and participating in the games. The celebrations began with a reenactment of Apollo killing the Python, followed by three days of festivities, and then the games began on the fourth day and lasted two to three more days. In addition to the athletic games, there were musical competitions. The games included running (four track events), boxing, wrestling, the pentathlon, and the pankration, a combination of boxing and wrestling without rules. On the final day, the equestrian horse racing was held,

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including two- and four-horse chariots. The games allowed an influx of visitors into Delphi. The Nemean Games were held at Nemea, near Argos, at Kleonae, a sanctuary, and were held in honor of Zeus and Heracles. The games were founded by Heracles in honor of his defeating the Nemean Lion or by King Lycurgus of Nemea who established them in honor of his son Opheltes, who was killed by a serpent as an infant. Kleonai, a small town just north of the sanctuary, organized the games at first. Like the Olympic Games, the athletes trained under the hellanodikai. The games were established in the sixth century, probably in 573, with the victor receiving celery leaves. The games were held in the summer every two years, at times when the Olympian and Pythian games were not held. These games, like the other Panhellenic festivals, were originally held to honor the military. The games were organized by Argos after it took over Kleonai. As with events by other Greek cities, the games were open to all competitors. They later seem to have rotated among the cities of Corinth, Argos, and Cleonae, near the isthmus. Originally, there were horse races and athletic competitions. It was only in the Hellenistic period that musical celebrations were added. The Isthmian Games, in honor of Poseidon, were held at Corinth and probably started in 582. Corinth was the organizer of the games, which were held in the first and third year of the Olympiad. The victors originally received leaves of pine, and then it was changed to celery in the fifth century. Victors could also receive a statue. The festival to Poseidon started as early as the eleventh century, and the games began in the sixth century. Like other games, there was a truce, and even during the height of the Peloponnesian War, the warring states observed it. The events were similar to the other Panhellenic games, but horse racing was the most important competition since Poseidon was the god of horses. The Panhellenic Games allowed the Greek world to come together to celebrate religious festivals and compete in pseudomilitary events. The games should be seen as ways in which young men and boys prepared for the rigors of campaigns. The games created a system where athletes could hone their skills. With these games held every year, they allowed a continual system for celebration and competition. See also: Delphi; Games; Olympia; Olympic Games; Religion; Stadium

Further Reading

Scott, Michael. 2010. Delphi and Olympia: The Spatial Politics of Panhellenism in the Archaic and Classical Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Valavanēs, Panos. 2004. Games and Sanctuaries in Ancient Greece: Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia, Nemea, Athens. Los Angeles: Getty Publications. For a description of the events in the Panhellenic Games, see “The Sports Event,” International Olympic Committee, https://www.olympic.org/ancient-olympic-games /the-sports-events (accessed May 18, 2021). For more information about the various games and festivals, see Clarysse, Willy, and Sofie Remijsen, 2008, “The Greek Games,” Ancient Olympics, http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TB000EN.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

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Parthenon On the Athenian Acropolis sits a series of temples dedicated to Athena and the glory of Athens. When the Persians captured Athens in 480, before the naval Battle of Salamis, they destroyed all of the old wooden structures. After the victory over the Persians at Salamis, and before the fateful battle at Plataea in 479, the Athenians vowed to leave the remains as a memorial to the great devastation and war that occurred. During the next thirty years, Athens increased its political power and glory, first with the Delian League and then the Athenian Empire. The Athenian statesman Pericles proposed an ambitious new building program that would glorify Athens, and at the same time make the Acropolis worthy of Athenian power, showing off the city’s greatness to visitors. Using the funds from the Athenian tribute states, Pericles proposed to use this money to build a great temple to Athena. He was opposed by a rival politician Thucydides of Melesias (not the historian), who argued that the use of the funds was immoral; Pericles had Thucydides ostracized in 444 so that he could continue his plans. Pericles chose Phidias, the great sculptor, as the general designer of the temple precinct. On the far side, opposite the new Parthenon, stood the Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike, and the Erecthteum. They were all designed to work together in a concerted effort. The Propylaea, with Mnesicles as the architect and envisioned by Phidias, was a designation for porches and other monumental entrances. It was the entrance for the Acropolis in general. It stood obliquely to the Parthenon, but in its sight line. It was a three-aisled hall in a square pattern, with five gateways, and it blended Doric with Ionic features and had a six-column porticoe. At the top of the pathway leading to the Acropolis stood the small Temple of

The Parthenon on the Acropolis at Athens. (Corel)

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Athena Nike, at the traditional location for her sanctuary. It is a small temple, with Callicrates as the architect. Off to the side was the Erechtheum, which was planned to be put up at the same time. It was constructed in 420, only after Phidias had left Athens. It replaced an earlier, sixth-century temple of the Athena Polias, which also was destroyed in 480. It housed the goddess’s sacred structure made of olive wood, as well as other objects. It had an irregular tripartite layout due to the lay of the land. Phidias had already made a name for himself by earlier commissions celebrating the Athenian victory at Marathon with sculptures at Delphi and on the Acropolis, the latter honoring Athena Promachos, the Athenian protector in the battle. This sculpture was made of Persian armor taken from the battlefield. The spear tip and helmet of the thirty-foot-high bronze statue could be seen far away at sea. A story indicated that Pericles argued that with the Peace of Callias in 449, the war was over, and any vows made in 479 were now fulfilled. In antiquity, this story was questioned, and it is possible that Pericles simply obtained a majority vote from the people for the construction of the new temple. The new temple would be to Athena Parthenos, the maiden of the Parthenon. The building would be on a preexisting temple site on the Acropolis that had been destroyed in 480. It was made of Pentalic marble from Attica. The designer-architect was Ictinus, who also built a temple at Bassae. The contractor was Callicrates, who constructed the temple in the Doric order. This temple had eight columns in the front and rear instead of the normal six. The columns have a swelling, fatter or wider in the middle compared to the top and bottom, and lean inward, while the upper part of the temple inclines outward. The platform of the temple also descends from the center of the columns to the temple corner. These changes allowed the temple to flow naturally, without the normal harshness of the Doric style. It was a large temple, measuring 228 feet by 101 feet. The statue to Athena Promachos stood outside the Parthenon. A new cult statue was now built for the temple to Athena Parthenos. This figure was forty feet high and was said to be made of ivory and gold. It was probably made of wood, with the head, hands and feet made of ivory, while the drapery was veneered with gold. The statue was armored, and around her shoulder was a goatskin cloak, or aegis, which was magical. Her helmet had three crests in the shape of a sphinx and two winged horses. Her left hand held a lance and rested on a shield with her holy snake coiled upon it. The shield had a relief of the Greeks and Amazons fighting. Two figures on the shield were in the form of Pericles and a bald man identified as Phidias, something that was viewed as an affront to standards. These figures would also amount to sacrilege. While Pericles’s enemies could not get at him, they could get at his friends—in this case, Phidias, who was forced to flee to Olympia. He would then become renowned again for the huge gold and ivory statue of the seated Zeus for his temple. The Parthenon also had numerous sculptural motifs around the temple. On the outside, 92 scenes of the battle of the metopes were on the north and south sides of the temple. They showed the battle between the Lapiths and Centaurs, as well as Trojan scenes. At the far end of the temple sides were motifs of gods and giants that probably represented the Greeks and Amazons fighting, with Theseus

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Stealing the Delian Treasury to Build the Parthenon When the Athenians created their empire, they moved the treasury of the Delian League from Delos to Athens. This allowed Pericles to tap into the funds that he needed to pay for the Parthenon and other works on the Acropolis. Although some Athenians disapproved publicly, most realized that the funds provided continual employment for the citizens, as related by Plutarch (Life of Pericles), a Greek writing under the Roman Empire: That which gave most pleasure and ornament to the city of Athens, and the greatest admiration and even astonishment to all strangers, and that which now is Greece’s only evidence that the power she boasts of and her ancient wealth are no romance or idle story, was his construction of the public and sacred buildings. Yet this was that of all his actions in the government which his enemies most looked askance upon and cavilled at in the popular assemblies, crying out how that the commonwealth of Athens had lost its reputation and was ill-spoken of abroad for removing the common treasure of the Greeks from the isle of Delos into their own custody; and how that their fairest excuse for so doing, namely, that they took it away for fear the barbarians should seize it, and on purpose to secure it in a safe place, this Pericles had made unavailable, and how that “Greece cannot but resent it as an insufferable affront, and consider herself to be tyrannized over openly, when she sees the treasure, which was contributed by her upon a necessity for the war, wantonly lavished out by us upon our city, to gild her all over, and to adorn and set her forth, as it were some vain woman, hung round with precious stones and figures and temples, which cost a world of money.” Source: Plutarch, and John Dryden. Corrected from the Greek and revised by Arthur Hugh Clough in 5 volumes. 1906. Plutarch’s Lives: The Translation Called Dryden’s. Boston: Little Brown and Co., Volume 1, p. 334.

defeating the Amazon invasion. They showed the victory of Hellenism over the barbarian east, an allegory of the Athenians’ victory over the Persians. On the two wide pediment sides were depictions of Athena. The eastern pediment showed her birth, with Hephaestius cleaving the head of Zeus with an axe and Athena emerging fully armed and armored. This was then framed by the rising and setting of the Sun in its chariots, while on the far end were the gods and goddesses, probably the Olympian gods, in various stages of repose, reclining, seated, and standing. On the western pediment was the famous struggle between Poseidon and Athena for the ownership of Athens. Poseidon causing the salt spring on the Acropolis to gush forth is depicted, while Athena is presented with the gift of the olive tree. Also seen was the Athenian river god, Ilissus or Cephisus. The interior frieze above the architrave in the cella has 420 of the 520 scenes that survive. They depict one event and create a continuous story of the Great Panathenaea and the annual festival. The great ceremony, held every four years, became a crucial part of Pericles’s desire to glorify Athens and its accomplishments. The friezes are probably generalized figures. Although it was a religious festival, it was also secular. The procession celebrated the bringing of her new robe, woven by the citizens’ daughters. The images showed the taking down and folding of her old robe and its storage. Next came officials on horseback, leading sacrificial animals in a procession. The friezes were high, and although they might

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have been difficult to see (especially due to the lighting and shade), they present the procession in an idealized fashion. The figures’ faces were reserved and tranquil. The idea was to present a perfect state of being. The Parthenon was the culmination of political and artistic planning of Pericles during the golden age of Athens. The work of Phidias and his shop of artists created the monuments of Athens, which would endure for ages and highlight the accomplishments of the city-state and its empire. See also: Acropolis; Athens; Panathenaea; Religion; Temples

Further Reading

Boardman, John. 1985. The Parthenon and Its Sculptures. Austin: University of Texas Press. Jenkins, Ian. 1994. The Parthenon Frieze. Austin: University of Texas Press. Stuttard, David. 2013. Parthenon: Power and Politics on the Acropolis. London: British Museum Press. For a description of the Parthenon, see “The Parthenon,” Travels Through Greco-Roman Antiquity, Villanova University, https://exhibits.library.villanova.edu/ancient -greece/cities/athens/parthenon (accessed May 18, 2021). For a detailed description of the Acropolis, see “Acropolis, Athens,” UNESCO, World Heritage Sites: Greece, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/404/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Peace of Callias After the Persian invasion of Greece by Xerxes in 480, the Athenians led the Delian League in a campaign to liberate the Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor. The Delian League (later the Athenian Empire) successfully in a short time liberated the coastal Greek cities of Asia Minor and forced them to join it. Most of the cities willingly joined since they would reap the benefits of the new league, especially trade and protection. The Athenians had soon made the Aegean Sea into their own lake, controlling it north and west of Cyprus. The period until 460 was a complete success for the Athenians, culminating in a series of battles at Eurymedon in the early 460s, a disaster in Egypt, and a renewed campaign at Salamis on Cyprus in 450 under Cimon, ultimately leading to peace with Persia. The Athenians had engaged in a period of expansion, which led to their help in supporting the Egyptians in their rebellion against Persia in 460. A large fleet of 200 Athenian and Delian allies was already operating at Cyprus when Inaros, a Libyan warlord, moved to rebel against the Persians. After Xerxes’s murder, which resulted in civil disruption, his son, Artaxerxes, needed time to consolidate his power and deal with a revolt in Egypt, which opened opportunities for Athens. If Athens was successful, it would control all trade in the region, hinder Persia by preventing grain from reaching the empire, and establish a base for further expeditions. In this instance, the Greeks were the aggressors. The Athenians sailed up the Nile and conquered the city of Memphis in 459. There is no further mention of the fleet for the next two years. Artaxerxes now sent a large army and a Phoenician fleet to Egypt. The Persians successfully drove the Athenians out of Memphis



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to the island of Propontis, where they were besieged for the next eighteen months. After the Persians diverted and drained the canal where the Athenian fleet was stationed, that made its fleet ineffective. The Greeks burned their ships and retreated to a fortress, where they surrendered in 454. The Persians then allowed them to move across the desert to Cyrene where the Greeks returned home. A relief squadron of fifty ships arrived and was defeated by the Phoenician fleet. The Athenians had recalled Cimon from ostracism early, before the mandated ten-year period, and he campaigned in Cyprus with a new fleet of 200 ships; his death in 450 at the siege of Cition marked the high point of the Athenian Empire. The fleet then achieved a victory over the Phoenician and Cilician fleets, but it did not continue the war further without its leader. The Peace of Callias was potentially established at that point. There has been debate as to whether it was an actual peace treaty or a later forgery. The case for the forgery lies in the ancient author Theopompus’s assertion that the treaty was a fake because the stele inscribed was in the Ionian alphabet, which Athens did not use until 404. In addition, the peace treaty is not directly mentioned by Thucydides or Herodotus. Counter to these arguments, the Peace of Callias is mentioned explicitly in the fourth century by Plato, Isocrates, Demosthenes, and others. Herodotus mentions that Callias was at Susa with King Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, around 450, potentially pointing to a later date for the peace. As to Theopompus’s view, the stele set up may have been in Ionian, but it may not have been the original text, but a later copy. If the peace occurred, it would have been difficult for both sides to comprehend. Athens traditionally would not make peace or enact treaties with barbarians, which was how the Greeks considered the Persians; the Persians, meanwhile, would accept only those who submitted completely, the giving of earth and water If both sides realized that they could not defeat the other, they may have then have realized that coming to some kind of arrangement would be beneficial to both of them. The date of the peace is also open to debate. One idea is that after Cimon won at the Battle of Eurymedon in the early 460s, the Persian king Xerxes wanted the two sides to come to an understanding. Callias, Cimon’s brother-in-law, was then probably sent to Xerxes to arrange the agreement, which set the boundaries of the combatants’ respective territories. A later historian, Diodorus, claimed that the treaty occurred after Cimon’s victory at Salamis in 450 under Artaxerxes (but Diodorus is known to have confused the two campaigns). A still later source indicated that there were two treaties, and it is possible that a treaty was established after Cimon’s victory at Eurymedon and was then reconfirmed after the Salamis campaign, as implied from Herodotus’s account of Callias being at Susa. The reconfirmation would have been part of the normal Persian practice since with the death of a king, the previous treaties would become null and void and the new king could decide to renew whichever ones he wished. It may have been that after that, Callias returned to Susa and sought to have the treaty renewed. This would have made sense given the circumstances and events after Eurymedon. After Cimon had been victorious at Eurymedon, he returned home in triumph, bringing a victory and possible treaty. But he was then

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ostracized for pursuing a policy of accommodation with Sparta. At the same time, the peace treaty thwarted the expansionist group, curtailing their field of operations. With Cimon’s ostracism and Xerxes’s death after the initial peace treaty, Athens under Pericles decided to go on the offensive and attack Egypt. With the defeat of the fleet in Egypt, Athens would have been eager to come to some kind of accommodation. With Cimon returning from ostracism and taking up the offensive against Persia, he hoped to reassert his position and create a situation where Athens would have a stronger negotiating position. He defeated the Persian fleet at Salamis on Cyprus. With Cimon’s death shortly after Salamis and another Athenian naval victory, the Persians under King Artaxerxes desired to make an agreement. The Athenians, having to deal with internal problems in the league and desiring to conclude with Persia, dispatched Callias again to Susa, where the treaty was reconfirmed. The peace treaty allowed Pericles to deal with the rebels and consolidate Athens’s position, while maintaining control over the Aegean. The treaty laid down the following terms: Persia agreed that it would not send its fleet into the Aegean, recognizing that Athens controlled the region and the Greek cities of Ionia. Athens in turn agreed not to enter the region around the Phoenician coast. The Athenians must have sent an embassy to the Persian court, and the agreement must have been written down. The fact that both sides desired peace was crucial. The ambassador from Athens was Callias, the richest man in Athens; he was also married to Cimon’s sister, and the peace agreement probably reflected Cimon’s party or faction, which advocated for the Delian League and the Greek control of Asia Minor. The Peace of Callias ended the first phase of the war with Persia and reflected Athens’s domination of the Aegean. There may in fact have been two negotiations—one after Eurymedon, in the reign of Xerxes, and the second after Salamis in 450. The peace also allowed the Athenians to concentrate on the Aegean. See also: Athenian Empire; Athens; Delian League; Persia; Persian Wars

Further Reading

Cawkwell, George. 2006. The Greek Wars: The Failure of Persia. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Meiggs, Russell. 1972. The Athenian Empire. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. For a general description of the peace, see Rickard, J., “Peace of Callias, 448 BC,” ­October 28, 2015, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/peace_callias.html (accessed May 18, 2021). For a detailed examination, see Badian, Ernst, 1990. “Callias, Peace of,” Encyclopædia Iranica, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/callias-peace-of-peace-made-by-xerxes -and-or-artaxerxes-i-qq (accessed May 18, 2021).

Pella The Macedonian capital of Pella was the third capital, after Lebaea and Aegae, founded by King Archelaus (r. 413–399). The city was situated in the southeast region of Bottiaia. It was bounded on the west by the Bermion Mountains and

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Mount Paikon in the north. The Axios and Haliacmon rivers bounded the plain, making the land rich and fertile. The city was known by the historian Hecataeus of Miletus in the sixth century and mentioned by the historian Herodotus when describing Xerxes’s invasion of Greece in 480, and later by the historian Thucydides when describing the expansion of Macedon against Thrace. Pella was more strategically located than Aegae; located on Lake Loudias, formed by the River Lydias (Loudias), it allowed access to the Thermaic Gulf. Thanks to this strategic location, the Macedonian king could look to influence the eastern region of Thrace, particularly Olynthus. Archelaus brought to his court important intellectuals to help enhance his standing. One of those was Euripides, the Athenian playwright, who wrote his work Bacchae and even died there. He also brought to Pella the poet Timotheus of Miletus and the painter Zeuxis. Pella grew during the late fifth century so that by the time Archelaus had established it as the Macedonian capital, it was the largest city in Macedon. The location was well chosen since it was surrounded by marshes that could not be crossed on foot. The marsh had a fortress called the Phacus, situated on an island with walls and connected to the city walls by a bridge. The structures of the capital of Pella were widespread, including a royal treasury discovered in the south. On the westerly hill, remains of the acropolis and the palace have been discovered, which contained two architectural complexes constructed next to each other. The palace was enlarged and reconstructed during the late reign of Philip II. The remains show a hall and courtyards, with the royal family’s quarters separate from Pella’s administrative center and governing offices. The structures appear to be arranged in two rows. The central unit or palace had two peristyle open areas. The remains around the courtyards have porticoes. On the south was a veranda that allowed the residents to look beyond to the gulf and the plain. This part of the palace was built by Philip II. The northern facade of the palace faced the city and had a portico that was over 450 feet long and a large triple propylaeum or monumental gateway. Later, the palace contained a series of baths built at the end of the fourth century. To the south lay the city proper, laid out in a grid plan as envisaged by Hippodamus (498–408). He planned cities around a well-structured system of parallel roads intersecting at right angles with a population of 10,000 citizens (i.e., the men), meaning a total population of about 50,000. He had already laid out the Piraeus on a grid plan for Pericles, as well as the city of Rhodes, which had been reestablished after being sacked. The central area of the town contained the agora, which was colonnaded, and associated shops around it. Radiating out of the agora, measuring ten blocks, were several broad streets, usually about thirty feet wide, producing many uniform city blocks. The city blocks were 150 feet wide, and many are 400 feet, but they could vary between 111 365 feet and 500 feet long. The city had an excellent sewer system. The northern side contained a temple to Aphrodite and Cybele, which had porticoes. Finds of statuettes of Aphrodite and Eros have been unearthed. Private houses dating from around 300 have been discovered, some with colonnaded courtyards and mosaics portraying mythological scenes of the Amazons, the rape of Helen by Theseus, and Dionysus riding a panther. To the east lay a cemetery. A large tomb was discovered, and the names

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of Macedonian nobles were inscribed on stones, as well as painted sculptures and walls. Other tombs dating from 600 to 200 have been found. The wealthy city houses were built on two types of plans. The first was the interior peristyle type, which had a central courtyard with the rooms around it. This provided the residents with a peaceful retreat from the noise of the city. The second type was pastas, or porticoes surrounding the exterior. Many of these houses had mosaics attesting to their wealth. The palace and city of Pella were larger than previous capitals and were used as the center of government during the fourth century. See also: Aegae; Macedon

Further Reading

Galanakis, Ioannis. 2011. Heracles to Alexander the Great: Treasures from the Royal Capital of Macedon, a Hellenic Kingdom in the Age of Democracy. Oxford, UK: Ashmolean Museum. Petsas, P. M. 1978. Pella: Alexander the Great’s Capital. Thessaloniki, Greece: Institute for Balkan Studies. For topics on Macedonia, including Pella and the surrounding regions, see “Travelling,” Macedonian Heritage, http://www.macedonian-heritage.gr/HellenicMacedonia /en/C1.html (accessed May 18, 2021). For more on the history of Pella, see Selkirk, Andrew, “Greece: Pella,” World Archaeology, volume 52, March 28, 2012, https://www.world-archaeology.com/features /greece-pella-3/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Peloponnese The Peloponnese or southern Greece, was originally called Pelops nesos, or island of Pelops, who was the grandson of Zeus and whose family, the Pelopidae, ruled Mycenae and Argos. The land is separated from northern Greece by the Isthmus of Corinth, a narrow strip just north of the city of Corinth. It is mainly a mountainous region with some large plains, notably in Laconia and Messenia. The Peloponnese is divided into several regions, moving around the peninsula from north to south to west and then back to the east: the Argolid, Laconia, Messenia, Elis, Achaea, Arcadia, and Corinth. The Argolid, a triangular piece of land, jutted out into the sea, with mountains bounding it from the northeast to the southwest, with the Aegean Sea in the south. Achaea lay to its west and south, separating the Argolid from Laconia. Its main city, Argos, stood near the Bronze Age or Mycenaean sites of Mycenae and Tiryns, with a central plain nominally called Argos. The city of Mycenae was the most important site in the Argolid and was associated with the Trojan War and most of the mythology of the Bronze Age. Its leader was Agamemnon, the brother of Menelaus, who organized the rescue force to bring Menelaus’s wife, Helen, who had been kidnapped by Paris, the son of Priam, the king of Troy. With the fall of Mycenae after the Dorian invasion, Argos became the chief city. It had started out as a small village and by 700, it had become a large town incorporating Dorians from the surrounding area. This city and area became the

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chief Dorian stronghold for the Peloponnese in this early period. From here, the Dorians spread to the south and west. The region of the Peloponnese became a Dorian stronghold. As per mythology, and probably reflecting a more general migration, the new inhabitants pushed the indigenous population out of their original lands more into the rugged hills of central and western Peloponnese. The Dorians then became the rulers of the lands and established themselves primarily in the Corinthia, Argolis, and Laconia. To the south of the Achaea lay Laconia, an extensive region with a fertile plain with the Eurotas River running through it. Mountain ranges, Taygetus in the west and the Parnon in the east, protected Laconia and provided valuable runoff for the plains and their agriculture; the mountains terminated at Cape Taenarum (Matapan) and Cape Malea on either side of the Laconian Gulf. It too was a rich region in the Bronze Age, with Sparta as its main city as related by Homer. The Dorian invasion likewise disrupted the ancient system of social and political life where the indigenous population was reduced in servitude, becoming the helots. The region was soon dominated by Sparta, where five local villages created the important and ultimately large city or polis. Laconia’s main agricultural product was barley, and its production allowed a sizable population to be supported, enabling the Dorian Spartans to dominate the entire Peloponnese. West of Laconia was Messenia, a region dominated during the Bronze Age by Pylos, the home of Homer’s Nestor. This was an administrative and agricultural center ruled by a king. The region was taken over by the Dorians but remained independent of Sparta until after the Messenian Wars. Along its northern border was the Neda River, separating it from Elis. To the northeast was Arcadia, with Mount Elaeum and Mount Nomia. Finally, to the east was Laconia, bordered by the Taygetus Mountains. The region had rich plains and a favorable climate, and like Laconia, it could support a large population above subsistence level. To the north of Messenia was the district of Elis, or Elea. The Ionian Sea bounded it on the west, while on the north was Achaea, and to the east was Arcadia. Elis had control of the Olympic Games at Olympia. The northern district was known for its good pastureland and the raising of cattle and horses. It was taken over by the Dorians as they moved west from Aetolia. The city of Elis, its primary polis, was a democracy by around 500. During the Peloponnesian War, the city was at first allied with Sparta, but soon internal rivalries broke out, and they defected from the Peloponnesian League. At the Battle of Mantinea in 418, they fought against Sparta, and when Sparta won, it avenged itself on Elis by taking part of its land. After the war, during the fourth century, the region was dominated by the Arcadian Confederacy. To the east of Elis, moving east along the northern coast of the Peloponnese, was Achaea. To its south was Arcadia, on the west Elis, on the east Corinth, and on the north the Bay of Corinth. The region is mountainous and well served with rivers. Supposedly, the Dorians pushed the original inhabitants out of Argolis, and they fled west to Achaea. Twelve of the cities there formed the Achaean League. They were neutral during the Persian Wars, probably believing that its rough region would prevent conquest, and during the Peloponnesian War, they remained noncommittal.

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A tremendous earthquake in 373 caused massive destruction. The region joined with Thebes when it invaded the Peloponnese in 367, seeing it as an opportunity to reduce Sparta’s power. Shortly afterward, however, many of the cities reverted to oligarchs and sided with Sparta against Thebes at the Battle of Mantinea in 362. When Philip II of Macedon attacked Thebes, the Achaeans joined with Athens to help Thebes but were defeated, becoming part of the newly formed, Macedonianbacked Corinthian League against Persia. Arcadia was landlocked in the middle of the Peloponnese. It successfully retained its independence against the rise of Sparta in the seventh century by forming a defensive league. During the Persian Wars, this league sent troops under Sparta to Thermopylae and Plataea. It would later join Sparta against Athens in the Peloponnesian War but afterward joined Thebes against Sparta. It created a new Arcadian federation, with a new capital established at Megalopolis. The region bounded every other region of the Peloponnese being nearly in the center. The final major area was Corinthia, to the east of Achaea and Arcadia and north of Argolis. The region was well sited on the Corinthian and Saronic gulfs and included the Isthmus of Corinth. To the north lay Megara and Attica. The ancient region was dominated by the city of Corinth, which built its power on trade, especially using both gulfs to reach areas to the east and west. In particular, Corinth built a transport system to unload, ferry, and load goods on and off ships from each gulf so as to transport the goods throughout the eastern Mediterranean. The Corinthians had a strong naval force and were viewed as the merchants for all the Peloponnese. See also: Achaea; Arcadia; Argos; Corinth; Elis; Geography; Messene; Olympia; Peloponnesian League; Sparta; Tribes

Further Reading

Cartledge, Paul. 2002. Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History, 1300–362 B.C. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. Dixon, Michael D. 2014. Late Classical and Early Hellenistic Corinth: 338–196 B.C.­London: Routledge. Salmon, J. B. 1984. Wealthy Corinth: A History of the City to 338 BC. Oxford, UK: ­Clarendon Press.

Peloponnesian League The Peloponnesian League, or “the Lacedemonians and their allies,” as it was known in antiquity, was essentially a mechanism with which Sparta, or the Lacedemonians as they were also called, could control the states of the Peloponnese. Sparta accomplished this by making separate alliances with each city. The league allowed Sparta a way to call a gathering to hear the sentiments of its allies and determine possible policies. Sparta was the hegemon or leader of the league, and the council of allies controlled it. The council had two assemblies, the assembly of Spartiates and the Congress of Allies. The assembly of Spartiates was the Spartan assembly, and only they could vote and control the discussion. The Congress of Allies was an assembly in which each member, regardless of its size, had one vote. This favored Sparta since it could easily control the smaller members, forcing them to vote as it desired.



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Sparta was the only one who could call for the Congress of Allies to meet, and the Congress’ vote was not binding on Sparta. The members of the Peloponnesian League did not pay tribute as with the Delian League, and during time of war, only one-third of a member-state’s army was required to serve. Because Sparta made separate alliances with each state, it was not obligated to support any of the states if they went to war, either among themselves or with outsiders. Originally, the two major states in the Peloponnese, Sparta and Argos, attempted to control the region. Each state attempted to draw into its sphere other states as allies. By the end of the seventh century, Sparta had successfully gained control of most of the Peloponnese. To keep Argos at bay, Sparta allied itself with two crucial states, Corinth in the north and Elis in the west. Sparta had sent its army to oust the tyrant of Corinth and had helped Elis in its claim to control the Olympic Games and festival, hence winning their loyalty. Using its military, Sparta forced other states to join it. Tegea successfully defeated the Spartan army in a frontier war, however, forcing Sparta to reassess its position and policy. Sparta decided that, instead of renewing the war, to offer Tegea a permanent defensive alliance. Tegea, afraid of nearby Argos, accepted the offer. At this point, the defensive alliance became the model for Sparta to deal with other members of the Peloponnese. Other cities now made similar alliances with Sparta, and in turn Sparta brought those city-states in the north and central part of the Peloponnese into a league. Ultimately, all of the Peloponnese except for Argos and Achaea was under the influence of Sparta.

Traitor or Innovator? How an Athenian Helped the Spartans After the Sicilian expedition set sail from Athens in 415, the enemies of Alcibiades pursued his prosecution for the mutilation of the Herms where the statues had their genetalia defaced. Knowing that he would not receive a fair trial, Alcibiades fled to Sparta, where he caused enumerable harm to Athens by giving the Spartans sound advice that ultimately led to Athens’s destruction, as related by Plutarch (Life of Alcibiades), a Greek writer during the Roman period: Alcibiades, lying under these heavy decrees and sentences, when first he fled from Thurii, passed over into Peloponnesus, and remained some time at Argos. But being there in fear of his enemies, and seeing himself utterly hopeless of return to his native country, he sent to Sparta, desiring safe conduct, and assuring them that he would make them amends by his future services for all the mischief he had done them while he was their enemy. The Spartans giving him the security he desired, he went eagerly, was well received, and, at his very first coming, succeeded in inducing them, without any further caution or delay, to send aid to the Syracusans; and so roused and excited them, that they forthwith despatched Gylippus into Sicily, to crush the forces which the Athenians had in Sicily. A second point was to renew the war upon the Athenians at home. But the third thing, and the most important of all, was to make them fortify Decelea, which above every thing reduced and wasted the resources of the Athenians. Source: Plutarch, and John Dryden. Corrected from the Greek and revised by Arthur Hugh Clough in 5 volumes. 1906. Plutarch’s Lives: The Translation Called Dryden’s. Boston: Little Brown and Co., Volume 2, p. 27.

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Since it was a defensive league in nature, Sparta took the leadership role to ensure that the Peloponnese—and Sparta above all—were protected. The Peloponnesian League supported oligarchies and was known for ousting tyrannies and democracies. Although Sparta was the main leader, other states could influence Sparta, especially Corinth, known for its wealth and strong navy. Before the Persian Wars, the league mainly centered on consolidating Sparta’s position and opposing tyrants. In fact, Sparta became known as “the tyrant basher” and helped oust the tyrant Hippias from Athens. During the Persian Wars, Sparta attempted to defend the Peloponnese but ultimately led its army out of the south and defeated the Persians at Plataea in 479. After the wars, Sparta expanded the Peloponnesian League into the Hellenic League, adding Athens and other city-states. The behavior of the Spartan commanders, however, forced Sparta to recall them and its allies to declare that they did not wish to have any future Spartan leaders. Sparta now reverted to its original alliance. During the Peloponnesian War, the league successfully defeated Athens, but it was only fleeting—by 370, Sparta’s power had been broken by Thebes and the league was in shambles. It continued operating, especially Corinth, Sicyon, and Epidaurus in the northeast, who feared Athens, Thebes, and Argos. Other cities either joined Thebes or were neutral. In 338, after Philip II had defeated Thebes and subjugated the rest of Greece, the Peloponnesian League was disbanded and Philip II instead created the Corinthian League, including most of the Greek states except Sparta. See also: Argos; Corinth; Elis; Peloponnese; Sparta; Tribes

Further Reading

Bourke, Graeme. 2018. Elis: Internal Politics and External Policy in Ancient Greece. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. Pomeroy, Sarah B. 2009. A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Waterfield, Robin. 2018. Creators, Conquerors, and Citizens: A History of Ancient Greece. New York: Oxford University Press. For an overview of the Peloponnesian League, see “Peloponnesian League,” Livius.org, 2005, https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/peloponnesian-league/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War—a war between a naval empire, Athens, and a land force, Sparta—had its origins in the continual internecine wars of the Greek poleis. The war between the two great powers could be seen as a struggle lasting fifty-five years, divided into three phases. The first lasted fifteen years, from 460–445, when the two fought for control of the mainland until Athens was defeated and entered into the Thirty Years Peace with Sparta. The second and third phases became known collectively as the Peloponnesian War, but this term was never used by the historian Thucydides. The second phase, which occurred after nearly



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half the peace had been observed, ran from 431 to 421 and is commonly called the Archidamian War, after its Spartan king, and concluded with the Peace of Nicias, named for an Athenian statesman. The final phase, from 420 to 404, witnessed the Athenian defeat. Unlike other events, the Peloponnesian War had a contemporary author, Thucydides, recording the events. Although an Athenian, he still presented the events in as unbiased a way as he could, given his background. As Athens grew in power and expanded in the eastern Mediterranean, its control of the economic conditions in Greece increased. This in turn brought it into conflict with other major powers—most notably Corinth, an ally of Sparta. Corinth had an extensive trade network around its colonies that brought it into conflict with Athens since some of these colonies were part of the Athenian Empire. Other Corinthian colonies were opposed to their mother city, some of whom either allied themselves with Athens or remained neutral. The two daughter cities of Corinth that forced the two major powers into conflict were Corcyra and Potidaea. There were other reasons for the war, the most crucial being Sparta’s fear that Athens would ultimately dominate all of Greece, and thus its own power would be diminished. After Athens continued its growth, Sparta was content to retreat within the Peloponnese and had traditionally sought to control only the Peloponnese; Corinth, being the only Peloponnese power with extensive trade arrangements, complained to Sparta of Athens hampering its power and connections. Sparta did not feel inclined to act, in part because it feared of moving beyond the Peloponnese and potentially allow the helots to rebel. The first incident to spark the war came with the conflict of Corcyra against its mother city of Corinth. Athens could not allow the third-largest fleet, Corcyra, becoming part of the second-largest fleet, Corinth, thereby supplanting the largest one, Athens. When Athens joined with Corcyra in a defensive pact and, through a convenient event in 433, allowed Athens to best Corinth without it being an offensive act; Corinth complained to Sparta, which did not act even though it was annoyed. The next event concerned the Corinthian colony of Potidaea, which was part of the Athenian Empire. Potidaea received its magistrates from Corinth, and after the war took place between Corcyra and Corinth with Athens being involved,

Innovative Versus Conservative In a discussion concerning why war occurred, Thucydides portrayed the difference between the Athenians and Spartans. In his description, the Athenians are revolutionary, while the Spartans are conservative; the Athenians are quick in their conception and execution in the plan, while the Spartans are careful to keep what they have and not act, even when action is needed. The Athenians are bold and pursue risks and are full of hope; the Spartans, although strong, are not decisive, and they even distrust their own plans. The Athenians look abroad, while Sparta looks within; the Athenians hope to gain riches abroad, while the Spartans are afraid of anything new and fear losing what they have. The picture that Thucydides painted is that Athens and its allies are always moving forward, while Sparta is stuck in place; Athens would increase its power, while Sparta would decline. The end result was that the conservative never-changing power would win.

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Athens demanded that Potidaea stop receiving its magistrates from Corinth and tear down its walls. In the region of the Chalcidice, other cities that belonged to the Athenian Empire were encouraged to raise a revolt against Athens by the king of Macedonia. In addition, Potidaea was promised aid from Sparta if attacked, even by Athens. The Corinthians arrived with some forces and were bested by the Athenians, who attacked the city in September 432. The Corinthians now asked Sparta for help, and Pericles, the Athenian general and statesman, struck first with an economic attack on Corinth called the Megara Decree. Megara had helped Corinth in the war against Corcyra, and Pericles decided to hurt Corinth economically. The decree prevented goods from Megara from being sold in Athens. This would lead to not only the destruction of Megara, but the economic curtailment of Corinth as well. At this stage, the allies of Sparta brought formal charges that Athens had violated the Thirty Years Peace. Led by Corinth, they charged that Athenians had been imperialistic and they needed to move to action, not words. Megara then attacked Athens for denying it access to its port. The island of Aegina, under Athenian domination but supposedly independent, agitated behind the scenes and continued to incite opposition to Athens, claiming that its independence had not been guaranteed. Some Athenian envoys, doing other business, were at Sparta and were invited to respond. As Thucydides related, what was important in all of these discussions was not the stated causes such as Corcyra, Potidaea, or Megara, but rather the fear of Athens and its successes. The debate that Sparta now undertook was not whether to go to war, but when. The Spartan king Archidamus encouraged Sparta to delay building up its financial reserves since war is waged not by arms alone, but by money as well. The Ephors, however, were in favor of war and simply asked the question of whether the peace treaty had been broken, and whether Athens was responsible. The Spartan assembly decided that Athens had broken the treaty. According to the Peloponnesian League’s protocol, the decision by Sparta was not binding—the league’s assembly had to vote. Sparta now called a meeting of the league’s assembly to debate the issue. The Corinthians who had urged war in the Spartan assembly now held back, so as to persuade the smaller states to support their cause. These states, not associated with trade and being near Athens, had to be convinced that the war was in their interest. Corinth argued that these smaller states depended on Corinth and other mercantile states to receive imports and to sell their goods, and the Peloponnese had the resources to win. At the league’s assembly, the majority of states voted for war. Both sides sent envoys to each other demanding that ancient curses be resolved, but nothing would come out of it. The two sides crashed into war, with Sparta commanding all of the Peloponnese except Argos, and all of central Greece except for Plataea. Athens had its islands and Corcyra in the west. More important, the two sides differed in their resources. Athens not only had its own fleet of 300 warships, but also those of its allies, while Sparta only had the Corinthian fleet, which did not fare well at Corcyra. Sparta and its allies could put into the field 30,000 soldiers without dipping into its reserves, while Athens could put only 16,000 into



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the field, and the Spartans were still viewed as the best soldiers in Greece. Athens had built up a reserve of 6,000 talents (the equivalent of building 6,000 new ships) and received a yearly influx of 1,000 talents from its allies. Sparta and its allies did not have any noticeable financial reserves and nowhere near the income from its allies as Athens did. Since Sparta could not field a large navy, it would not be able to deal with the islands until Persia financed the Spartans and their fleet. The Spartan strategy was to try to entice Athens into a great land battle in which their superior numbers and training could overwhelm the Athenians and bring them to make peace. On the other hand, the Athenians under Pericles sought to exhaust the Spartans, so he was willing to allow Attica to be attacked each year. Athens did not have the resources to garrison the mainland, as proved by their failure before the Thirty Years Peace. Pericles’s strategy was to use hit-and-run attacks on the western coast of Greece against Sparta’s allies. The plan would allow Athens to keep Sparta engaged in constant garrison duties to protect its own lands, while the Athenian fleet could engage in raids. Sparta would try to detach Athenian allies in Thrace, where it could engage with support from Boeotia. Pericles’s plan was well thought out and probably could have worked if future events had not derailed it. The war began in March 431, when an advance group of 300 Thebans entered Plataea on the invitation of some malcontents. At first they were successful in convincing the Plataeans that they were more numerous, but when the truth was discovered, most of the Thebans were captured and executed. While the act was contrary to normal precedents, the traditional internecine conflicts between the states prompted states to carry out similar acts. The first phase of the war, the Archidamian War, began with the Spartan king advancing into Attica and ravaging the countryside. The war continued to take shape early on with the implementation of Pericles’s plan. The Athenians evacuated their countryside and swarmed into Athens. The population of the city swelled and was soon overcrowded forcing makeshift housing to occur, with many residents living in the area between the Long Walls from Athens to the Piraeus. The Spartans advanced into Boeotia, while the Athenians sent a fleet of 100 ships to the west, where they had some successes. At this stage, the Athenians also drove out the Dorian Aeginetans from Aegina and settled it with Athenian citizens. This completed the century-old war between the two states. At the end of the first year of war in winter, the traditional oration for those who had died was given by Pericles. In the speech, Pericles praises the Athenians and their contribution to Greece. The following year, 430, the Spartans again invaded Attica. This time, a greater danger existed for Athens—the plague. It was a new disease, and the doctors could not find a cure. With the overcrowding of the city, the disease soon wreaked horrible consequences. The number of dead continued to rise, and soon bodies began to pile up all over the city, including temples, and the dying were concentrated at the fountains to quench their thirst, possibly spreading the disease even more. The plague did not hit much beyond Athens. The plague seemed to have originated in Africa and spread with the Carthaginian trade routes throughout the Mediterranean since both Rome and Athens were

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hit. Since the Peloponnese was not hit hard by the plague, it may have been associated with the grain trade. It is estimated that at least 20 percent of the population died during the outbreak that first year. The plague would return, but not as virulently as in the first year. The large Athenian fleet, along with a sizable army under Pericles, attempted to seize Epidaurus in the Argos but failed. If it had succeeded, then the Peloponnese would have been cut in two and the war may have ended. At the same time, the Athenians after a year of siege captured Potidaea and colonized the site with Athenians. The next year, 429, a greater disaster occurred when Pericles took ill with the plague and died. The rudder of the state was now gone. From 429 to 427, the Spartans blockaded and besieged the city of Plataea. Although the Athenians said that they would help the Plataeans, no help came. During the campaign, the Spartans enveloped the city and forced the inhabitants into deprivation. In December 428, about 200 soldiers escaped. They were the lucky ones; in the summer of 427, the Plataeans surrendered, and nearly 200 along with 25 Athenians were executed. The city was razed, and Sparta now controlled the access to Thebes from the Peloponnese. The Athenians did not help due to another issue as well—the revolt of Mytilene. The oligarchic government had always been well treated, and there was no real cause for the rebellion except the continual distrust of losing one’s autonomy to another. For two years, the Athenians besieged the city, and when it fell, the Athenian assembly ordered all the inhabitants to be executed. The next day, the assembly had a change of heart and rescinded the sentence; the ship bearing that news arrived just as the first ship had delivered news of the sentence, and so was able to forestall it. Only the ringleaders were executed and the city was razed and land was given to the Athenians. In the west, the island of Corcyra saw a terrible revolution between the democrats and oligarchs. Ultimately, the democrats won in 425 executing the oligarchs. In this war, both sides committed atrocities During this chaos, the Athenians under Demosthenes, the leader of the War Party, campaigned in the west. This led to a struggle at Pylos and the defeat and capture of about 120 Spartans in 425, which damaged their reputation as fearsome warriors. These prisoners were kept at Athens as hostages. This effectively prevented the Spartans from attacking Attica as they had done previously. The ­Athenians had taken Delium in Boeotia, but then they were defeated by the Thebans and lost Delium. The Athenians had failed to follow Pericles’s advice of not attempting to control land. The war then shifted to the north, in Thrace. In this instance, the Spartans under Brasidas had taken Amphipolis in 424 after the Athenian historian and general Thucydides had failed to fortify it. Brasidas successfully took the city, and Thucydides was banished from Athens. Although both sides now wanted peace, Brasidas of Sparta and Demosthenes of Athens continued the war. In 422, bringing his army north to Amphipolis, Demosthenes attacked and Brasidas and the Spartans counterattacked. In the battle, both leaders were killed, with Sparta winning the battle. Exhausted, both sides negotiated and the Peace of Nicias was concluded; both sides would go back to where they were in 431 and prisoners were to be exchanged. The latter occurred only due to a defensive pact between Athens and Sparta, separate from the peace treaty. The treaty could never work, though,



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since most of the Spartan allies, especially the Corinthians, refused to accept the situation. In the following years, both cities vacillated between being prowar and wanting peace. In Athens, the rise of Alcibiades, the nephew of Pericles, occurred, but his erratic behavior caused many in Athens to be concerned. In Sparta, a new threat loomed—namely, the end of the peace treaty with Argos. The Spartans soon faced a potential rebellion of its Peloponnesian League with Argos at its head. To counter this situation, the Spartans under king Agis marched north. At Argos, in 418, the Argive and Athenian forces were defeated by the Spartans. The result of this war was that the democratic government in Argos fell, and an oligarchic form arose in its place and became an ally of Sparta. At this point, the Athenians were now isolated on the Greek mainland. The new prowar party at Athens, led by Hyperbolus, blamed the Peace Party leader Nicias for its failure. Hyperbolus decided to initiate an ostracism against Nicias, but the gambit backfired when the third faction, led by Alcibiades, deserted Hyperbolus, who instead was ostracized in 417. The following year, the Athenians decided to attack Melos, an island that had refused to join the Delian League. With its capture, the A ­ thenians now planned an even greater adventure—the conquest of Sicily. Sicily held great allure (as well as treasures, supposedly), and its conquest, although fanciful, would have added immense prestige to Athens. The expedition was basically doomed to failure from the beginning. The Athenian people elected as the expedition’s main leaders Alcibiades, who wanted to command, and Nicias, who opposed the campaign. Alcibiades was soon involved in a scandal, the disfigurement of the Herms where statues marking crossroads had male genetalia as a sign of good luck, and fearing exile or worse, he jumped ship and defected to the Spartans. The fleet continued to Sicily and began its campaign. Nicias and the troops failed in their objective and had to begin to besiege the city of Syracuse in 414. The Spartans sent a force under its general, Gylippus, who began to fortify the city and help the Syracusans against the Athenians. At the same time, the Spartans, having received advice from Alcibiades, took the ­Athenian fortress at Decelea in Attica, which commanded silver mines. Nicias, in need, asked the Athenians to send help, and a second fleet was dispatched to ­Sicily in 413. This fleet arrived the day after the initial one had been defeated. The ­Athenians failed to evacuate their forces, and after another sea battle they were defeated. The Athenians attempted to flee, and in the general pursuit, a great slaughter ensued. Nicias surrendered to Gylippus, and the Athenians surrendered to Syracuse. The Athenians were kept in miserable conditions for six months, and their allies for two months, before prisoners were sold as slaves. Most of the Athenians never saw their homeland again, and Nicias was probably executed. The disaster of Sicily led to a general rebellion of Athens’s allies in 412. One of the results of the disaster in Sicily was a renewed war in Attica. When Alcibiades was recalled to Athens to face charges of desecrating the Herms, he jumped ship and fled to Sparta, where he was received by King Agis. He recommended to the Spartans that they invade Attica, and instead of returning each year as they had done in the previous part of the war (431–421), they should take and

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fortify Decelea and remain there year round. This allowed the Spartans to free 20,000 slaves and to shut down the mines of Laurium preventing Athens from receiving funds. This now put a strain on the Athenian treasury, which forced the Athenians to increase the tribute on their subjects. When the Athenian fleet was destroyed in Sicily, Athens was at a low point—its fleet gone, its treasury depleted, and its future army destroyed or enslaved in Sicily. At this point, the Persians supported the Spartans, Syracuse sent a fleet to help the Spartans, and Ionia revolted against the Athenians. The Peloponnese was slow to bring its forces into the Aegean, and Persia did not give its support quickly. In Athens, the Sicilian disaster produced a revolution with the creation of the oligarchic council of 400, where upper-class wealthy Athenians took over the running of the government and replaced the Athenian Assembly with the Assembly of 5,000. The plan was for a simultaneous rebellion to take place at Samos, where the last Athenian fleet of 100 ships was stationed. The fleet, made up of poorer Athenians, uncovered the plot and prevented the coup, declaring that Athens had betrayed Athenian democracy and the fleet was the true democracy. The fleet now recalled Alcibiades, and the Athenians announced that they would continue the war against Sparta. The 400 in Athens soon began to fight among themselves, with the moderates wanting to expand the 400 and the extremists potentially planning to surrender to Sparta. After a few months, the moderates won out, replacing the 400 with the Assembly of 5,000. This group would continue to rule Athens for several months until the Athenian fleet at Samos, commanded by Alcibiades, sailed north and achieved a naval victory over the Spartan fleet in 410 at Cyzicus. The Athenians captured numerous Spartan ships, and the Spartan commander, Admiral Mindarus, was killed. The Athenians had now retaken the Hellespont and allowed the grain ships to reach Athens and supply the city. Sparta proposed peace, but Athens rejected it. Due to lack of funds, the Athenians were not able to follow up their victory. The oligarchic revolution in Athens fell in 410. For the next four years, Athens, led by Alcibiades, successfully reestablished its power base in the Aegean. At the same time, Persia supported the Spartans, who rebuilt their fleet after the disaster at Cyzicus. The Persian king Darius II sent his son, Cyrus the Younger, to Asia Minor as commander. Cyrus made friends with the Spartan general Lysander and supported him. Lysander promised to help Cyrus become king in exchange for Persian money. In 406, Lysander won a small naval victory at Notium near Ephesus when Alcibiades’s lieutenant, Antiochus, disobeyed his superior’s orders not to engage with the Spartans and suffered a defeat. The defeat resulted in Alcibiades not being reelected as general, and he went into exile. At the same time, Lysander was replaced as general. The Athenian fleet, inexperienced and composed of metics and slaves who were promised freedom, successfully defeated the Spartan fleet at Arginusae, but when the Athenian fleet failed to rescue the crews of twenty-five triremes, the Athenian assembly convicted and executed six of the eight generals. These executions would deprive Athens of some of its best generals, which had an impact on the future course of the war. The anti-Lysander party at Sparta again sent a peace delegation to Athens, but it was rebuffed, allowing Lysander to retake command of the Spartan fleet.



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Lysander, not of royal birth, sailed his fleet to the Dardanelles to cut off the Athenian grain supply from the Black Sea. The Athenian fleet of 180 ships now pursued Lysander in the hope of defeating the Spartan fleet and open the grain supply. Lysander successively defeated the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami in 405. Alcibiades, who lived in exile nearby, suggested that the Athenians relocate to Sestos for better security and indicated that he could get support from the Thracian kings if the Athenians gave him partial command. But the Athenians rejected his counsel and offer, and he retreated to his fortress. The Athenians sailed out and presented itself for battle but Lysander refused, and when the Athenian ships beached and began to look for food and supplies, Lysander then attacked and defeated the fleet, capturing all but twelve ships. The Spartan victory was complete, resulting in the capture of between 3,000 to 4,000 Athenian soldiers. Lysander ordered the slaughter of the Athenians but spared the rest of the Greek sailors and soldiers. Lysander now moved toward Athens, capturing cities and islands. Many of the Athenians and their allies fled to Athens, creating chaos and overcrowding. The Athenians intended to hold out behind their walls, but with supplies nonexistent and disease rampant, the Athenians surrendered to Lysander in March 404. In this same year, Alcibiades was killed in Asia Minor, probably assassinated on the orders of the Persian satrap Pharnabazus in response to Lysander’s request. This would further deprive Athens of a capable commander against the Spartans. The Spartan allies Thebes and Corinth demanded that Athens be destroyed and its inhabitants enslaved, but Sparta refused since Athens had done so much for Greece. Instead, Athens was to be an ally of Sparta. Lysander probably realized that without Athens as a counterweight in the north, Thebes would rival Sparta for control. Sparta now replaced Athens, taking over its possessions and keeping the tribute for itself, with its allies receiving nothing. Sparta now set up an oligarchic regime known as the Thirty Tyrants, which ruled until 403,when it was then replaced with the restored democracy. The Peloponnesian War ended Athens’s dominance in the Aegean. It also further destabilized the Greek world, allowing the major cities of Athens, Corinth, Sparta, and Thebes to vie for power during the next fifty years, with no one side winning permanent dominance. This continual internecine struggle allowed Macedon under Philip II and his son, Alexander the Great, to ultimately control Greece. See also: Aegospotami, Battle of; Archidamian War; Arginusae, Battle of; Athens; Corcyra; Mantinea, Battles of; Melian Dialogue; Melos; Mytilene; Potidaea; Pylos; Sicilian Expedition; Sparta; Thasos; Thebes

Further Reading

Kagan, Donald. 2003. The Peloponnesian War. New York: Viking. Roberts, Jennifer Tolbert. 2017. The Plague of War: Athens, Sparta, and the Struggle for Ancient Greece. New York: Oxford University Press. Roisman, Joseph. 2017. The Classical Art of Command: Eight Greek Generals Who Shaped the History of Warfare. New York: Oxford University Press.

440 Perioeci Thucydides, and Johanna Hanink. 2019. How to Think About War: An Ancient Guide to Foreign Policy: Speeches From the History of the Peloponnesian War. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. For a general overview of the Peloponnesian War, see “Peloponnesian War,” Livius.org, 2005, https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/peloponnesian-war/ (accessed May 17, 2021).

Perioeci Perioeci can be defined as meaning “dwellers around.” In general, it referred to those who dwelled around a particular area or region, usually in association with a dominant city. It can further be defined as a group living with no political rights of the city and without the protection of its walls. This meant that the individual, although free, did not have the ability to participate in the politics of the city. Although the word is not completely associated with Sparta, it nevertheless became synonymous with those in Laconia. In this context, it meant “subject population” and probably describes the situation early in Spartan history. Since the individuals were not slaves, their status was probably related to the political situation where the indigenous population was subjugated by the invaders. Although not slaves or serfs, they did not have political rights. It may refer to those indigenous groups who were from the elites or well to do. It is not possible to determine the total number of perioeci. The ancient historian Ephorus stated that the perioeci were the original Achaean population who was subjugated by the Dorians when they invaded. Although defeated and controlled, the first generation of perioeci retained their lands and private rights and were allowed to participate in the political running of the city. In the next generation, though, these political rights were taken away, and the perioeci were forced to pay tribute and become a dependent population. Another ancient source, Isocrates, an orator and philosopher, makes no distinction between the perioeci and Spartans; rather, they were originally the same, but after some manner of civil discord, the perioeci were reduced in status by the oligarchic overlords and dispersed throughout the region. It is likely that the process of doing this was much slower than given in the written sources. Sparta did not expand its control over the Peloponnese immediately, so the distribution of perioeci towns was piecemeal. Some of the perioeci settlements may have had more rights than others. This may be due to their establishment from Sparta as colonies or varying rights from the original conquest. For example, Messenia was only conquered in 635, about three centuries after Sparta’s establishment, and it is clear from ancient authors that the perioeci were better off in the previous period. Most likely, they were the indigenous inhabitants when the Dorians invaded, and through intermarriage early on, the two ethnic groups became indistinguishable in their appearance and race. It may have been that the Dorian invaders then segmented into ruling Dorian families that established the monarchy and political control of the state, while the perioeci, perhaps the former elites who married the Dorian invaders, became free but lacked political rights, and they

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were the lowest social group, the former peasant group of the original inhabitants, the helots. The tribute that the perioeci paid has been disputed but may have centered on the payment of property taxes, from which the full Spartans were exempt. It was, therefore, a land tax, not a tax that a subservient population paid. The other view is that the tribute was paid since the perioeci were defeated and made subjects of the Spartans. Although they could not marry a Spartan, the perioeci could serve in the army as hoplites, such as during the Battle of Plataea, and not as light-armed troops manned by the helots. During the Peloponnesian War, they probably accounted for at least a third, if not half, of the hoplites; for instance, at Sphacteria near Pylos, where 292 Spartans were captured, only 120 of them were Spartans, with the rest probably being perioeci. They were even able to rise as high as the rank of admiral and distinguish themselves as accomplished and well born. In all of these instances, the perioeci did not command Spartans, but other perioeci, helots, allies, and subjects. This is not to say that the perioeci were necessarily content, since when the helots rebelled in 464, some of them helped the helots; and they also supported the Thebans when they invaded in 369. Unlike the helots, the perioeci were not typically portrayed as oppressed according to the sources. Since they lived far from Sparta, they would not have had the opportunity to interact in the political life and administration of the state. This probably meant that although they had no political rights, they may not have resented that too much. In addition, the perioeci were the group engaged in commerce, which the Spartans were not allowed to do, giving them access to the outside world and funds. The Spartan port, the island of Cythera, was a perioeci settlement, allowing them access to the markets in Egypt, Syria, and the Aegean islands. In addition, they did not have to suffer the privations that the Spartans did when they trained, and they became the artisans of Laconia. Other cities in the Peloponnese had perioeci as well. Argos had a perioeci population called Orneatae from the town of Orneae, near Argos. Their name came from the first town that the Argives conquered. Corinth and Sicyon appear not to have had perioeci since they were taken over by the Dorians at a later date. Outside the Greek mainland, there may have been perioeci on Crete and at Cyrene in North Africa, The perioeci developed into a class between full citizens and helots (serfs). They functioned as merchants and agents for interactions between their overlord city, like Sparta, and other places. They could also function as ambassadors or even spies on behalf of their overlords. The perioeci were an important part of the Spartan organization. See also: Helot; Slavery; Sparta; Social Status

Further Reading

Cartledge, Paul. 2002. Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History, 1300–362 B.C. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. Jones, A. H. M. 1968. Sparta. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Kennell, Nigel M. 2010. Spartans: A New History. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

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Persepolis and Other Persian Capitals The Persians created a world empire, and as part of their administrative system, they created several capitals, the most famous of this was Persepolis. Persepolis, whose name comes from the Greek meaning “city of Persia,” lies southwest of Iran near the Pulvar River, on a natural terrace with additional manmade levels located at the Rahmat Mountain. The earliest remains date to about 515 during the reign of Darius I, although the founder of the Persian Empire, Cyrus, may have decided upon its location. Unlike Greek cities with a civilian population in addition to an administrative component, Persepolis appears to have been only a royal capital, although its remote location did not make it the primary administrative center (that was Susa). The Persians established several capitals, notably Ecbatana and Babylon, as well as Persepolis and Susa. At Persepolis, each of the Persian kings from Darius I on would erect a palace in their name. Darius began the construction of the imperial capital, and his son, Xerxes, finished the major components. The first part of the construction was the broad or double staircase on the western side of the Great Wall, which was probably meant to be the monumental entrance. The 111 stairs were twenty-three feet wide, with a rise of only about four inches to potentially allow guests to enter regally and with dignity. The staircases could accommodate ten horsemen riding abreast. The stairs ended on the terrace opposite a four-column square building, the Gate of All Nations, with an entrance on the west side paired by massive bulls and an eastern gate with two Lamassu, a Sumerian female deity having a human head, the body

Relief of Persian guards, at Persepolis. (iStockPhoto.com)



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A New Capital or a Deserted City? The original capital of the Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great was at Pasargadae, about twenty miles from Persepolis. Cyrus ordered it built as his capital of the Achaemenid Empire, and it remained so for about twenty years until Darius ordered the capital moved to Persepolis. The remains here include the tomb of Cyrus, which originally had an inscription announcing that it belonged to him. The tomb is in the form of a ziggurat, a common structure in Mesopotamia. Rising thirty-five feet high, it was probably even grander than the surviving stone structure appears to be. It probably had a lofty pedestal. The city covered about 400 acres, and in addition to the tomb, it had a fortress on a hill and two palaces, as well as a garden. It was situated northeast of Iran, at the foot of Mount Alvand. This capital probably replaced the Median capital of Ecbatana at first, but it was deserted when Persepolis was built.

of a bull or lion, and bird wings. These colossal statues had above the entrance a trilingual inscription stating that Xerxes built the entranceway. A doorway on the south side was the widest and led to the Apadana. This building by Darius was one of the oldest at Persepolis. It was the main hall of the kings, supported by sixty-five feet -high columns, a hypostyle or a space where the roof rests on columns without arches, where the king received visitors, mainly tribute from the subject nations. The main entrances were marked by staircases on the north and east sides decorated with scenes of the twenty-three subject nations or satrapies to Darius I, who is represented sitting on a throne. The scenes provide insight into the costumes and dress of the various nations. The Apadana was about 11,000 square feet with its roof supported by a total of seventy-two columns, of which only thirteen remained intact by the early twentieth century CE. Each side was about 200 feet long, and the columns had capitals with animal motifs. On the western, northern, and eastern sides were porticoes, each with two rows of six columns; on the south side were storage rooms, while at the far ends were staircases. At each corner were towers, probably for protection, and under each of the four corners of the palace were tablets of gold and silver detailing its foundation. Staircases were built on all sides and were inlaid with carvings of the Immortals or Royal Guards who protected the king. The remaining building on the terrace was the Throne Room or Hall of Honor, measuring 230 feet by 230 feet , also called the 100-column building east of the Apadana. Its construction was started by Xerxes I and completed by his son, Artaxerxes I. The hall had eight doorways, with those on the east and west depicting the king battling monsters and the north and south showing throne reliefs. Xerxes used it as a reception hall for the military commanders and subject-nations. To the south of the Apadana, on a terrace, was the Palace of Darius or Tachara, begun by king Darius and completed by his son, Xerxes. Tachara in Persian means “winter palace” and the name may point to its construction as the official home of the king when he visited Persepolis, even for brief periods. It was the smallest building on the terrace and measured about 12,500 square feet. It was the oldest palace and constructed of gray stone with walls of black polished stone.

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The main room was fifty feet by fifty feet, with three rows of four columns. The building had reliefs of subjects and depicted Darius at the main door wearing a crenellated crown covered with sheets of gold. Its main function was probably ceremonial. Farther south of the Tachara was the Hadish Palace of Xerxes I, which was twice as large. It had a large room with thirty-six columns and was surrounded by six smaller rooms, three on the east and three on the west. On the north was a portico. This was most likely the living quarters of most of the Persian kings, beginning with Xerxes I, and it was here that the palace fire probably started during the reign of Alexander the Great. The palace is on the highest level of terraces. Near the palace were tombs dedicated to the Persian kings starting with ­Darius I, since Cyrus the Great and most likely his son, Cambyses, were buried at the ancient capital of Pasargadae. There were five tombs cut into the rock cliff, which were for Darius I, Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I, Darius II, and probably Darius III (the latter brought back by Alexander the Great from the east). On top of one tomb, a relief stated that it was the tomb of Darius I. The tombs were carved into the side of the mountain, and Darius I’s entrance simulated a palace facade, with four slender columns around the entrance. On the facade’s roof, representations of the subject nations supported a dais with the king worshipping the chief Persian deity Ahura-Mazda and the moon. Behind the palace at Persepolis were two graves, probably for Artaxerxes II and III. The Medes had dominated the Persians until Cyrus defeated them, took over their related tribe, the Medes, and dominated them. The Median capital was Ecbatana, and under the Persian kings it became the summer palace, as opposed to Persepolis being the winter palace. Ecbatana does not have many remains, but a wall from the Median period existed. According to Herodotus, the city was surrounded by seven concentric walls. During the Persian period, it became the archives for the empire. Another capital existed at Susa, in the southwestern part near the Zagros Mountains. It originally was the capital of the Elam kingdom. The city was ancient and strategic in the Near East, dating back to at least 4000. The Assyrians controlled Susa from 647 to 617, when the Medes took the city over. The city was captured by Cyrus in 540–539. The conquest of Susa allowed the Persians to move into the rich Mesopotamia region and make it the gateway to Babylon. Cyrus’s son, Cambyses, made the city one of Persia’s four capitals, probably at the expense of Pasargadae. Cambyses’s successor, Darius, began a major construction program, part of which included a new palace that became the primary winter residence for the Persian kings. The city remained important throughout the Persian period. To the west was the last of the capitals, the city of Babylon. In 539, Cyrus moved from Susa to Babylon and quickly defeated King Nabonidus, who had incurred the wrath of the priests of Marduk. Babylon became the center of Persian culture and a leading city of learning for the empire. Although the city initially attempted to retain its independence, it became disaffected with Persian rule and eagerly accepted Alexander the Great. The capitals of Persia, including the conquered cities of Ecbatana, Susa, and Babylon, allowed the Persian Empire to maintain control over its major regions.

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Babylon controlled the access to Palestine and Egypt; the Royal Road was constructed by Darius I to link the capital of Susa with Sardis in the Asia Minor and the Aegean. The road connected the exterior with the interior, allowing couriers to ride the 1,700 miles in nine days. The road also ran near the third capital, Ecbatana, so that couriers could arrive from the west. Ecbatana allowed access to the north, while Persepolis controlled the regions to the east, most notably Bactria. The Persian capitals allowed its kings to control the vast Persian Empire, the first true world empire, and connected the east and west. See also: Architecture; Persia; Sardis and Lydia; Temples

Further Reading

Parker, Geoffrey, and Brenda Parker. 2017. The Persians: Lost Civilizations. London: Reaktion Books. Soheil, Mehr Azar. 2019. The Concept of Monument in Achaemenid Empire. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. Wilber, Donald Newton. 1989. Persepolis: The Archaeology of Parsa, Seat of the Persian Kings. Rev. ed. Princeton, NJ: Darwin Press. For information on an expedition to Persepolis, see “Persepolis and Ancient Iran,” Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, June 18, 2010, http://oi-archive.uchicago. edu/museum/collections/pa/persepolis/ (accessed May 18, 2021). For photographs of Persepolis, see “Gallery: Persepolis,” Stockholm360.net, http://www .stockholm360.net/list.php?id=persepolis (accessed May 18, 2021).

Persia The Persian Empire (also known as the Achaemenid Empire) became the traditional enemy of the Greeks from the sixth to the fourth centuries. The Persians were an offshoot of the Median tribe, located in southwestern Iran, south of Media. As vassals of the Medes, they were controlled by the Neo-Assyrian Empire during the seventh century. A series of civil wars erupted in the late seventh century against Assyria and their allies in Egypt, led by the Medes and Babylonians. With their defeat in 609, the Assyrians essentially ceased to exist, producing a power vacuum in the Near East. The four major powers were Babylon, Media, Egypt, and Lydia in Asia Minor. Babylon attempted to fill this vacuum by attacking the remnants of the Assyrian domains, including the capture of Jerusalem and the destruction of its temple in 570.

Zoroastrianism The Persians tolerated other religions as part of a multicultural empire, with Cyrus reported to have restored traditional religions and religious edifices, including the Jewish temple. The Persian state religion was Zoroastrianism, which promoted the duality of good versus evil. It worshiped Ahura Mazda, the god of wisdom, as its supreme deity. It appears first under Darius the Great, and its worship at first appears to be connected only with the royal family. The Persians would not force this religion on others.

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Map of the Persian Empire. (Fabrizio Mariani/Dreamstime.com)

During the sixth century, the Medes and Persians struggled for power with Persia under Cyrus, the grandson of the Median king Astyages, defeating him in 550. When Cyrus took over Media and its capital, Ecbatana, he was in a strong position to the east of Babylon and Lydia. Upon his victory, many of the Median vassals rebelled. Cyrus now had to deal with Lydia when its king, Croesus, advanced to seize territory to the east during the upheaval. He crossed the River Halys, marching into Cappadocia and seizing the capital and fortress of Pteria. As Astyages’s brother-in-law, Croesus may have desired to reinstall his brotherin-law, but more probably, he wanted to use the destabilized situation to seize more land. This led to the Battle of Pteria in 547, when Croesus and Cyrus fought to a draw and the smaller army of Croesus retreated to Sardis. With winter approaching, Croesus disbanded his army, thinking that Cyrus would do the same. Instead, Cyrus rapidly advanced to Sardis, taking the city in 546. Cyrus left a local Lydian, Pactyes, in charge of collecting tribute, but he rebelled, forcing Cyrus to send in a Median general and army to reduce the region. Cyrus now controlled two of the four kingdoms, but he had to deal with the rebellions by Lydia and former Median vassals. Cyrus appears to have made a campaign to the east to Bactria to deal with some of these former vassals. He probably did not attack the Indus; instead, he restored order, including the establishment of garrison towns, including Cyropolis in the Northeast region, perhaps modern Khujand in Tajikistan. It would later become Alexander the Great’s city, Alexander Eschate.

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During this same time, Babylon and Persia were engaged in a standoff. It is possible that there were several battles leading up to the war that began between the two in 539. The Babylonian king Nabonidus had become unpopular by advancing the god Sin over the traditional god, Marduk. He left his son in charge of the defense while he continued building his religion. When Cyrus attacked, the Persian army defeated the Babylonian army and marched toward the capital. Nabonidus’s son died in battle, while the king’s fate is unknown; some accounts have him being killed, while others say that Cyrus pardoned and exiled him, a common practice that he was known for. Cyrus declared himself to be the rightful successor of the Assyrian kings and the defender of Marduk. He also restored the Jewish exiles to Jerusalem, and he may have used them as agents in his attack on Babylon. During the next few years, Cyrus would continue his conquest and consolidation of the empire. He had two sons, Cambyses and Bardiya, and died in 530 fighting the Massagetae in central Asia, who were perhaps Scythian. His elder son, Cambyses, now became king, assassinating his brother, and continued his father’s conquest by moving south to Phoenicia and Cyprus by 525. In 526, the pharaoh Ahmose II, Egypt’s last great ruler, had died. His son faced rebellions, allowing Cambyses to defeat him at Pelusium and take the country. Ancient historians portrayed Cambyses as erratic and antagonistic to the Egyptians where he supposedly lost his mind, causing him to kill his brother, and even the sacred Egyptian god-bull, Apis. But this is probably a later invention since Cambyses in 524 helped in the sacred funeral procession of the Apis. Cambyses now received submission from Cyrene and undertook a campaign in the south that established a fortress at the Second Cataracts, deep in the south. He then moved north to deal with a rebellion in 522; he was wounded and died of his injuries. The rebellion was by a certain Bardiya. Bardiya was the brother of ­Cambyses who supposedly died in one story. There are several theories related to this figure. One derived from the ancient sources is that he was an imposter, who looked like Bardiya and was put on the throne by Persian nobleman; while another theory has it that Bardiya actually did not die before Cambyses and waited until Cambyses died before claiming the throne. Darius I, the son of the satrap of ­Bactria and one of the leading families, led the Persian forces against the rebel. The preferred story given out by Darius was that Bardiya was an imposter; but if the rebel was actually Bardiya, then Darius had led a rebellion against the son of Cyrus who should have been the king, which was probably the most likely situation. Darius now assumed power and had to face a series of revolts by those loyal to Bardiya throughout the entire heartland of Persia, including Media, Assyria, and Egypt. During the next year, he defeated a total of nine pretenders to the throne and reestablished his power throughout the empire. This included the retaking of Babylon from a pretender who called himself Nebuchadnezzar III and claimed to be another son of Nabonidus. This was followed the following year by another rebellion led by Nebuchadnezzar IV, which forced Darius to besiege the city again. With this conquest, the powerful city of Babylon finally fell to the Persians. ­Darius now began to reestablish Persian authority by campaigning in Egypt to

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consolidate Cambyses’s recent conquest. A pretender had stirred up a rebellion in Egypt, probably due to the Persians demanding high taxes, and D ­ arius now moved against him; although Persia was successful in retaking control, Egypt would continually rebel throughout Persia’s rule. After securing the interior of the empire from further trouble, Darius was able to begin more conquests and reforms. After taking Babylon and dealing with Egypt, Darius advanced to central Asia to begin his campaign there in 518. After campaigning in Aria and Bactria, he then moved toward the Taxila in modern Pakistan and the Punjab. In 516, he spent time preparing for the invasion of the Indus in Gandhara. He conquered the region of the Indus in 515, moving to modern Karachi. He then marched back to Persia through the south in Arachosia and Drangiana, the latter populated by a tribe related to the Persians. He returned in 514 to the heart of Persia before planning his next campaign to the far north. The region from the Danube to the Don rivers was inhabited by the Scythians, an Iranian tribe that the Persians claimed to oversee. The Scythians, if left unchecked, would disrupt the rich trade along the Black Sea. Darius planned to deal with the tribe by moving from Susa north to the Hellespont in the spring of 513. The Scythians did not directly engage the Persians but rather used hit-andrun tactics while using scorched-earth practices to deny the Persians supplies. Darius crossed the Hellespont and moved north and east around the Black Sea into modern East Europe, the Ukraine, and southern Russia. While the Scythians avoided battle, they also lost their best land. Darius continued to move eastward. He halted his campaign at the Volga and returned to Thrace. In essence, both sides failed, Darius did not bring the Scythians to direct battle and win, while the Scythians lost valuable land and produce. The Persians disrupted the fabric of society in Scythia and weakened their political and military power but failed to subjugate the Scythians, forcing Darius to abandon his planned control of the Scythians, especially in the west. After his return from Europe and the Scythian invasion, Darius returned to Susa. In 499, the Ionian cities rebelled, bringing Persia and Greece into direct conflict. Athenian ships landed and helped burn Sardis before retreating, which forced the Ionians to fend for themselves. During the next five years, the Persians reduced the Ionians, winning a decisive battle at Lade. With the conquest of the Ionians, Darius now planned to punish the Athenians by mounting an invasion of Greece. In 492, he sent an army to Macedon, where King Amyntas I had submitted to Persia in 513, but a storm destroyed the fleet, forcing Darius to alter his planned attack on Greece. In 490, the Persians sailed across the Aegean Sea and attacked Eretria at Euboea. After taking the island, the Persians sailed to Attica and landed at Marathon, where they were defeated by the Athenians. In 486, Darius’s son, Xerxes, ascended the throne and planned a new and larger invasion of Greece. In 480, his army advanced across the Hellespont, taking Thessaly and, moving south, taking and burning Athens. There, at Salamis, the Persian fleet was defeated by the combined Greek fleet under Themistocles and Athens. Xerxes fled but left an army behind at Thebes. In 479, a Spartan-led

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army defeated this Persian army at Plataea, and supposedly on the same day, the fleet at Mycale in Asia Minor won a similar decisive battle. With Xerxes’s setback in 480–479 in Greece, the Persians now attempted to regain the initiative, but their fleet was again destroyed in 469. In 465, Xerxes was assassinated and his son, Artaxerxes, took over, ruling until 424. He gave asylum to Themistocles after his ostracism in 471 who wandered in Greece until going to Persia. Artaxerxes had to deal with a rebellion in Egypt. Persia now decided not to directly challenge the Greeks, but rather to fund opposition in Greece. After Artaxerxes’s death in 424, a series of palace rebellions took place, with Xerxes II dying after only two months of rule. His half-brother, Darius II, took over and ruled until 404. Artaxerxes II succeeded his father, Darius, and had to wage a civil war with his brother, Cyrus the Younger. The historian Xenophon relates how Artaxerxes defeated and killed Cyrus in 401 at the Battle of Cunaxa. After this victory, Artaxerxes ruled until 358. Artaxerxes had to work with Sparta first by supporting Sparta’s enemies and then betraying them and coming to an agreement with Sparta and forcing his Greek allies to agree to it, resulting in the Peace of Antalcidas (King’s Peace). He then had to deal with Egypt, which had successfully rebelled against him early in his reign. In 373, he decided to retake the region. His generals failed, though, leading one of them (Datames) to lead a rebellion against him during the revolt of the Satrapies, from 372 to 362. Upon his death in 358, Artaxerxes was succeeded by his son, Artaxerxes III, who ruled until 338. Like his father, Artaxerxes III had to deal with a series of rebellions. The first was in Asia Minor where he was initially defeated by the satrap, but in 353, he defeated the rebels, retaking the region. He then attempted to retake Egypt in 351 but was defeated and forced to retreat; this caused the regions of Phoenicia and Cyprus to rebel, and it ultimately would take nearly ten years for him to reduce the regions in 343. After this, he began a new conquest of Egypt, succeeding to dislodge the Egyptians and retake the country. He imposed new taxes and punished the local Egyptian rulers and religious leaders. Artaxerxes returned to Persia and settled the regions. In 338, Artaxerxes III died; one source said that it was from natural causes, while Greek literary sources indicated that he was poisoned by Bagoas, one of his generals. Artaxerxes IV, the son of Artaxerxes III, ruled from 338–336 and had to handle the growing threat of Philip II of Macedon. He attempted to eliminate Bagoas, who had put him on the throne, but instead was killed by Bagoas, who put Artaxerxes’s cousin Darius III on the throne. Darius III ruled as Persia’s last king until Alexander the Great defeated him, taking over the Persian Empire. When he founded his empire, Cyrus the Great created four great capitals to rule his empire: Pasargadae (which was replaced by Persepolis under Darius the Great), Susa, Ecbatana, and Babylon. He probably created the satrapy, an administrative unit ruled by hereditary governors. They were given extensive freedom, allowing them to rule virtually as kings themselves, so long as they provided tribute and soldiers to the real king’s empire. The satrap ruled as a civilian governor, while a general took charge of the military functions. There were between twenty and thirty satrapies.

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Cyrus was also responsible for the new army, including the creation of the 10,000-man unit known as the Immortals or Royal Guards. The army was a mixture of various troop units from throughout the empire. He also created a royal road system and postal service for official communications. The road system linked all of the satrapies with the main capitals; the most famous of these was the Royal Road from Sardis to Susa. It was probably under Darius that the Persians introduced the gold Daric and silver Siglos coins, creating a bimetallic monetary system. Darius also reformed the tax system so that each satrap tailored it to its own productivity and capabilities. It was under his rule that there was a codification of laws and the establishment of the capital at Persepolis. The Persian army was composed of both infantry and cavalry. The infantry had various units. For instance, the heavily armored Immortals were the king’s bodyguard and crack troops. There were the sparabara (shield bearers), who carried wicker shields and six-foot-long spears. Although they were well trained, they were not a professional army and were landowners when not in military service. They would form a wall of shields that was capable of withstanding attacks by arrows, but not the highly trained phalanx of the Greeks. The main offensive Persian force was the cavalry. The most important troops were on horseback and in chariots. While the early chariot archers were crucial in battle, they later became more ceremonial. The cavalry not only used spears and swords, but bow and arrows. It was this group that gave the Persians their most important force and caused the Greeks to constantly deploy their men so as not to be outflanked. There were also camel cavalry, and perhaps war elephants as well, but the evidence is not conclusive that they were used much. The Persians also used a strong navy, developed mainly by the Phoenicians and augmented by Ionians. The Persian Empire was the first true multiethnic and cultural world empire. Its creation occurred through the military conquest of Cyrus and its downfall after being conquered by Alexander the Great. See also: Peace of Callias; Persepolis and Other Persian Capitals; Persian Wars; Plataea, Battle of; Religion; Samos; Sardis and Lydia; Scythians; Slavery; Social Status; Taxation; Tribute; Troy

Further Reading

Briant, Pierre. 2002. From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. Cook, J. M. 1993. The Persian Empire. New York: Barns & Noble Books. Olmstead, A. T. 1948. History of the Persian Empire. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. For a general history of Persia, see Stecchini, Livio C., “The Persian Wars,” History of Iran,” http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/persian_wars1.php (accessed May 18, 2021). For information on Persian history and art, see the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. “The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 B.C.).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004), https:// www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/acha/hd_acha.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).



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Persian Wars The Persian Wars, waged between the Greece city-states and the Persian Empire, encompassed a period from about 515 until 333 bookended by the advancement of Persia into Thrace and the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great. The wars showed the ebb and flow of power and influence in the eastern Mediterranean. The general division of the wars can be seen with the Persian invasion of Thrace, the Ionian Rebellion, Darius’s invasion of Attica, Xerxes’s invasion of Greece, the Athenian Empire and Persia’s reconquest of Ionia after the Peloponnesian War, and Alexander’s conquest. The various phases created divergent and uneven periods of control and influence. The major wars concern the first few phases until the establishment of the Athenian Empire. The first phase was the Persian invasion of Thrace and Darius’s Scythian campaign. In May 513, Darius, the king of Persia, left its capital, Susa, to the ­Hellespont. He crossed the straits with an army and took over the region of Thrace near the Aegean Sea, Thracian Chersonese, the modern Gallipoli peninsula, including the city of Sestos. When Darius arrived with his army, the tyrant of Thracian Chersonese, the Athenian Miltiades, submitted to the Persians and joined Darius on his campaign north against the Scythians. Miltiades and the other Greek rulers of the Asia Minor city-states remained with their forces to guard the bridge across the Hellespont. Darius now moved north and attacked the Scythians, a nomadic tribe from the steppes of Russia. The historian Herodotus presented the story of Scythian invasion as an act of hubris by Darius for trying to control a group that was outside civilization, with no type of cities or homeland. The Scythians were known for being great mounted warriors, and Darius’s attempt to conquer them would be like trying to conquer the wind. The evidence from Herodotus shows that Darius did in fact ravage the Scythian countryside, even without the Scythians’ participation, and went to battle. Since Darius could not get the Scythians to help them in the battle, and since continuing would result in a potential destruction of his army, Darius decided to return. Herodotus reported that Darius erected eight forts on the Oarus River (Volga). The Scythians’ scorched-earth tactics resulted in the destruction and loss of their prime lands. The campaign resulted in the Scythians being disrupted, but Darius did not achieve his control of the Scythians. Within a short time, the situation returned to the preinvasion period. When Darius returned to the Hellespont, he found that the Greek leaders had plotted against him and forced Miltiades to flee to Athens. Miltiades would return during the next phase and retake his territory in the name of Athens until after the Ionians were defeated by the Persians. After Miltiades’s return, the Athenians in 508 sent representatives to the P ­ ersian governor of Ionia to seek help against possible Spartan attacks. The Persians asked for earth and water, traditional forms of submission, which the Athenians accepted. They requested that the Athenians take back Hippias, the former tyrant of Athens, which was refused. This interaction laid the groundwork for the Persian demand years later that Athens submit to Persia—in fact, in the Persians’ minds, the ­Athenians had already submitted.

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A few years after Darius returned from his Scythian invasion, the Greek cities of Asia Minor began a war against Persian rule. The basis for the rebellion was the treatment of the Greek cities by Greek tyrants that the Persians had imposed upon them. In 499, the Ionian cities rebelled after the tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras, and the Persian satrap Artaphernes, the brother of the Persian king Darius, unsuccessfully attacked the island of Naxos. Fearing that he would be blamed for this and removed, Aristagoras raised a rebellion of the Greek cities in Ionia. Asking Athens for help, an Athenian force in 498 arrived and raided Sardis before departing. This attack raised the wrath of Darius against the Athenians. In 494, the Ionians were defeated by the Persians at the Battle of Lade after the Samians defected. The Persians then besieged and captured Miletus, enslaving its population. Darius now turned his attention to Athens, which had supported the Ionians. Darius’s plan clearly was to conquer Greece, not just to punish Athens. Darius in his earlier Scythian expedition had taken over the Thracian region and forced the nearby Macedon to submit. In 492, he ordered his son-in-law, Mardonius, to retake Thrace and ensure Macedon was fully submissive. Mardonius’s plan was to bring his fleet down the coast and work in conjunction with the army to subjugate Thessaly and move on toward Eretria, and then Athens. His fleet, however, was wrecked in a storm as it made its way around Mount Athos. An attack by the Thracians wounded Mardonius and forced him to return to Asia Minor without achieving his major goal. In 491, Darius sent ambassadors to the Greek city-states to demand earth and water, representing the surrender of everything, land and liquids needed for life, showing the Persian king’s control over the livelihood of his subjects. Most of the cities acceded to their demands except Sparta and Athens, which executed the ambassadors. Darius now planned another invasion to take over Athens and Sparta. In 490, Darius commanded his admiral, Datis, and Artaphernes, Darius’s nephew and the son of the former satrap, to take a fleet and army across the Aegean and subdue the islands and conquer Greece. They sailed first to Rhodes and attempted to take the city of Lindus. They failed in this endeavor, but then they sailed to Naxos, where they captured many of the inhabitants and burned the city. They then proceeded to sail across the Aegean, taking islands along the way, including the sacred island of Delos. They then arrived at Euboea, where they landed unopposed and besieged the city of Eretria, which had aided Athens in the attack on Sardis in 498. After attacking the city for a week and suffering heavy casualties, Eretria was betrayed by two leading citizens Euphorbus and Philagrus and the Persians destroyed it and enslaved the population. At this point, the Persian fleet sailed across to Attica and landed on the coast at Marathon, north of Athens. In Athens at this time was Miltiades the Younger, who had once been the tyrant of Thracian Chersonese. He had achieved power in Thrace after his uncle, the tyrant Miltiades the Elder, died childless. He had risen through the magistrates in Athens under the tyrant Hippias, who sent him to Thrace in 516 to take over for his uncle. He consolidated his rule there by attacking opposing leaders and marrying Hegesipyle, the daughter of the Thracian king Olorus. When Darius attacked



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Scythia, Miltiades became his vassal. He fled the area in 511 after arousing the suspicion of Darius. He helped the Ionians in their rebellion and returned in 496 to retake the Chersonese. Then he seized and handed over the islands of Lemnos and Imbros, which had been claimed by Athens. With the end of the war, Miltiades fled to Athens in 492. He was put on trial for being a tyrant and being from the Philaid clan, traditional rivals of the Alcmaeonid of Cleisthenes who had established the democracy after ousting the tyrant Hippias, Miltiades feared he would not be treated fairly; but he was acquitted after showing himself to not only be a defender of the Greeks at Ionia, but also an enemy of Darius. When the heralds arrived in 491, it was Miltiades who convinced the Athenians to put them to death. Then, in 490, he was elected one of the generals to defend Athens against the Persian fleet and army. The Athenians were split over whether to fight at Marathon or withstand a siege. Miltiades urged the Athenians to fight since if the Persians were allowed to besiege the city, it would probably fall. The Athenians sent envoys to other Greek cities, especially Sparta, for help. The city of Plataea sent troops, but Sparta indicated that they were celebrating a festival and would send troops when it was over. For five days, the two sides faced off, and finally the Athenians decided to attack when the Persians were beginning to load their ships to sail to Athens. Miltiades feared that the Persian cavalry would envelop the Athenian force, so he decided to alter the form of the hoplite force by increasing the size of his wings while weakening the center. When they had reached the edge of the Persian archer range, the Athenians broke into a run to cover the field quickly before the archers could fire enough arrows. The Greeks crashed into the Persian wings and then moved toward the center, while the Persians fled to their ships. In the end, the Athenians lost 192 men to the Persians 6,400. The Persians then planned to sail around Cape Sounion and land at Athens. The Greek army, led by Miltiades, marched the twenty-five miles back to Athens and were waiting for the Persians when their ships arrived. Artaphernes could not land, so he sailed back to Asia. The Spartans arrived after the battle and examined the battlefield at Marathon to evaluate what the Persians were like. Miltiades in 489 launched an attack on Paros, but he was wounded and failed to capture the island; upon his return, he was imprisoned and died of his wounds, while his sentence of death was commuted to a fine, paid by his son, Cimon. The Battle of Marathon showed the superiority of the Greek hoplite against Persian fighting. After the Battle of Marathon, Darius decided to send a large invasion force to retaliate for his loss; he spent three years preparing to put together a force. Before he could finish raising his army, though, Egypt revolted. When Darius died in 486, his son, Xerxes, acceded to the throne and crushed the Egyptian rebellion. After four years of planning, Xerxes moved his army toward Europe. Many of the Greek city-states either professed their support for Persia or were not directly opposed to them. Chief among them was Argos, Sparta’s enemy, and Thebes, which may not have been actively supporting them but at least would use them. The Persian army came from all over the empire, arriving at Sardis and spending the winter before moving north. The size of the army has been greatly debated since Herodotus, the major historian writing of the events, stated that it was

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two-and-a-half million strong. Clearly, that number is not realistic, it is much more probable that the army numbered about 200,000. In addition, the Persian fleet numbered 1,207 according to Herodotus, although it too may have been merely allegorical because that was the number of Greek ships in the Iliad and since it was the greatest war to the Greeks, no other fleet could be more. The fleet may have actually numbered only about 600. When Miltiades was removed from power, Athens had a new leader in Themistocles, who was supported by the working class. Themistocles, who had fought at Marathon, realized that the Persians would return and advocated for continual growth in the Athenian fleet. Opposed to him was Aristides, representing the upper class, who disagreed with the expansion of the fleet. In 483, the Athenians discovered a rich silver vein in the Laurium mines. Themistocles proposed that the silver be used to construct a fleet, ostensibly against Aegina, but he really planned to use it against Persia. Over Aristides’ opposition, the Athenians approved it, and a fleet was constructed along the new model of triremes. Aristides was ostracized in 482, and Themistocles was in supreme control. When news reached Greece that Xerxes was outfitting a large army and fleet, the Athenians constructed even more ships. At Sparta, a change in kings resulted in the ousted king Demaratus being exiled to Persia, where he acted as an advisor to Darius, and then his son, Xerxes. The Greek states that were opposed to Persia now looked to Athens and Sparta to lead them. In late 481, the Greek states met at Corinth to plan their resistance. Xerxes in 480 moved across the Hellespont toward Macedon. The Greeks decided to move north and block the Persians at the Valley of Tempe. When they arrived, they soon learned that there were other passes that the Persians could move through. The Greeks then retreated south, deciding to take their stand at the Pass of Thermopylae, which separated northern and southern Greece. The Greeks decided to prevent the Persians from bypassing Thermopylae by moving their fleet to Artemisium. The Peloponnese then undertook a second strategy by building a wall across the Isthmus of Corinth. The Persian army moved toward Thermopylae, and their arrival was estimated to occur during the time of the Olympic Games and the feast of Carneia, which the latter prevented the main Spartan army from moving north since it was the most important religious festival for the Spartans when no army could fight. The Spartans sent a small force, 300 troops, under their king, Leonidas. His army probably consisted of about 4,000 men. When he arrived, Leonidas learned that there was another route around the mountain, so he sent troops to guard it. The Persians arrived at Thermopylae in late summer 480 and camped for three days, hoping the Greeks would flee. The Persians then attacked, but the pass was easily defended by the Greek hoplites. After two days of direct attacks, the Persians discovered the alternative route around the pass and moved toward the top. Leonidas was soon advised of the situation and released the other Greeks from his service, while 2,000 remained with him. Realizing that their position was compromised and that they would be surrounded they knew that the battle would be lost, the Greeks sallied out and attacked the Persians headlong. During the fight, Leonidas was killed. At the time



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The Hubris of Xerxes Herodotus wrote his Histories not only to relay information about the Persian War, but to show the superiority of Greeks over others. He compared how the Greeks were free while the Persians were slaves; he described how the Persians mutilated their prisoners, and how they felt superior to all races. Herodotus in his Histories especially desired to show how the Persian kings did not know temperance. Acts of hubris (outrageous arrogance) could be seen in Cyrus’s expedition against the Amazons, where he perished; Darius’s campaign against the Scythians, which Herodotus indicated was a disaster (but that was not completely accurate); and above all, Xerxes’s invasion of Greece. This invasion produced a whole series of acts that Xerxes committed, ranging from executing subjects who displeased him to mutilating the corpse of King Leonidas after Thermopylae. The following excerpt shows Xerxes’s hubris, expressed by punishing nature: Towards this tongue of land then, the men to whom the business was assigned carried out a double bridge from Abydos; . . . Now it is seven furlongs across from Abydos to the opposite coast. When, therefore, the channel had been bridged successfully, it happened that a great storm arising broke the whole work to pieces, and destroyed all that had been done. So when Xerxes heard of it he was full of wrath, and straightway gave orders that the Hellespont should receive three hundred lashes, and that a pair of fetters should be cast into it. Nay, I have even heard it said, that he bade the branders take their irons and therewith brand the Hellespont. It is certain that he commanded those who scourged the waters to utter, as they lashed them, these barbarian and wicked words: “Thou bitter water, thy lord lays on thee this punishment because thou hast wronged him without a cause, having suffered no evil at his hands. Verily King Xerxes will cross thee, whether thou wilt or no. Well dost thou deserve that no man should honour thee with sacrifice; for thou art of a truth a treacherous and unsavoury river.” While the sea was thus punished by his orders, he likewise commanded that the overseers of the work should lose their heads. Source: Herodotus, George Rawlinson, and Edward Henry Blakeney. 1912. The History of Herodotus. London: J. M. Dent. Volume 2, pp. 134–135.

of the attack, the Greek fleet continued to safeguard the army, but when it learned that the army was defeated, the fleet sailed to Salamis, near Athens. With the defeat at Thermopylae, the road opened up to Athens. The city was destroyed, and everyone waited for the outcome at Salamis. The Athenians remained at Salamis during September, hoping to draw the Persians into battle. Themistocles deceived the Persians by suggesting that the Greek fleet would sail away and denying the Persians a chance for a complete victory since the Greek fleet would have been intact and could attack the Persians later. Xerxes fell for Themistocles’ deception and ordered his fleet to attack the Greeks who were laying in waiting to ambush them. Although the Persians outnumbered the Greeks, their ships were less agile and were crammed in the straits between Salamis and the mainland Attica could not maneuver to match the Greek fleet. The Persians lost nearly 200 warships and retreated. Themistocles then announced that the fleet should sail to the Hellespont and destroy the bridge—that was not really his plan, but it convinced Xerxes to flee. Xerxes left an army at Thebes, under Mardonius, to continue the war.

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In 479, the Athens was again attacked, and its citizens fled to Salamis. Mardonius made overtures to Athens for peace. When Athens sent emissaries to Sparta reporting Mardonius’s offer and their plan to accept it if Sparta did not act, the Peloponnese sent an army north to deal with Persians. Near the town of Plataea, the Persians assembled their force, hoping to draw the allies into battle on the plains. The Spartan general and regent, Pausanius, kept to the high ground, but after a few days, he ordered the army to move to another spot. During the action at night, the army became disorganized and the various Greek forces were separated and disunited. Mardonius realized that this was his best chance to attack and gave the order to advance. As at Marathon, the heavy Greek infantry smashed through the Persian lines, killing Mardonius and defeating the Persians. Most of the Persian force was defeated, with only about 40,000 men retreating. Supposedly on the same day, the Sparta-led Greek fleet landed at Mycale in Asia Minor, destroying the remnant of Xerxes’s fleet and freeing the Aegean Sea from the Persian navy. With these twin victories in 479, the Greeks went on the offensive against the Persians. They would defeat the Persians in the north at Sestos and take control of the Hellespont. The Greeks established the Delian League and began the deliverance of Asia Minor from the Persians. See also: Marathon, Battle of; Mycale, Battle of; Peace of Callias; Persia; Plataea, Battle of; Salamis, Battle of; Sardis and Lydia; Sparta; Thermopylae, Battle of; Weapons

Further Reading

Butera, C. Jacob, and Matthew A. Sears. 2019. Battles and Battlefields of Ancient Greece: A Guide to Their History, Topography and Archaeology. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Military. Carey, Chris. 2019. Thermopylae. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Fine, John V. A. 1983. The Ancient Greeks: A Critical History. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Green, Peter, and Peter Green. 1996. The Greco-Persian Wars. Berkeley: University of California Press. Strauss, Barry S. 2004. The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece— and Western Civilization. New York: Simon & Schuster. Stoneman, Richard. 2015. Xerxes: A Persian Life. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. For an examination of the Persian Wars, see Selkirk, Andrew, “The Persian Wars,” The Secret of Civilization, http://www.civilization.org.uk/greece/the-persian-wars (accessed May 18, 2021). For a history of Persian Wars, see Stecchini, Livio C. “The Persian Wars,” History of Iran, http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/persian_wars1.php (accessed May 18, 2021).

Phalanx The phalanx was the type of battle formation in which the Greek hoplite (heavily armed infantry) was used. It became the dominant form of warfare for nearly a millennium. There are reliefs from Sumeria that show the marching of infantry in lines similar to later Greek infantry tactics. The phalanx typically was an infantry

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formation where the parallel lines eight to sixteen soldiers deep were spread out across a plain. The phalanx was mainly used on the level field, not on hills. The hoplite soldier was outfitted in heavy bronze armor, a helmet, a breastplate, grieves, a large, round shield, a six- or seven-foot lance, and a sword. The shield, held in the left hand, protected his left half-side and overlapped with the right halfside of the comrade to his left to cover him as well. The major weakness of the phalanx was the right side, which was not protected by the shield. The phalanx had a tendency to shift to the right to ensure that it was not routed. The Greeks did not use archery or cavalry extensively at Funerary stele with a hoplite battle scene. (The this time. Metropolitan Museum of Art/Fletcher Fund, In his epics, Homer men- 1940) tioned that the Greeks fought in a phalanx formation. This is in contradiction to other passages where he described the protagonists as fighting hand to hand as individuals, as opposed to the organized fighting in later periods. The hoplites who composed the phalanx came from the upper class since they could afford the equipment needed to outfit them. In this dense formation, the army could not move right or left easily; instead, soldiers could merely advance or retreat. The initial tactics of the fighting must have been fairly simple—just an attempt to push the enemy off the battlefield. Only the first two or three rows would have their spears positioned out, while the remaining lines held their spears vertically and pushed their comrades forward. The offensive weapon used in the battle would have been the spear. Often, if an enemy hoplite fell, the advancing soldiers would impale him with the sharp metal butt of their spears. The battles probably lasted a few hours, with potentially heavy losses if one side became disorganized in retreat. The soldiers would use their swords in the pursuing rout. During the early period, the fighting and tactics were typically one-dimensional. This was probably the type of fighting during the first few centuries until a change occurred in 490, when the Athenians under Miltiades engaged the ­Persians at Marathon. Facing a larger enemy force than previously witnessed, Miltiades decided to change his tactics. Wanting to ensure that his men would not be outflanked, Miltiades stretched his lines out to make them wider, while at the same time increasing the size of his wings or flanks; but in the process, this weakened

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and reduced the number of lines in the center. At the same time, the enemy would attempt to use arrows and cavalrymen to break the line. To counter this tactic, Miltiades ordered his infantry to attack when the Persian cavalry was away foraging, and to run to prevent the Persian archers’ attack. The Athenians’ wings were able to crush the Persian wings before the hoplites turned on the Persian center, achieving a complete rout. According to the historian Herodotus, the Athenians lost only 192 men, while the Persians lost 6,400; although these specific numbers are probably inaccurate, they nevertheless point to the superiority of the Athenian hoplites. The next major development came during the Peloponnesian War, during the Battle of Mantinea in 418, when the Spartans shored up their line by moving their units from one side to another. This was unusual since such a maneuver was difficult and potentially disastrous. If the units did not move in a coordinated fashion, they could become disorganized where some moved and others did not and allow the enemy to break through a gap in the lines. This tactic had never happened before, and the Spartans successfully achieved victory. The next major invention was the development of the oblique phalanx, in which one side placed troops at an angle to the enemy. This was further developed by the Thebans under Epaminondas, who arranged his troops at an angle against the Spartans at Leuctra. In addition, he increased the size of the one of his wings, the side closest to the Spartans on his left wing, opposite the Spartan right wing, which would be most exposed. Epaminondas was able to use his enlarged and concentrated force to break through the Spartan wing and rout the enemy. The most significant development occurred under Philip II of Macedon, who had spent his young adult years at Thebes as a hostage of Epaminondas. He probably learned directly from the general and used his new knowledge to change the Macedonian phalanx. He increased the number of rows of the phalanx to twenty. He then gave the soldiers a longer spear, the sarissa, sixteen feet long, which required the use of both hands. This meant that the shield size had to be reduced, and it was now hung by a strap around his neck and carried by his left arm through a grip to allow the soldier to still hold a spear. These men were now called “foot companions” instead of hoplites, and their job was to hold the enemy infantry at bay. With the sarissa, the Macedonian infantry could keep the main enemy force checked while the enlarged Macedonian cavalry could not only sweep the enemy cavalry off the field, but allow it to break through the enemy lines and attack in the rear, where the opposing generals were stationed. At the Battle of Chaeronea in 338, the Macedonian cavalry was stationed on the left wing and Philip’s phalanx was at an angle or moved obliquely. Here, the right wing of the Macedonian infantry retreated so that the line was at an angle. Opposite this were the Athenians, who now began to move rapidly, thinking that the infantry was retreating in a disorganized fashion. This created a gap in the line between the Athenians and the Thebans, who were opposite the Macedonian cavalry commanded by Philip’s son, Alexander the Great. With the gap that was created, Alexander and the cavalry attacked the Thebans on the Greek right, where the famous Sacred Band, a select and elite force of 300 men concentrated so as to produce a shock force, was defending. Upon breaking the right wing, Alexander

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was able to annihilate the Sacred Band and allowed the Macedonians to win the battle. Alexander used this new form of infantry and cavalry tactics to defeat the Persians. The Greek phalanx was successful until the Greeks met the Roman legions, first in 280 at the Battle of Heraclea in Italy, where the Greek king Pyrrhus won the battle but suffered such great losses that he had to retreat from Italy. And then in 197 at the Battle of Cynoscephalae in Thessaly, the Romans successfully defeated the Macedonian phalanx showing the legion’s superiority in being able to maneuver more readily and defeat the Macedonians. With this victory, the age of the phalanx finally ended. See also: Army; Mantinea, Battles of; Marathon, Battle of; Sparta; Thermopylae, Battle of; Weapons

Further Reading

Lendon, J. E. 2005. Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Matthew, Christopher Anthony. 2012. A Storm of Spears: Understanding the Greek Hoplite at War. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Military. Sears, Matthew A. 2019. Understanding Greek Warfare. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. For more information on Greek warfare and tactics, see “The Hoplite Battle Experience,” Penn State University, https://sites.psu.edu/thehopliteexperience/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Phocis The region of Phocis lay in central Greece, west of Boeotia, south and east of Locris, and north of the Gulf of Corinth. The region contained Mount Parnassus, which divided it. Its name derived from Phocus of Corinth, who supposedly settled it. Homer indicated that the region sent forty ships to fight with the Achaeans at Troy. An important city was Delphi, the religious center for Greece, and the city of Elateia was also important. The region was a federation of about twenty towns, with no major city in complete control. Nearby was the strategic pass at Thermopylae, which played an important role in Greek and Phocian history. The region established a colony at Massalia in southern France (modern-day Marseilles) around 600. Elateia lay in the middle of a fertile plain and controlled the entrance into Boeotia. In 595, the First Sacred War was fought for control of Delphi, with Phocis coming under the control of its rival, Thessaly, in 586. Cleisthenes, the tyrant of Sicyon, took Delphi away from Phocis in 585, making it an independent city. At some point during the next century, Phocis would win back its independence from Thessaly, defeating it in at least two battles. One, the Battle of Hyampolis (a strategic pass), had the Phocians digging a ditch, filling it with empty amphora, and covering it back up so that when the Thessalian cavalry attacked, the ditch collapsed, crippling the horses and throwing their riders. Then the Thessalians attacked again, destroying a Phocis reconnaissance force of 300 men led by Gelon. The Phocians regrouped and fought hard before again defeating the Thessalians,

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who now retreated. Another force of 600 Phocians attacked the Thessalians at night, with their shields and armor painted white with chalk as if ghosts, causing panic, killing over 4,000, and routing the Thessalians for good. In 480, the Persians under Xerxes made their advance against Greece. The Spartan king Leonidas led a small Greek force north to the pass at Thermopylae. Leonidas took 1,000 Phocians with him and then put them at Anoplaia, on the heights of Thermopylae, to guard the pass around the rear. The Persian troops under Hydarnes and the Immortals advanced and, surprising the Phocians, fired arrows that forced the Phocians to retreat to the heights above, while the Persian forces continued their journey down to the flank of the pass. The Phocians were soon branded as cowards for not engaging and holding the enemy. The Persians conscripted 1,000 troops, and at first they were to be killed since the Thessalians indicated that they were unreliable. The Phocians planned to resist the slaughter, but when the Persians saw this, they relented and did not destroy them. Following the victory at Plataea, the Phocians controlled Delphi, although it would change hands over the next century and at one time was aligned with Athens. During the Archidamian War, or the second phase of the Peloponnesian War, Phocis allied itself with Sparta and sent troops against Athens. At the end of the Peloponnesian War, Phocis was still aligned with Sparta, but during the ensuing Corinthian War, Sparta and Thebes fought to dominate Phocis. By 370, Phocis was under Theban control. The Thebans began to impose harsh taxes on Phocis. Phocis responded by raising a mercenary army and taking control of Delphi. In 356, the Third Sacred War began. Led by the general Onomarchos, Phocis was able to drive back the Thebans. In 354 and 353, Onomarchos led his army into Thessaly and defeated Philip II of Macedon. In one of the battles, Onomarchos used catapults against the Macedonians. The Phocians arranged their men in a crescent shape and placed the catapults on the sides of the hills. The Phocians feigned retreat, drawing the Macedonians in deeper. When the Macedonians came into range, the catapults opened fire, disrupting the Macedonian phalanx. The Phocians then attacked, breaking the Macedonian army, who fled. In 353, ­Onomarchos attacked Thessaly, and Philip, as the savior of Delphi, defeated ­Onomarchos and his army at the Battle of the Crocus Field. The Phocians continued to fight during the next few years by continually raiding the treasury at Delphi to pay mercenaries and attached Thebes and Boeotia. The Thebans appealed to Philip for help. Philip sent a small army, enough to show force and help defend Thebes but not enough to end the war. Philip instead planned to end the war on his terms, sending his forces to occupy the pass at Thermopylae in 346. With his occupation, Philip controlled the region and its access. Philip restored the cities in Boeotia, which Phocis had seized. Philip now decided that the Amphictyonic League’s council should determine the fate of Phocis. As part of the agreement, Macedon was now part of the council and given the two votes which Phocis had previously had. Macedon had now become a fullfledged member of the Greek world. Although Thessaly, the sworn enemy of Phocis, wanted it destroyed, Philip imposed a heavy fine but left the region free. The major cities were annihilated, but the inhabitants were allowed to live in small

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villages. Their continual hatred of Philip and Macedon caused the Phocians to send a contingent to Chaeronea, where they fought against Philip. When Philip was assassinated, a general rebellion broke out, with Thebes on one side and Alexander the Great on the other. Phocis now allied itself with Alexander and sought to punish Thebes for their past treatment. They remained allied with Alexander until he died in 323 and they rebelled against Antipater when he invaded Greece. See also: Delphi; Macedon; Peloponnesian War; Persian Wars; Thebes; Thermopylae, Battle of

Further Reading

Fossey, John M. 1986. The Ancient Topography of Eastern Phokis. Amsterdam: J. C. Gieben. McInerney, Jeremy. 1999. The Folds of Parnassos: Land and Ethnicity in Ancient Phokis. Austin: University of Texas Press. For a discussion on Phocis, see “History of Phocis,” Archaeological Site of Delphi, https:// delphi.culture.gr/phocis/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Phoenicia Phoenicia, a region of the eastern Mediterranean seacoast, became known for its seafaring and trade throughout antiquity. The region was composed of city-states such as Tyre, Sidon, and Ugarit, which at various times became the premier cities. Ugarit was chief among the cities during the Bronze Age until it was destroyed in the great migrations and never rebuilt. Archaeological finds of Mycenaean artifacts indicate these cities were rich trading partners during the Bronze Age. Mycenaean merchants had extensive connections throughout the coast of Asia Minor and Phoenicia. Homer in his Iliad and Odyssey featured numerous examples of Phoenician goods being traded and given as gifts. Since Homer’s poems were composed in the eighth century, these references could also be talking about his time and not during the time of the Iliad and the Odyssey. In the Odyssey, the trade connections are clearly seen when Odysseus relates how he came into contact with the “greedy and wily” Phoenicians; and in another story, he is helped by Phoenician merchants to escape. While Odysseus uses the stories to tell about his own wanderings, they nevertheless portray the Phoenicians as seafarers with strong ties with other cultures on the coastline, including the Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Libyans. The intervening period, the Dark Ages, were devoid of much trade by the Greeks. The so-called Dorian invasion eliminated trade connections and interactions. With the decline of Mycenaean society and power, the traditional routes no longer functioned. The Phoenicians do not seem to have ventured into Greece during this time. The historians Herodotus and Thucydides both wrote that the Phoenicians had established trading colonies throughout the western Mediterranean. Their dates, often during the Bronze Age, do not reconcile with other sources that put them three to four centuries later. While the chronology and mythical foundations are

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not reliable, they do point to a picture of seafaring connections throughout the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians were able to continue and develop their trading organizations during the Dark Ages and into the Archaic Age, when they established colonies. Many of the Phoenicians fled west, with many going to Carthage and other colonies in Spain, Sicily, and southern France. During this time, the connection between Phoenicia and Greece increased, with the most important connection being the introduction of the Phoenician alphabet to Greece, probably in the mid-eighth century. The Phoenicians then came under the control of the Persians in the sixth century. Tyre and Sidon vied for the most important city of Phoenicia, with Sidon winning. The Persians allowed the local kings to continue to rule and issue their own coinage. Although they were under Persian control, they were treated almost like satraps, having strong degrees of independence to carry on their trade. This allowed the Persians to have a large, well-trained navy for their operations against the Greeks in Ionia. After Croesus’s defeat and the takeover of Ionia, the Persians in 525 used the Phoenician fleet under Cambyses to invade Egypt. With the civil war that began after Cambyses’s death, Persia underwent a transformation from Cyrus’s household to the family of Darius. With the invasion of Scythia in 513, Darius used Phoenician and Ionian ships to build a bridge across the Bosporus and Hellespont. The rebellion of Ionia in 499 led to several major naval battles between the Phoenician and Ionian fleets. The most important was at the Battle of Lade, where the Phoenician fleet defeated the rebel fleet. After the elimination of the Ionian fleet and the reconquest of Asia Minor, Darius now ordered his fleet to move north in 492 to aid the invasion of Thrace and northern Greece as it made its way toward southern Greece. The Persian strategy had always been that the army and navy traveled together. As the Persian general Mardonius moved around Thrace, a great storm wrecked the fleet at Mount Athos. This disaster ended the invasion from the north. Darius now ordered the Phoenician fleet to move across the Aegean under Datis, taking and ravaging Naxos and the Cyclades but sparing Delos. The Persian army was defeated at Marathon in 490, ending this phase of the invasion. In 483, Darius’s son, Xerxes, began the next phase, launching a massive invasion by both land and sea. The Phoenician navy arrived at the Hellespont and constructed a great pontoon boat across the straits. Xerxes’s great army moved around the northern coast of Greece, with the navy supporting it. Xerxes ordered a great canal over a mile long to be dug across Mount Athos, the site where ten years earlier the fleet had been destroyed by a storm; the project supposedly took three years to complete. Different groups participated in the digging of the canal at Mount Athos, including the Phoenicians. Herodotus indicated that most of the other groups just dug straight down so that when the hole got deep enough, the sides collapsed. The Phoenicians dug wide and down so that the sides did not collapse. The canal, once doubted, has been shown from aerial photographs to have existed but has been filled in and no longer functions. When Xerxes traveled south, the fleet sailed alongside, going to Artemisium near Thermopylae, where the Greek fleet had assembled to protect Leonidas’s army at the pass. The Persian navy arrived, and late on the first day, they attacked

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the Greek fleet but were outmaneuvered and suffered losses. A storm that night prevented the Greeks from following up on the battle while the Persians were dispersed. The second day saw both sides reequipping, with the Greeks engaging in battle against a group of Cilician ships. On the third day, both sides engaged in battle. Although both sides suffered about the same number of losses, the Greek fleet, being smaller, was reduced more significantly. On the fourth day, the Greeks realized that they could not hold the line again. At the same time, the Persians had overcome the Greeks at Thermopylae, making the fleet no longer necessary to hold Artemisium. The battle was indecisive for both sides since the Persians did not destroy the Greek fleet and the Greeks did not inflict enough casualties on the Persians to make a difference. The Persian fleet, with the Phoenicians numbering nearly a quarter of the sailors, moved south toward Athens with the Persian army. The Greek fleet assembled at Salamis and waited. The Greeks needed to cripple the Persian fleet to prevent transports from ferrying troops across the Saronic Gulf and taking the Peloponnese in the rear. The Greek fleet numbered about 375 warships, while the Persians supposedly had 1,200, 300 of which were contributed by the Phoenicians. The

A Strong Woman: Artemisia Herodotus in his Histories, in describing the battle of Salamis, makes note of Queen Artemisia, an admiral in the Persian navy and advisor to King Xerxes. Although being from Asia Minor instead of from Phoenicia, she commanded part of the fleet associated with the Phoenicians. She had counseled Xerxes not to risk battle and let the Greeks turn on themselves. When Xerxes decided to go to war anyway, she led her ships from Halicarnassus into the straits of Salamis. As the battle unfolded, she realized that she and her ship was in danger of being destroyed and killed, so she ordered her captain to flee. In the process, she attacked one of her allies, a Calyndian ship, which confused not only the Athenians pursing her, who now thought she was either a member of the Greek fleet or she had defected from Persia over to the Greek cause; but also Xerxes, who recognized her banner believed that she was attacking part of the Greek fleet even though his advisors knew differently, they did not inform him because of his admiration for her. A strong and capable woman, her advice if it had been followed, would have probably led to a Persian victory. Thus in the first place she saved her life by the action, and was enabled to get clear off from the battle; while further, it fell out that in the very act of doing the king an injury she raised herself to a greater height than ever in his esteem. For as Xerxes beheld the fight, he remarked (it is said) the destruction of the vessel, whereupon the bystanders observed to him—“Seest thou, master, how well Artemisia fights, and how she has just sunk a ship of the enemy?” Then Xerxes asked if it was really Artemisia’s doing; and they answered, “Certainly; for they knew her ensign:” while all made sure that the sunken vessel belonged to the opposite side. Everything, it is said, conspired to prosper the queen—it was especially fortunate for her that not one of those on board the Calyndian ship survived to become her accuser. Xerxes, they say, in reply to the remarks made to him, observed—“My men have behaved like women, my women like men!” Source: Herodotus, George Rawlinson, and Edward Henry Blakeney. 1912. The History of Herodotus. London: J. M. Dent. Volume 2, p. 247.

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Greeks won the battle in a melee where the Phoenicians’ superior numbers were countered by the narrows and their lack of maneuverability. The exact number of losses is unknown, but the Persians, not knowing how to swim, got the worst of it, probably losing around 200 to 300 ships. The following year, the Persian fleet assembled at Mount Mycale in Ionia and prepared for battle. They sent the Phoenician fleet away for an unknown reason, perhaps to protect the coasts of Phoenicia against hit-and-run attacks. The fleet was defeated at Mycale. In 469 or 466, the Phoenician fleet sailed to the Eurymedon River, where they planned to join the Persian army in a major offensive. This appears to have been the first effort since 479 to attack the Greeks. Their intent is unknown, but they probably planned to attack the cities of Asia Minor and retake the ones that had been lost over the past ten to fifteen years. The Athenians under Cimon attacked the Persian fleet, which retreated to shore and were attacked and defeated, with the Greeks destroying 200 of the Phoenician ships. The victory over the Phoenician fleet ended the Persian military threat in the Aegean once and for all. The Phoenicians were major supporters of Persian rule, given their support for the Persian king by supplying him with a strong fleet. Around 350, Sidon rebelled against Persia, with the help of Egypt. They were defeated, and the city was destroyed. This allowed Tyre to reemerge as the strongest of the Phoenician cities. The Phoenicians continued to support the Persians even when Alexander the Great attacked although they were defeated by Alexander and forced into his empire. See also: Alphabet; Ionian Revolt; Military Ships; Navy; Persian Wars

Further Reading

Grant, Michael. 1969. The Ancient Mediterranean. New York: Scribner. Elayi, Josette, and Andrew Plummer. 2018. The History of Phoenicia. Atlanta: Lockwood Press. López-Ruiz, Carolina, and Brian R. Doak. 2019. Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean. New York: Oxford University Press. Woolmer, Mark. 2011. Ancient Phoenicia: An Introduction. London: Bristol Classical Press. For a discussion of the Phoenicians, see the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. “The Phoenicians (1500–300 B.C.),” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004), https://www.metmuseum.org /toah/hd/phoe/hd_phoe.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Plataea, Battle of The town of Plataea lay south of Thebes, on the Boeotia plain. Early in the Classical Age, in the late fifth century, the city refused to come under Thebes’s control and asked Sparta if it could join the Peloponnesian League. Seeing an opportunity to continue to destabilize central Greece without sending forces to the north, Sparta suggested that Plataea make an alliance with Athens to prevent Thebes from taking it over. Plataea and Athens formed an alliance, and when Thebes moved south against Plataea to force it into the Peloponnesian League, Athens sent an army. The city of Corinth agreed to arbitrate, and in the settlement, Plataea



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was not required to join the league, and in fact no city was required to join unless they desired it. After the agreement, the Athenians left and were soon attacked by a Theban force, which they defeated. With their victory, Athens cemented its alliance with Plataea and guaranteed the latter’s freedom. Years later, when Athens faced Persia at Marathon in 490, Plataea sent all of its troops, 1,000 men, to fight. Accorded the position of honor, it helped Athens win the battle and were recognized in the victory memorial. After the Persian victory at Thermopylae, Plataea and Thespiae, the cities of Boeotia that did not surrender, were destroyed. After the Battle of Salamis, Xerxes fled with most of his army, leaving his capable general, Mardonius, behind. After the defeat at Salamis, Mardonius urged Xerxes to remain in Greece, but instead he was appointed by Xerxes to take Greece the following year. Mardonius retreated from Attica and made Thessaly his winter base. In the spring, he subdued Macedon, whose king, Alexander I, informed Athens of the Persian plans. With a force of over 200,000 troops, Mardonius made Thebes his base of operations in 479. During the winter after Salamis, the Greeks debated their strategy. The Spartans and their allies refused to move beyond the Peloponnese, while the Athenians refused to commit their fleet to the allied cause. Knowing that the Persians did not have a fleet that had sailed to Samos, the Peloponnese did not have to worry about an amphibious assault and therefore could wait. The Athenians, who were not protected by the isthmus wall, grew concerned over the Persian control of northern Greece. Mardonius sent a delegation led by Alexander of Macedon to offer terms to Athens. According to the historian Herodotus, the Athenians refused the offer but made sure that a Spartan delegation was on hand to hear the exchange. Mardonius decided to march again to Athens, and the Athenians once again evacuated to Salamis, while the Persians burned Athens for a second time. ­Mardonius again sent another delegation to Salamis to make an alliance. The Athenians sent a delegation of Sparta to demand that Sparta honor the alliance. The delegation was informed that Sparta was celebrating the festival of Hyacinthus in honor of Hyacinth, a lover of Apollo and a hero. His cult was celebrated in Laconia along with Apollo. The Spartans planned not to fight until another ambassador told them that all of Greece needed the Spartans to unify them and save their homeland. The Spartans held a council that night and decided that since the actual festival was completed, the army could be released. The next day, the Athenian delegation returned with the intent that if their demands were not met, then they would sail away from Greece. They were soon shocked to discover that the entire Spartan army had already left and marched north. The Greek army was a confederation force, with each unit having its own commander, but all the units were under the command of the Spartan regent and general Pausanias. The Spartans sent 5,000 Spartiates (full citizens) hoplites, 5,000 other Lacedemonian hoplites (presumably perioeci), and 35,000 helots not armed as hoplites but light infantry, for a total of 45,000 Spartans, the largest force ever assembled. In addition, there were probably another 25,000 Greek hoplites, for a total of about 35,000 hoplites in the Greek army and 30,000 to 35,000 lightly armed troops from the other Greek cities. These combined forces, 35,000 hoplites and 60,000 to 70,000 lightly armed troops, skirmishers, and archers, allowed a

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force of 100,000 Greeks to have assembled. Although the lightly armed troops would not have been crucial to the actual battle, they were needed to prevent the Persians from outflanking the hoplite force with their cavalry, and if the army needed to retreat from the battle, they would be used to cover their evacuation. In addition, it is possible that the number of heavy troops was reduced further since the fleet in Asia Minor with 110 triremes would need about 22,000 troops. Nevertheless, the Greek army must have been exceedingly large for that period, and a force of some 60,000 to 100,000 total, with 35,000 hoplites, is not impossible. Meanwhile, the Persian force, not likely to be at the 300,000 recorded by Herodotus, probably sent about 100,000 men, with the remaining 100,000 spread out over Thessaly and Macedon. Half of the Persian force would be composed of Persians (said to be 40,000), with another 20,000 from the east (Bactrians, Indians, Sakae) and an equal number from Greek allies, perhaps half of which were hoplites, especially the Thebans, as well as about 5,000 Persian cavalry. The Persians did not need to risk fighting. The Greek alliance had nearly come apart in the winter due to competing Greek interests. If Mardonius had waited, he probably would have seen the end of the alliance. Nevertheless, he could not allow the Greek army to attack Thebes, and he needed to be sure that his newly acquired allies remained faithful. He had better supplies, and if he wanted, he could secure northern Greece while waiting for southern Greece to fall apart. The Greeks needed to force a battle on grounds favorable to them, which would negate the Persian cavalry, which could outflank them. In addition, it was crucial to knock the Persians out of the war to make sure that they left Greece. Mardonius now retreated from a destroyed Athens and made Thebes his base as he waited for the Spartan army to advance. His plan was to use the open country of Boeotia to the advantage of his cavalry and defeat the Greeks once and for all. His fortified camp was just north of Plataea, on the banks of the Asopus River.

Family General A capable general, Mardonius was the leading Persian general during the period of the Persian Wars. He had married Darius’s daughter and was appointed to help retake Ionia and lead the expedition to retake Macedon in 492. This campaign was ultimately planned to destroy Athens for helping Ionia. As he retook Ionia, Mardonius deposed the tyrants and installed democratic governments. He probably did this for several reasons—first, he wanted to ensure that one individual would not control a city and ultimately create another Ionia rebellion; second, he promoted democracies that produced rival factions, ensuring that no one group controlled the politics of a city; and finally, he wanted to show the Greeks that the Persians did not oppose the Greek system of government. Mardonius’s army crossed the Hellespont, taking the gold-rich island of Thasos, forcing Macedon into its sphere of influence, and attacking Thrace, where he was wounded but victorious. His fleet, however, was destroyed in a storm while rounding Mount Athos. With this loss, Mardonius could not continue his campaign south, and upon his retreat, he lost favor with Darius, who replaced him for the upcoming invasion of Greece, leading to the defeat at Marathon. When Xerxes came to the throne, Mardonius came back into favor, and it was he who desired to seek revenge on the Greeks.



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It is said that the Athenians, who sent 8,000 hoplites and 600 remnants of Plataea, marched toward Thebes and were soon awed to see the entire Spartan army on the plains of Plataea. The Spartan army was led by the regent Pausanias, who deployed the allied army on the high ground overlooking the Persians and avoiding ground favorable to the cavalry. Mardonius tried several strategies and attempts to get the Greeks to attack. His cavalry initiated hit-and-run skirmishes to engage outliers and advance guards. The attacks showed some success until the Persian leader of the cavalry was killed and the Persians retreated. The allied army was spread out over several hills, with the Spartans on the right, the Athenians on the far left, and other allies in between. Mardonius moved out of his camp and advanced to the Asopus River, where both sides remained stationary for eight days. The Persians used their cavalry to raid the Greek supply lines further, sowing dissension and threatening their continual deployment. After two more days, the Persian cavalry took over the springs supplying the Greeks with fresh water, further hampering their army. Pausanias decided to move the army back to where Plataea could defend their flanks and the Greeks could be provisioned with food and water. One Spartan unit refused to move, which caused disunity in the Spartan part of the ranks. During the night, the plan was implemented, but due to darkness, the central line did not arrive at their appointed positions but instead were spread over the Plataean plain. By morning, the entire Greek army line was in disarray, with units scattered and no cohesive lines formed. At this point, the Persian camp awoke. The armies were arranged based on their hoplite strength, according to Herodotus, with the Spartans at 10,000 on the right side facing the Persians. Next to the Spartans were mainly the Corinthians and Sicyon, numbering about 10,000, who fronted the Medes. Other members of the Peloponnesian League faced the Bactrians, with about 2,500 hoplites. The men from Euboea and nearby towns numbered about 1,500 heavy infantry facing the Indians. Troops from western Greece came next, with 1,500 hoplites facing the Sacae. The Athenians and Plataeans, numbering about 9,000 heavy forces, fronted the Persian Greek allies, specifically the Thebans, Thessalians, and Macedonians, who seemingly would have been armed as hoplites. There were also Persian troops from inner Asia Minor, Egypt, and Ethiopia. When the Persians saw the Greek forces in disarray, Mardonius probably believed that the Greek alliance had broken up and their army was in full retreat. It was this situation, rather than any particular desire of Mardonius to engage in battle, that forced the end of the stalemate; Mardonius probably thought that he could rout the retreating Greeks and wipe them out. As for the Greeks, they were still on higher ground, which negated the Persian cavalry’s strength and allowed them to be fooled into attacking. Mardonius now crossed the river and advanced with his Persian infantry, followed by the rest of his army. The Persian cavalry dislodged a Spartan company from the ridge, and the Athenians, battling the ­Thebans, could not join up with the main Spartan force. With the cavalry attacking the Spartan main forces, Mardonius and his infantry arrived and began to fire arrows. The Spartans still did not attack until units from Tegea began to attack. Pausanias, now receiving favorable omens, ordered

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the Spartans to advance. As at Marathon, the Persian army’s heaviest infantry was inferior to the Greek hoplites. The Spartans and Tegeans continued their advance, and Mardonius, with 1,000 bodyguards, continued to order the attack. During the battle, Mardonius was killed and the Persians began to waver and then fled. The Persian general Artabazus, who did not counsel fighting and had not committed his troops, soon saw the flight of the main Persian army and ordered his men to retreat toward Thessaly in the hope of saving his force. He ultimately reached Asia Minor but lost many men in Thrace and Macedon. The Spartans were successful on the right wing, and the Athenians had finally beaten back the Thebans on the left side. The Greeks then attacked the Persian camp and massacred most of the remnants. It is said that the Greeks wanted to mutilate the body of Mardonius, but Pausanias refused, as he felt that it would bring dishonor and vengeance from the gods. Supposedly on the same day, the Greeks won a great naval battle at Mycale in Asia Minor. With these twin victories, the Persian offensive against Greece ended. Although many wanted to punish Thebes by destroying it, Sparta realized that it would be needed to counter Athens in the future. See also: Athens; Mycale, Battle of; Persian Wars; Salamis, Battle of; Sparta; Thebes; Thermopylae, Battle of; Weapons

Further Reading

Green, Peter. 1996. The Greco-Persian Wars. Berkeley: University of California Press. Holland, Tom. 2007. Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West. New York: Anchor Books. Lazenby, J. F. 1993. The Defence of Greece, 490–479 B.C. Warminster, UK: Aris & Phillips. For a discussion on the battle, see Gonzales, Matthew, 2008, “Decision at Plataea, 479 BC,” HistoryNet, https://www.historynet.com/decision-plataea-479-bc.htm (accessed May 18, 2021). For a general examination of the Battle of Plataea, see Rickard, J., “Battle of Plataea, August 479 BC,” July 6, 2015, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_plataea.html http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_plataea.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Police The ancient Greeks did not have a system of police forces as in the modern era. How order was maintained depended on how the Greeks viewed their system of justice, and with very few exceptions, it was done on a personal level. When a crime was committed, it was usually left to the victim’s neighbors and family members to apprehend the claimant and bring charges. To maintain their control of the city, the Athenians employed Scythian archers who may in the broadest sense be seen as police, but in reality, their duties were to ensure that order was kept in the assembly and to handle prisoners, especially from war. The Athenians employed these mercenaries beginning in the fifth century. They employed a variety of different units and slaves, which worked under



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Krypteia: Secret Police or Initiation Rite? Sparta also had another system to maintain order in Laconia, called the krypteia. This institution is not fully understood, but it may have operated as a kind of secret police. In this interpretation, Spartans who had shown that they excelled in the arts of war and leadership were enrolled. These individuals were selected to prove themselves and help maintain the Spartan order. To keep order, the krypteia instilled fear, as they would go out at night armed only with a knife to kill any helot they met. This was probably an initiation experience since the helots could fight back. More important were the krypteia members who went out to assassinate specific helots that were targeted for promoting rebellion or being outspoken. They would also spy on the countryside to discover any malcontents. Once discovered, these individuals were probably not assassinated but executed publicly to send a message to others not to stir up trouble. These individuals in the krypteia were seen as the strongest and best Spartans. They were capable and willing to do anything for the state, and as such, they would become the natural leaders in the Spartan military. They were mentioned as also serving as a unit in the Spartan army, and they may have been responsible for reconnaissance and clandestine operations.

the auspices of the elected officials. These individuals would also ensure that the markets were operating in a consistent fashion and the weights and measures were accurate and prevent any kind of accidents. Other officials were employed to maintain hygiene, supervising non-Athenians and ensuring public morals. Other Greek cities also had police forces composed of magistrates using slaves to ensure order. In Sparta, the Ephors were charged with keeping order. In all of these instances, individuals were not police forces, or even soldiers, but they owed their power to their political office. The Ephors in the fall proclaimed a war against the helots, which would allow the killing of any helot and not incur religious sanctions that normally applied to murder. The Greeks operated under a system of control through elected officials who had slaves, public and private, to carry out their orders. In many ways, they represented a system of personal armies or forces, more like enforcers than public servants. See also: Ephors; Helots; Law Courts; Mercenaries; Punishment; Sparta

Further Reading

Cartledge, Paul. 2002. Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History, 1300–362 B.C. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. Riess, Werner, and Garrett G. Fagan. 2016. The Topography of Violence in the GrecoRoman World. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Polis The polis (pl. poleis) was the center of Greek history and political life in antiquity. Unlike the Near East, with its development of large kingdoms, these Greek cities were independent and self-governing. Each city determined its own political

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features. Each declared war and made peace independently. Their citizens held rights only in their native towns. The development of the polis occurred on the political and physical level. The Greek city-states were small, in terms of both geography and population. The philosopher Aristotle had indicated that a citystate should not be too large as to be unyielding, while it should be large enough to maintain their sustainability. Aristotle also indicated that citizens should know one another. The politics of a polis occurred through the gradation of smaller bodies, creating its political environment. At the bottom were the gentes (clans), extended family units that had a common background from the same ancestor, often living together in the same household or neighborhood. They worshipped the same gods. The member of these clans formed the first citizens, and only when the population increased was the citizenship requirement loosened. This allowed property and residence to be the determining factor for political rights and privileges instead of birth and religion. The clans were then bound to each other into the phratry, or brotherhood. In Athens, before the reform of Cleisthenes, the clans or families were made of one of the three phratries, which were then placed into one of four tribes. At Cleisthenes’s reforms, these four tribes were increased to ten, with the demes now taking the place of the clans as important subdivisions. This system allowed the families to develop the political life of the city. The polis was also a physical entity. The original hamlets were absorbed into the new city-state. The city-state was larger and now offered more chances of wealth, trade, and protection. A polis had a defensible position, usually a hill, often called the acropolis. This was the historical center of the city, and at first, there was distinction between the acropolis and city. It was not only a place of refuge, but in the early days, the king had his palace there. As the polis grew, houses formed around the hill. In this way, as it grew, it encompassed more and more land, constantly growing in circles around the hill. The lower town would include the agora (occasionally translated as “marketplace”), but it encompassed much more. It was where the citizens met and conducted the economic, political, and social business of the city. The acropolis and agora became the city’s center. As the polis grew, the agora became more important than the acropolis in everyday life. Other structures in a city would include temples for religion and commerce. During the Archaic period, these would have been the most ostentatious architectural structures. The temples were not only religious centers, but also commercial centers as marketplaces or banks. They became more substantial, made of more costly materials and more artistic. Instead of wood or unbaked brick, stone (quarried often from a distance) became more common. They were now faced with costly marble and adorned with silver and ivory statues. Most of the city-states had their population and houses growing up irregularly, with unplanned and erratic roads and streets. The roads from the agora would have been the most planned and laid out; but they too would conform to the physical wandering and houses that grew up after a short distance. Along the routes were fountains that allowed households the opportunity to collect water for home use. Near the agora would be other public buildings, such as the bouleuterion (council house), where in Athens the Council of 400 (before Cleisthenes’s reform)

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and the Council of 500 (after the reform) would meet to plan the agenda. The prytaneion (town hall) was where a smaller group composed of the citizens who kept the day-to-day functioning of the city met. Stoas (colonnades) provided covered walkways around many buildings. Finally, there was a wall around the city that was often irregular, conforming to physical sites and better-protected regions. Often, two cities could be joined by a wall, like Athens and its harbor town Piraeus, linked by the Long Walls, to provide even more security. In the Classical period, theaters would be built into the side of a hill, offering entertainment. There was also the pynx, where the assembly met in Athens. Not a structure but a hillside, it allowed the inhabitants to meet, debate, and decide issues. Another structure, although not required of a polis, was the stadium, designed for athletic competition. In some cities, these structures were created for international or Panhellenic competition. A crucial structure was the gymnasium, where young men trained for physical activity to be used in their military experiences. Here, the students would engage in wrestling, gymnastics, running and boxing. The polis allowed the inhabitants to form into a self-governing region on a small scale. The citizens would know each other and debate ideas, which often led to violence. Many city-states witnessed the takeover of the city by a strongman or tyrant because of family connections and the small size of the city. These individuals often allowed the polis to grow both physically and economically. Most of the tyrants were expelled after one or two generations, but the physical elements continued, forming the basis of the classical city. See also: Architecture; Athens; Calendar; Deme; Democracy; Festivals; Officials; Prytaneis; Slavery; Social Status; Stadium; Tyrants

Further Reading

Eijnde, Floris van den, Josine Blok, and Rolf Strootman. 2018. Feasting and Polis Institutions. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. Hansen, Mogens Herman. 2006. Polis: An Introduction to the Ancient Greek City-State. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wycherley, R. E. 1976. How the Greeks Built Cities. 2d ed. New York: Norton. Zuiderhoek, Arjan. 2017. The Ancient City. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For a discussion on the polis, see “The Greek Polis,” Khan Academy, https://www. khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/ancient-medieval/classical-greece/a /the-greek-polis (accessed May 18, 2021).

Potidaea Potidaea was a Corinthian colony established under the tyrant Periander on the third or western spur of the Chalcidice Peninsula in about 600. The site was near where the western spur or finger was attached to the mainland, meaning that ­Potidaea controlled not only the bay, but the mainland approach. Periander had realized the economic importance of the site, which controlled the terminus of the Macedonian trade for the Balkans from both Illyria and the Adriatic to the Aegean. This strategic location meant that Potidaea was in constant contact with the news

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and issues of the north. The colony was close to Mount Pangaeum and its rich gold and silver deposits, as well as the trade going to the north. Beginning about 500, its coinage showed Poseidon, from which it derived its name, carrying a trident and riding a Thracian horse. As one of the colonies on the Chalcidice, it helped influence Macedon and brought further Greek civilization to the north. Macedon always looked to the Chalcidice as part of its territory and would engage in struggles with the major Greek cities for domination of the region. Potidaea received its chief magistrate, the archon, from Corinth as a symbol of its legacy. Potidaea remained independent until Darius’s invasion of Thrace in 513, when they were conquered by the Persians. For the next thirty years, Persia controlled the city, and it was probably used as a supply station for Xerxes’s invasion in 480. With the Persian defeat in 479, Potidaea rebelled against the Persians and was besieged by the retreating Persian army. According to the historian Herodotus, the Persians attempted to use the retreat of the water during a tide to attack, only to be swept away by a sudden high tide. Some believe that it may have been a tsunami, although no earthquake is mentioned by Herodotus, or perhaps a meteotsunami caused by a rapid change in barometric pressure and amplified by the long, narrow body of water at the head of the Toroneos Gulf, a fairly common natural phenomenon. Regardless of the actual event, the cascading water washed away many of the Persians, saving the city from capture and destruction. With Potidaea free, it soon joined the Delian League and helped with the war against Persia to free the other Greek cities. During the early history of the league, the city probably contributed ships, but by 449, it was paying tribute. The city, however, continued to receive its chief magistrate from Corinth, and with its strong defenses, it potentially allowed Potidaea to be in a position of independence from and defiance of Athens. During the conflicts between Athens and Corinth in the latter fifth century leading up to the Peloponnesian War, Potidaea was in a difficult situation, with its loyalties strained. When Athens made a defensive pact with Corinth’s enemy, Corcyra, the situation soon boiled over, and Athens raised the tribute amount for Potidaea. Athens then went further, ordering Potidaea to tear down its walls and effectively rendering it defenseless. Athens then ordered Potidaea to no longer accept magistrates from Corinth. At the same time, ­Perdiccas II, the king of Macedon, had begun to urge the cities in the region to rebel from Athens. Athens sent a fleet and hoplites to attack Macedon when news reached Athens that Potidaea had rejected Athens’s demands. Potidaea now rebelled and allied itself with Perdiccas in 432. The Athenians sent another fleet to join the first, and together the two forces attacked Potidaea and its allies. The Athenians were able to defeat the Potidaean army, and the Macedonian cavalry, although it was there, did not engage the Athenians. The Athenians now advanced to Potidaea and began to besiege the city. The siege would last two years, but the cost was high, supposedly over 1,000 talents a year. At the same time, the plague in Athens meant that the rebellion was having a serious impact on Athens. Finally, Potidaea surrendered in 429; its walls were torn down and a heavy fine imposed, along with its city being depopulated. In addition, Athens sent out colonists. Potidaea remained under Athenian control until

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the end of the war, when the inhabitants regained it, although it is doubted that the city was completely depopulated. The city was in a precarious position after the war. It was taken over by nearby Olynthus in 382, but then in 379 Sparta was able to conquer it. In the struggle between Athens and Thebes, Potidaea was captured by the Athenians in 365. It now became the center of conflict between Athens and Macedon under Philip II. In 356, Philip seized the city, enslaved the population, and gave it over to Olynthus, which relinquished Pydna to Philip. Macedon then moved against Olynthus in 348, taking both Olynthus and Potidaea. Potidaea had been a strategic city in the fifth and fourth centuries and ultimately came under the control of Athens. During the lead-up to the Peloponnesian War, it had been a member of the Delian League. Potidaea had become part of the wider conflict between Greece and Macedon, which would lead to Philip’s takeover of the Greek world. See also: Archidamian War; Chalcidian League; Delian League; Macedon; Peloponnesian War; Thasos

Further Reading

Alexander, John A. 1963. Potidaea; Its History and Remains. Athens: University of Georgia Press. Badian, E. 1993. From Plataea to Potidaea: Studies in the History and Historiography of the Pentecontaetia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Kagan, D. 1989. The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Pre-Socratic The development of philosophy in ancient Greece was influenced by a variety of factors and expressions. While Athens was a great city with an empire in the fifth century, it did not produce many philosophers until later, with Socrates and Plato. Rather, the city, due to its wealth and power, became a magnet, attracting individuals who developed new ideas. The period before Socrates, where thinkers developed in an environment of intellectual change, is often called the PreSocratic. Growing mainly out of mathematics, the study of philosophy attempted to answer questions about the meaning of the world, the location of humans within it, and how the two interacted. For many, it was attempting to order a chaotic world according to the laws of nature, science, and math. The beginning of the Pre-Socratics period occurred with Xenophanes from Colophon in Ionia, born about 570. When the Persians took his city in 545, he left and spent the next sixty-seven years traveling throughout the Greek world reciting his poems. He criticized the stories that poets told about the gods, developed the beginnings of monotheism, and attacked anthropomorphism in religion. One of his students was Parmenides from Elea in Sicily, born about 510. Parmenides had also studied with the Pythagoreans and had an interest in astronomy, but he did not make it his life’s work. His city, Elea, had him produce a law code that was held in high esteem and guided the city for centuries. He wrote a poem called “On

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Nature,” stating that all things are one. He continued by saying that all things are unreal and merely aspects of one’s senses, and beneath all things lies an unchanging motionless unity, which is the One being, Truth, and god. His view was all things are one and never change, as opposed to Heraclitus of Ephesus, who said that all things change. For Parmenides, Being is Thought, meaning that things exist because we are conscious of them. In his ideology, there was no Beginning or End, and neither Birth nor Death. In the Parmenidean Rest, all things are motionless. These ideas were further expanded and defended by his follower, Zeno of Elea, born about 490. He further developed the idea of motion, which was theoretically impossible for Parmenides’s Motionless One. He published a work on paradoxes. In one of his paradoxes, he said to proceed to point A, you would get to point B, the middle of the course to A; to get to B, you would need to reach C, which is halfway to B, and so on to infinity. In another, he had Achilles, the fast-footed runner, never being able to overtake the slow tortoise since by the time Achilles crossed the spot where the tortoise originally started, the tortoise had moved; therefore, Achilles could never overtake the tortoise since it always moved. Further, a flying arrow was really at rest since at any time it was only at one point in time, and therefore it was motionless. Zeno visited Athens in 450, where he would reduce any kind of philosophical argument to absurdity. Zeno and Parmenides were recognized as the fathers of logic and metaphysics, respectively. Zeno’s skepticism was supreme, which influenced Socrates; although he denounced Zeno’s dialectical method, he copied it. Zeno ultimately died while attempting to rid Elea of the tyrant Nearchus. The followers of Pythagoras had developed the number theory where all things are composed of numbers creating the Atomic school. The early developer of this school was Leucippus of Miletus, who arrived at Elea in 435 to study with Zeno. He later settled at Abdera in Thrace, an Ionian colony, and argued for the notion of the void, or empty space. He argued that the universe was composed of atoms and the void of space; atoms would combine to form things, including the human soul. He said that “nothing happens without a reason, but all things occur for a reason, and of necessity (as quoted by the ancient author Aetius).” His ideas were helped by Democritus, his pupil or comrade, who was from Abdera. Together, they developed the atomistic philosophy in the materialism system. Democritus gave a critique of the senses. For example, if no one is in the forest and a tree falls, it would make no noise. The senses give one some knowledge, but it is incomplete, while genuine knowledge comes from investigation and thought. The atoms discharged by an object cause our sensations, so all of our senses come from touching atoms. According to Democritus, the universe is the full or, in his words, the atoms, and that is what is the form or substances; and the void or what is empty means what is not, with the empty space or the void being between the atoms. There are infinitely many atoms, which vary in shape, size, and weight, but nothing more. The atoms move around the void, and when they collide, they combine to create new things. The differences between things are only apparent due to the different shapes and positions of the atoms and how they influence our senses.

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Reincarnation Empedocles of Akragas (Agrigento), Sicily, was born in 496 and believed in transmigration. He stated that he had once been a bird and a fish and argued against eating animals, as that was a form of cannibalism. He argued that all men had been gods, but through violence or impurity had lost that status. He practiced magic and said that he could cure people through his incantations; many of the populace believed him. He finally said that he had supernatural powers. He definitely knew about medicine and understood the psychology of medicine and its healing effect on people. In addition, he was credited with inventing rhetoric and was an engineer who drained the pestilence-riddled marshes around Selinus. As a politician, although he was from the aristocracy, he led the people against the narrow aristocracy, establishing a democracy after he refused the chance to become a tyrant. He argued against Parmenides’s rejection of the senses, instead promoting each sense as a way to understand all things. He argued that particles come from an object and are caught by the senses so that light coming from the Sun needs time to reach us, while night is caused by the Earth intercepting or blocking its rays. He further said that all matter is composed of four elements: air, fire, water, and earth. These forms are influenced by opposite laws— love and hate, attraction and repulsion. He even developed the idea of evolution, where all higher forms come from lower forms, as well as dissolution, where matter dissolves so that it becomes an amorphous mass. His view on god is difficult since at times he acknowledges that a supreme being becomes involved in the processes, while ignoring it at other times. In his later years, he firmly believed in reincarnation and spoke against marriage and procreation.

Thales, a gifted man with a keen political and business mind, had become wealthy after being able to foresee the olive surplus and cornering the market on oil presses. He also urged the Ionian states to form a united federal system—that advice was not taken, though, with disastrous consequences since the Lydians would conquer the Ionian states with the Persians under Cyrus, taking them over later. He is credited with being Greece’s first geometrician, and he also was an astronomer, credited with predicting a solar eclipse. His interest in geometry and astronomy grew from a desire to help with naval navigation. He believed that the world came from and would return to water, arguing that it was the basis for all matter. Although his theory was perhaps simplistic, it broke new ground by denying the need of the supernatural to determine the creation of the universe leading to the idea of a cosmos, or an orderly process governed by laws, not beliefs. His pupil was Anaximander, born about 610, who helped in the colonization of Apollonia Pontica on the Black Sea. Said to have regarded himself as a sage, he wore brilliant clothes to advertise his belief. He extended Thales’s view of the universe by arguing that it was indefinite, or boundless, as he coined the term. Unlike matters that were observable, he viewed the universe as never-ending, having no beginning; in other words, it was eternal. He rejected Thales’s concept that the fundamental material of the universe was water, or any substance for that matter. He did believe that the earth came from water; hence the observations of life on the planet. In fact, he argued that higher forms of life evolved from lower forms, including humans coming from fish. Anaximander believed that the universe was composed of contrasting pairs, such as hot versus cold or wet versus

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dry. This again went against the old view that capricious gods created the world out of anarchy and were constantly interfering in it. He viewed the Sun as being the size of the Earth, an advancement since most thought it was smaller, and he created a map of the world that portrayed it as a disc on a column suspended in space. This was an advancement over Thales, who viewed it as a flat disc resting on water. His philosophical treatise, About Nature, was the first written in prose. Anaximenes, supposedly Thales’s student, was probably his contemporary. He viewed the world as made up of air, not water, and abandoned Anaximander’s view of the undefinable universe in favor of the definable one of air. He argued that this substance could be modified, and in doing so, produced wind, water, clouds, earth, and fire. This again abandoned the mythological concept of the cosmos since it could be measured and observed. He argued for the concept of the human soul or pneuma, composed of air associated with the human breath. Anaximenes was the first philosopher to come up with this concept. This was similar to the ancient Indian philosophy of the divine wind or breath, the foundation of the world and humans. This idea probably was transmitted by the Persians from the East. A further advancement in philosophy was proposed by another Milesian, Hecataeus, born about 525. Although he attempted to justify the old heroic myths by tracing ancestors to the gods, he saw many of these stories as ridiculous. His myths, however, led him to develop family trees with important side information on customs of different regions, as well as other material that would develop into the annalistic concept of recording events, leading to the development of the concept of history. He also wrote a treatise on geography composed of journeys or itineraries, with additional material describing the lands of Europe, Asia and Africa, and then India and the steppes of western Russia or Ukraine. He also attempted to create a system of topography and the histories of Greek cities. The development of Ionian philosophy and enquiry set the stage for the Socratic movement in Athens. The ideas developed mainly by Miletus would further push the boundaries of scientific and theological thought on the origin of the universe and the concept of humanity. These early enquiries would allow later thinkers during the modern Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution to devise the big bang theory and the ideas of human existence. The ideas of the pre-Socratic period influenced the thinking of Socrates, as related by Plato and Xenophon, two of his students. See also: Aristotelian Philosophy; Ionian League; Socratic Method; Sophists

Further Reading

Guthrie, W. K. C. 1962. The Earlier Presocratics and the Pythagoreans. London: Cambridge University Press. Heath, Thomas Little, and Aristarchus. 2004. Aristarchus of Samos, the Ancient Copernicus. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. Kirkland, Sean D., and Eric Sanday. 2018. A Companion to Ancient Philosophy. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press. Lloyd, G. E. R. 1971. Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle. New York: Norton. Sassi, Maria Michela, and Michele Asuni. 2018. The Beginnings of Philosophy in Greece. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Prytaneis 477 Taub, Liba Chaia. 2020. The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek and Roman Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For the history and development of the Pre-Socratic movement, see Curd, Patricia, “Presocratic Philosophy,” in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (fall 2020 edition), Edward N. Zalta, ed., https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/presocratics/ (accessed May 18, 2021). For a general introduction to Pre-Socratic thought, see Graham, Jacob. “Presocratics,” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://iep.utm.edu/presocra/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Prytaneis Originally, the term prytaneis meant a person who was in charge of the state. In many of the early Greek states, there were anywhere from one to five individuals who would oversee the running of the state as the executive officer or officers. They probably represented the aristocracy, who now ruled instead of the king. The term also refers to the executive officers or presidents of the Athenian boule or council. It probably was a title that existed before the arrival of the Greeks, as its etymology is pre-Greek. Solon had created a boule or Council of 400, with 100 members from each tribe or phylai. Cleisthenes in 509 replaced this Council of 400 with a new Council of 500. He then abolished the four traditional tribes and created ten new tribes. With the Athenian calendar divided into ten months, each tribe was in charge or was an executive of the boule (prytaneis) for one month. The order for each tribe’s turn as prytaneis was decided by lot. The term of office for each prytaneis was known as a prytany, corresponding to the month and could be anywhere from thirty-five to thirty-nine days. An individual member of the prytaneis was called a prytanis. The prytaneis would call the meeting of the boule or Council of 500 to set the agenda for the meeting of the assembly or ecclesia. The assembly was the ultimate authority or power for Athens. The prytaneis would hold meetings, many of them mandatory, while others were held as needed, including if promoted by powerful or persuasive individuals. During their time each month, the prytaneis would effectively be in charge running the daily tasks of the state, including running the markets, overseeing the public works, managing the operations of the gymnasium, receiving foreign ambassadors and guests, and safeguarding the keys to the treasury. During their month of service, the fifty members of the prytaneis would eat at public expense. They would dine and meet in a structure called the tholos, a circular structure next to the bouleuterion, the official meeting place for the Council of 500. This was part of the prytaneion, the center of the city’s government. As the center of the state, it was where the perpetual fire was kept, an integral part of the city and its religious life. It was from here that, when a colony was established, the city sent a firebrand with its colonists to light a fire to celebrate their new home. The prytaneis would select one member from the group by lot to serve as chairman. This member, called an epistates (foreman), kept the keys to the treasury and the state archives, as well as controlling the state’s seal. He would be in charge for

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one twenty-four-hour period. This position was seen not only as one of power, in effect chief of state, but of honor; because a person was only allowed to have it once in his lifetime. He was also in charge of running the assembly when it met on his day of office. A prytanis was seen in many other Greek cities as well. As at Athens, it was seen as running the government. In some places, it allowed the individual to exploit his position and become a dictator or tyrant over a city. See also: Archon; Boule; Democracy; Ecclesia; Officials; Polis

Further Reading

Hansen, Mogens Herman. 1999. The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes: Structure, Principles, and Ideology. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Hignett, C. 1952. A History of the Athenian Constitution to the End of the Fifth Century B.C. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Lambert, S. D. 1993. The Phratries of Attica. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Rhodes, P. J. 1972. The Athenian Boule. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. For a discussion of the Assembly and related offices, see Blackwell, Christopher W., “The Assembly,” in C. W. Blackwell, ed., Dēmos: Classical Athenian Democracy (A. Mahoney and R. Scaife, eds., The Stoa: a consortium for electronic publication in the humanities [www.stoa.org]) edition of March 26, 2003, http://www.stoa.org /demos/article_assembly@page=all&greekEncoding=UnicodeC.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Punishment Ancient Greek punishment depended upon the crime, the location, and individuals involved in the proscribed act. The Greeks did not have a systematic law code. During the Archaic Age, the development of rules and regulations took form, allowing society to function without chaos. Originally, retribution or punishment for a crime would be imposed by clan members of the aggrieved party, often leading to internecine clan wars, especially if murder, rape, or abduction was involved. By the eighth century, cities began to realize that these continual internecine fighting would lead to wholesale destruction; they now began to enact laws and procedures to solve and prevent continual fighting by reaching accommodation for all sides, often by assigning a monetary value. Many of the laws developed were torts, which involved someone doing harm to another or their property, and reaching a satisfactory accommodation. Dracon and Solon, early lawgivers, prescribed tort laws for murder, as well as other crimes such as rape, dog bite, and encroaching on a neighbor’s property. Athens, and most likely most other Greek cities, took the view that trials brought before its people were generally private in nature. This meant that if someone killed another, the family or friends of the deceased would seek to bring the aggressor to trial to convict and punish him. The state, however, would prosecute certain crimes, namely patricide and arson, since these were committed by someone without honor or mentally unhinged. The crime of theft was handled by forcing the individual to return the stolen property and pay a fine

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of double the value of the property stolen. Certain crimes, however, such as murder (especially patricide), arson, and treason, were universally viewed as outrages against society. If a person was found guilty, the punishment was usually death. But some crimes such as homicide could be explained or rationalized, providing for possible acquittal. Punishments could be imposed upon individuals by the gods for horrendous acts of impiety. In the Odyssey, for example, the warrior Odysseus is punished by the gods for his lack of respect for their laws. The gods punished mortals with eternal suffering. Atlas was sentenced to hold the weight of the world upon his shoulders forever, while Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans, was chained to a rock and had his liver eaten by Zeus’s eagle. Human laws punished men for committing transgressions against one another. For political discord, ostracism, or the exiling of a political prisoner, was a common way to eliminate a problematic enemy. For rape, a penalty of 100 drachmas was given to the family of the victim by the perpetrator or family. Someone who committed homicide (the killing of a person that was unintentional or in self-defense) was exiled, while committing murder (killing of a person with malice aforethought) could lead to death. The most severe or final punishment was death. This penalty was usually reserved for the most heinous crime, the deliberate killing of a fellow citizen or some other calamity such as treason. In Athens, the procedure was formulated in the law codes and during trials. One of the earliest lawgivers was Dracon, who lived about 620 and supposedly wrote the first law codes and constitution. His laws were supposedly severe, with a later writer, Plutarch, stating that all crimes were punishable by death; but this was probably a misunderstanding or oversimplification of the reality, and became the source of the word draconian. Serious crimes and promoting civil discord probably met with the death penalty, but most other crimes were probably punished by a fine. Solon who lived around 600 reformed the law codes, removing Dracon’s death penalty except for the crime of homicide. The Athenians reserved the death penalty for those who committed intentional homicide or another serious crime, such as arson or blasphemy against the gods. A person who committed unintentional homicide, such as manslaughter, could go into exile, and his property was not confiscated but allowed to pass to his family. In a case where an Athenian was charged with killing another Athenian, a trial was held in which the prosecution gave a speech outlining the case against the accused. The defendant could then give a speech laying out his defense. After their speeches, and before a verdict, if the defendant “fled,” going into exile, he acknowledged his guilt and effectively saved himself from the ultimate punishment. The jury would immediately cast its vote and if the person was found guilty, both sides could then make a speech outlining the proper punishment. For a serious crime like murder, the prosecution, usually a member of the victim’s family or a close friend, would choose death. Often, the defendant would propose a fine and possibly exile. The jurors would again vote on the penalty, and if it was for death, the sentence would be carried out, usually within a few days.

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Typically, there were three forms of “execution.” The first was the ancient custom of casting someone into a well or pit known as a barathron. Probably this form had the individual being alive when cast into the pit and either the fall would kill him or he would die of his wounds, or by starvation. By the fourth century, the individual appears to have been killed first and then cast into the pit. The second type of execution, called tympanon, appears to have been done by clubbing or killing by a sword, although it could also involve the criminal being tied to a board stuck in the ground and left to die of thirst or starvation. The final type of execution involved the drinking of hemlock or poison; it was not commonly used, and never before 404. The Athenians did not use hanging or decapitation, probably because to the Greeks, the outright killing of a person, even if justified, potentially put a religious curse on the city. The systems used by the Athenians, casting into a pit, being left to die of thirst or starvation, or suicide by poison, did not involve the direct act of the citizen body, but rather hinged on the will of the gods. If the gods desired the guilty person to live, they could ordain it. This also probably accounts for the fact that many myths had children exposed and left on a hillside rather than just simply killed. This way, the individuals died in an indirect fashion or was saved by being found by someone else.

Punishment Persian Style: Mutilation Persian cruelty was a theme in Herodotus’ Histories. One such story concerned Amestris, the wife of Xerxes, who was offended when her brother-in-law Masistes’s daughter, Artaynte, willingly committed adultery with Xerxes, even though she was married to Xerxes’s son. When Xerxes’s wife learned of the affair, she plotted her revenge, not against Artaynte, but against her mother. At Xerxes’s birthday, Amestris asked to be allowed to kill Masistes’s wife, and the request was granted. Xerxes offered one of his daughters to Masistes and also asked him to give up his wife, but she refused, thus ensuring a struggle. The story given in the following excerpt shows the custom of the Persians to mutilate prisoners, including family members: Xerxes, in wrath, replied—“I will tell thee, Masistes, what thou hast gained by these words. I will not give thee my daughter; nor shalt thou live any longer with thy own wife. So mayest thou learn, in time to come, to take what is offered thee.” Masistes, when he heard this, withdrew, only saying—“Master, thou hast not yet taken my life.” While these things were passing between Xerxes and his brother Masistes, Amestris sent for the spearmen of the royal body-guard, and caused the wife of Masistes to be mutilated in a horrible fashion. Her two breasts, her nose, ears, and lips were cut off and thrown to the dogs; her tongue was torn out by the roots, and thus disfigured she was sent back to her home. Masistes, who knew nothing of what had happened, but was fearful that some calamity had befallen him, ran hastily to his house. There, finding his wife so savagely used, he forth-with took counsel with his sons, and, accompanied by them and certain others also, set forth on his way to Bactria, intending to stir up revolt in that province, and hoping to do great hurt to Xerxes. Source: Herodotus, George Rawlinson, and Edward Henry Blakeney. 1912. The History of Herodotus. London: J. M. Dent. Volume 2, pp. 324–325.

Pylos 481 See also: Athens; Law Courts; Ostracism; Slavery; Sparta

Further Reading

Anagnostopoulos, Georgios, and Gerasimos Xenophon Santas. 2018. Democracy, Justice, and Equality in Ancient Greece: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. Forsdyke, Sara. 2005. Exile, Ostracism, and Democracy: The Politics of Expulsion in Ancient Greece. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. For a discussion on the death penalty, see Brouwers, Josho, “The Death Penalty in Athens,” Ancient World Magazine, April 6, 2018, https://www.ancientworldmagazine. com/articles/death-penalty-classical-athens/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Pylos Pylos lay in the western region of the Peloponnese in Messenia, with Laconia to the east and Elis and Achaea to the north. The area saw extensive settlement during the Early and Middle Helladic periods. In this region, the tholos tomb was first used and numerous sites exist, several of which remain intact and contain silver and gold vessels. Given the number of settlements and distribution of the graves throughout, it appears that Messenia was comprised of several small kingdoms. One site from the Bronze Age at the hill of Ano Englianos, better known as Pylos, greatly interested archaeologists. Pylos commanded the region from the hill lying nine miles from the coast. In the Iliad, it was home to Nestor, its elderly king, who traveled with Agamemnon to Troy. Although too old to fight, he provided the Greeks with counsel. Located in the region were two tholos tombs, which indicate its importance. The first buildings on the hilltop were destroyed around 1300, and a new and larger palace occupying half the hilltop was constructed. It was destroyed in 1200, and the area remained abandoned after that. This latter time period would correspond to the events described in the Iliad, the rise of the Mycenaeans, and the destruction of that civilization. The palace design was similar to that of contemporary Tiryns, although smaller, with a main gate leading into a courtyard and into a megaron, or a large meeting room for the palace. This room had a place for the throne and was decorated with frescoes. As the stateroom, the megaron had a central hearth and was large (about forty feet by thirty feet). The central hearth had four columns surrounding it, which probably supported an upper balcony. One entered the palace from the north via the courtyard and through a porch with a vestibule. On the western wall, the royal throne was placed which overlooked a scene of an octopus on the floor. The private quarters behind this area to the southeast also had a smaller megaron and a second story with private bedrooms. The first floor had an elaborate bath complex with a permanent bathtub. Discovered in the storage rooms nearby were more than 30,000 pottery drinking vessels, attesting to the vast number of guests entertained and their wealth. There were also a large number of oil storage jars and a wine cellar in a separate building, and nearby was the main administrative office of the palace, where tablets with Linear B writing were discovered.

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The site controlled a large area, making it the most important site in Messenia. Around 1200, the entire palace was destroyed. After the destruction of Pylos, the major site of Messenia moved east at Messene, in a valley dominated by Mount Ithome. See also: Bronze Age; Burials; Homeric Age; Messenia; Mycenae; Peloponnese; Sparta; Troy

Further Reading

Blegen, Carl W., Marion Rawson, and Mabel L. Lang. 1966. The Palace of Nestor at Pylos in Western Messenia. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Davis, Jack L., and John Bennet. 2017. The Pylos Regional Archaeological Project: A Retrospective. Princeton, NJ: American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Davis, Jack L., John Bennet, and Susan E. Alcock. 2008. Sandy Pylos: An Archaeological History from Nestor to Navarino. 2nd ed. Princeton, NJ: American School of Classical Studies at Athens. For a discussion on Pylos, see Howitt, Caitlin, “Archaeologies of the Greek Past: Pylos, Joukowsky,” Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, https://www .brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/greekpast/4870.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

R Religion Religion was an important element of ancient Greek society. The rituals involved varied according to the major deity of a particular city. The earlier ancient religion was gloomy in general, while the Olympians (Zeus and his associates), the new arrivals during the Bronze Age, were more joyful and full of praise. Unlike the Near East and Egypt, where priests and religions dominated and controlled the state, in Greece the city-states controlled and dominated religion and the priesthood. The priests became minor officials in these Greek city-states, with temples property audited and controlled by the state. Unlike in the Near East, there was no hereditary hierarchy of priests, and they were all viewed as separate and equal. There was no specified place of worship, and nearly any site, natural or manmade, could be used. The temple was reserved for the gods, with other spirits worshiped throughout the lands in groves, caves, mountains, and even random spots of land, often without any kind of structure, just an alter or statue. Religious ceremonies were written down and performed in precise detail. Since any alteration of a ceremony might upset the god, it was followed consistently year after year. The ceremony was accompanied by music, which allowed the ritual to follow a similar pattern; in many ways, then, music and religion became interchangeable. In the ceremony, a procession, including chanting, would arrive at the altar, where prayers and a sacrifice were offered. The sacrifice, presenting something to a god or goddess, might be an object such as a tripod, furniture, cauldron, or something of value, or an animal (rarely humans) that was slaughtered and burned as an offering. In Homeric legend, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter, Iphigenia, while Achilles executed twelve Trojan youths for Patroclus. Themistocles sacrificed Persian captives at Salamis. Animal sacrifice soon replaced human sacrifice, allowing an alternative system. This would become the dominant form throughout the Classical period. The gods of ancient Greece fell into a variety of categories based upon the era, location, and culture. In addition to the later Olympian gods, which arrived with the Dorian invasions after the Mycenaean period, a large number of minor deities existed, many of which were the former major deities, but now relegated beneath the new gods. One of the earliest invading Greek gods were associated with the sky, ultimately becoming Uranus, or the Heavens, and the rainmaker Zeus, associated with thunder. The sun god Helios appears to have been the only minor deity, probably since, unlike rain that was needed and scarce, the Sun was always there. During Classical Greece, the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars were rarely worshipped. More relevant were the gods of the Earth, or those associated with land. One of the earliest was Gaea, the Earth goddess, made pregnant from the rain of

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Uranus. The Earth had numerous local gods in trees, mountains, rivers, lakes, and surrounding regions. The Greeks believed that their gods were automorphic, and they never engaged in the animal varieties seen in Egypt. There were nevertheless some representations of animals, the most famous being the bull, known for its strength and virility. Zeus often took its form. Although the Minoans may or may not have worshipped the bull, they did honor it with games and representations. This may point to an earlier association with worship of the bull. The pig, an animal associated with Demeter, was a sign of fertility and also may have been worshipped. The python snake was venerated as well, in early Delphi, where Apollo would ultimately become victorious. The snake was also sacred on Crete, as well as in Athens, which offered a honey cake to the serpent, not only during the festival but as a regular offering. The snake was viewed as a protector of the home or temple. Oak trees and groves were seen as especially sacred. The Nereids, Naiads, and Oceanides resided in rivers, lakes, or the sea. The gods Maeander and Spercheas often gave the name to local rivers and streams. The names given to the winds, later in Greek maritime manuals, came from the early gods, such as Zephyr, Eurus, Boreas, or Notus, who were controlled by their master, Aeolus. One of the great nature/land gods was Pan, the sensual god, who had horns and played his magic flute. He was attended by fauns and satyrs, half-man, half-goats, who were known for wisdom. Fertility was a crucial part of Greek worship, as it was in nearly every religion. The power of fertility, associated with the symbols of male and female reproductive organs, were worshipped so as there would be productive, fertile, lands. The most common and powerful symbol of reproduction was the phallus. The symbol appears in the worship of rites of numerous gods, such as Demeter, Dionysus, and even the virgin Artemis. It occurs in regular frequency in art, and even was associated with the Great Dionysia in Athens during the dramatic festival in which comedy, tragedy, and satyric drama occurred. Women were a crucial part in fertility rites, as witnessed with the story of Demeter and her daughter, Persephone, and the various seasons. The story had that when Persephone was taken by Hades as his wife to the underworld, the land fell barren because Demeter did not allow crops to grow. Zeus intervened and Persephone would return to her mother for half of the year. When she returned, spring and summer occurred, but when she left and went back to Hades in the underworld, fall and winter came. To the ancient Greeks, and probably most societies, the gods of the underworld brought fear and trepidation. The caves and chambers of the ground housed the gods of the Underworld, and the Greeks worshipped them at night with fear. Most of these gods were non- anthropomorphic and struck fear into the hearts and minds of the Greeks. In later Greek mythology, there was the anthropomorphic brother of Zeus, Hades or Pluto as the Greeks called him. To ensure his favor, since he also gave the fruits of the earth, he was worshipped and offered sacrifices. A more feared god was Hecate, who was viewed as evil and arose from the lower world to bring misfortune. Many of the early Greeks sacrificed puppies to her to keep her away. Throughout Greek history, superstition, magic, and sacrifice were vital components of religion. This was the link between the common people and the unknown.

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The stories of great heroes and their artifacts allowed the Greek ruling elites to control the political story. This often led to superstition, which could promote the psyche of the people or the city. This is best seen in the development of oracles, which advised people and states of future possible action. These powers were held by women who had the gift of divination. Associated with this was the idea of morality in religion. Greek religion was based on magic, not ethics. Rituals rather than good conduct, as witnessed by the gods’ behaviors, were paramount. Nevertheless, there were some aspects of good behavior or codes in the religious makeup of the society. The rites of purification promoted good hygiene; the gods promoted some good moral behaviors. They frowned upon arrogance and protected the stranger. Religion promoted the growth of the state through procreation and the safety of the state by adherence to local traditions. In the early Greek world, the departed dead were spirits who were either good or evil. Although not proper gods, they were honored. By the Classical Age, the dead were not loved but feared, and they were honored through rites that warded them off rather than welcoming them to a city. This then gave rise to the worship of heroes, great men and women. Cities worshipped different heroes, such as Helen at Sparta or Oedipus at Colonus. Many of these gods and heroes were associated with the religion of Mycenae and were soon overlaid by the new Dorian gods, the Olympians. The older gods, like the Mycenaeans, had been defeated but not destroyed. For instance, at Dodona, the goddess Gaea was replaced by Zeus, while at Delphi, Apollo became supreme. The defeated gods were often subjected to the Underground and were worshipped by the local indigenous populations. The elites or Dorians, who brought the Olympian gods with them, celebrated their deities in the Homeric poems. Along with Homer and Hesiod, poets spread the new Olympian religion until it not only took hold, but dominated the new states. Many of the previous gods were not subject to or associated with the new gods. Satyrs went to Dionysus; sea nymphs to Poseidon; and the mountains and forests to Artemis. The new religion had Zeus as its leader, who had overthrown the earlier leaders, Uranus and Cronus. Zeus took the sky, while his brothers Poseidon and Pluto had the sea and the Underworld, respectively. This mythology does not have a creation story since the world was already established. This was akin to the realities of the new political situation since the Dorians had overrun the already established Mycenean world. These gods, although powerful, had their limits. Zeus became known for his numerous amorous affairs. His first mate was Dione of Epirus, whom he left for the Thessalian Olympians so that his list of paramours may in fact show the migration route of the Dorians from the west via Epirus. At Olympus, he married Metis, but he was told that her children would overthrow him, so he swallowed her and took her wisdom. Athena then sprang out from his head, fully grown and armored, as the goddess of wisdom. He mated with many others, who begot the Muses, the Graces, Apollo, Leto, and Artemis. He then married his sister, Hera, who became queen of Olympus; by her, Zeus had Hebe, Ares, Hephaestus, and Eileithyia. He and Hera were not compatible so he sought out mortals.

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Some of Zeus’s children become honored as gods and goddesses of cities in their own right. Athena, known for her wisdom, became an important deity. More widely worshipped was her brother Apollo. He was the god of music, poetry, art, and the Sun. He established cities and made laws. He appropriated the earlier powers of Gaea and Phoebe at Delphi. His sister, Artemis, was goddess of the chaste and animals. The offspring of Hera, whether by Zeus or unaided, was Hephaestion, who constructed the homes for the gods on Olympus because of his skill in building. When Zeus became angered by him, he threw Hephaestion down to Lemnos. As a result, he injured his ankle and limped for the rest of his life. Zeus and Hera’s son Ares the god of war was not viewed as intelligent. Hermes was formed from a stone evolving into a grave stele, then into a boundary stone differentiating fields, and then into a phallus. From there, he became a Herm or pillar, with a head and phallus. This often marked a crossroad, showing he was the god of both travelers and messengers. Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, was also known in the Near East and Cyprus as a goddess of reproduction. A late god was Dionysus, the god of wine and merriment.

A Character Sketch Caricatures of people constantly exist. At the end of the Classical Age, Theophrastus in his work On Moral Characters, which has a character called “the Superstitious Man,” provides us with some contemporary and timeless examples. In the selection given here, Theophrastus makes fun of a superstitious man, probably a common sight and his description could easily be in any age. The Superstitious Man SUPERSTITION Is a crouching fear of unseen powers. The superstitious man is the sort of person who begins the day only after he has sprinkled himself, washed his hands with holy water, and taken a sprig of laurel in his mouth. If a weasel cross his path, he will not go a step further until some one else has crossed, or until he has thrown three stones over the way. If he sees a snake in his house, he prays to Sabazius (provided it is a copperhead) or, if it be a sacred serpent, he straightway builds a shrine upon the spot. As he passes by the consecrated stones at the cross-roads, he pours oil on them from his flask, falls on his knees, and prays before he goes further. If a mouse should gnaw through a leather flour-bag, he goes to the seer and asks what he shall do. If the seer bids him give the bag to the cobbler to be sewn up, he pays no heed to him, but goes his way and offers up the bag as a holy sacrifice. He is given to purifying his house often by religious rites and insists it is haunted by Hecate. When he takes a walk and hears an owl hoot, he is terrified and cries out: “Athena! thine is the power!” and so walks on. He will not step on a grave, nor go up to a corpse, nor to a woman in confinement, but says it is not well to risk pollution. He orders his domestics to mull the wine on the fourth and seventh of the month, while he goes out and buys myrtle, incense, and holy cakes; on his return he spends the livelong day in crowning the images of Hermaphroditus. Source: Theophrastus, Charles E. Bennett, and William A. Hammond. 1902. The Characters of Theophrastus, a Translation, with Introduction. New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., pp. 31–33.

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These and other gods celebrated the world of the Greeks. Some, like Dionysus, enacted the Mysteries, ancient, secret rites that brought forth the mystical, revealed the sacred symbols. These ceremonies were meant to show the rebirth of the soul in a dark afterlife. The Greek religion was based on ritual and formula in a world of superstition. The various gods throughout its history had distinct purposes and functions that helped explain the world and allowed the Greeks to seek help when disturbed. By appeasing a particular god or goddess, they could help their home city or area. See also: Calendar; Festivals; Mystery Religion; Olympian Religion; Temples; Theater

Further Reading

Eidinow, Esther, and Julia Kindt. 2015. Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Faraone, Christopher A., and Dirk Obbink. 1991. Magika Hiera: Ancient Greek Magic and Religion. New York: Oxford University Press. Zaidman, Louise Bruit, and Pauline Schmitt Pantel. 1992. Religion in the Ancient Greek City. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For more on the relationship of art and religion, see Hemingway, Colette, and Seán Hemingway, “Greek Gods and Religious Practices,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2003) https://www .metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grlg/hd_grlg.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Rhodes The island and later city of Rhodes was named for the Greek word rhodos (meaning “rose”). The island was created when the sun god Helios, who was absent when Zeus was dividing the lands, saw a fertile region under the sea and told Zeus that was the land he wanted. And when Zeus gave orders for the land to rise from the depths, the island arose with the nymph Rhodos whom he took as his wife. Three of their seven sons gave their names to the three chief cities on the island, Ialysus, Camirus, and Lindus. Settled by Dorians in three cities, they formed a confederation with Cnidus, Halicarnassus, and Cos, three other cities nearby. The island of Rhodes measures fifty miles by twenty-two miles. The three main cities were Ialysus, Camirus, and Lindus, and formed a united island in 408. The Dorians had colonized them at about 900, after the Mycenaean period. Lindus became the chief city and took the lead when Rhodes sent colonies west to Sicily at Gela and east to Phaselis in Lycia in Asia Minor, both about 700. The city of Lindus was ruled by Cleobulus, one of the Seven Sages. The Seven Sages were said to be philosophers, lawmakers, and rulers during the seventh century. Cleobulus was said to be either the grandfather or father-in-law of Thales of M ­ iletus, another of the Seven Sages. Cleobulus was a poet and tyrant of Lindus, who lived into his seventies. It was during his rule that the island prospered and increased its prominence in the trade routes, both north-south and east-west. He also maintained relations with Egypt. Ialysus was located about a mile from the later city of Rhodes. The citadel was Orychoma and may have been identified as Achaia. It appears that Ialysus was the

488 Rhodes

foundation for the later city of Rhodes. Camirus was located on the northwest side of the island. It had an acropolis with a temple to Athena, as well as a stoa. This stoa was built over a reservoir that could support 400 families in times of need. Below the acropolis, on the middle ground, was the main settlement, which had streets in a grid pattern. The lower level had the agora, a temple to Apollo, and a commercial zone. On the eastern coast was Lindus, which soon became the most important city in Rhodes. It was situated near a promontory of the same name and was an important religious site even after the foundation of Rhodes in 408. It had religious shrines to Athena and Heracles. All three cities were mentioned by Homer in the Iliad in his catalog of ships sent by the Greeks to fight in the Trojan War. The Persians had successfully overtaken the island and its three cities during Darius’s conquest of the islands in 492. When the Persians were defeated in 479, the Athenians and the Delian League pushed the Persians out of the island, and the three cities joined the league. When the Peloponnesian War broke out, the island continued to remain on the side of Athens and contributed payments, although it appears not to have done so as fervently as Samos. Since the Rhodians were Dorian, they had a natural affinity for Sparta and probably did not expend much energy toward supporting Athens. The island remained peaceful until 412, when most of its supposed allies, including Rhodes, rebelled after Athens’s defeat at Syracuse. The Spartan fleet won a small naval battle at Syme, followed by a rebellion at Rhodes. Athens controlled the north and a few of the major islands off the coast of Asia Minor, but Rhodes was subject to the Spartan fleet. It was probably under Spartan influence that the union took place. In 408, the three cities formed a synecism (union), whereby most of the cities’ population emigrated and established a new city, called Rhodes after the island. After the war, this new city, Rhodes, allowed the city and island to move forward. Under Conon in 394, Athens induced the island to rebel against Sparta. Athens continually urged and helped the island to be independent of Sparta during the following decade, including sending another fleet in 389 to help. During this period, Rhodes issued coins in favor of an alliance, a maritime league with other cities and islands such as Cnidus, Samos, Byzantium, and Cyzicus and perhaps associated with Thebes since the symbols of the maritime league coinage also occur on the coinage of Thebes. The purpose of this coinage and alliance was to position the maritime league to be allied with Thebes against Sparta. With the attacks on Sparta during the 380s, the Athenians reconstructed their old alliance, the Second Athenian League, with the Aegean islands including Rhodes to help support Athens and its fleet. The Second Athenian League was not like the first one. The Athenians wanted to make sure that the allies would not think that Athens would dominate them as they had in the past. The league was divided into two parts, Athens on one side and their allies on the other. The allies had their own separate congress it met in Athens, but Athens did not play a part in it. In order for a measure to pass, both the allied congress and the Athenian assembly had to pass it. Although Athens was again the major party, it was not absolute as it had been in the past. The allied assembly had absolute veto power over any Athenian act. This gave the allies complete independence.

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The new alliance had a fund but it was important that both sides avoid the term tribute, as used by the first alliance. Instead, they used the term contribution. In addition, the Athenians were prevented from settling colonists on any island or city region, as they had done in the past. Further, no Athenian could own land in the any of the allied territories. But the Athenians did control the funds and appoint the leadership of the fleet. The league’s foundation stone clearly records that it was made to force the Lacedaemonians to give freedom to the Greek cities. The driving force behind this new alliance was the Athenian politician Callistratus, who was originally friendly to Sparta but now recognized that this new alliance would give Athens the chance to reclaim its former glory. Callistratus now abandoned his pro-Spartan feelings and went into a pro-Theban alliance. The most important cities of the new alliance were Chios, Byzantium, Mytilene, Methymna, and Rhodes. These cities already had previous treaties and alliances with Athens and formed the core of the new alliance. Euboea joined as well, followed by the most important city, Thebes. The cities of Thrace, through the Chalcidic League, and Thessaly also came into the league. Although there were nearly seventy cities, the league did not have the ability to grow, in part because they recognized the Persian control of the cities of Asia Minor. In addition, Thebes would increase its power through their defeat of Sparta at Leuctra. During this time, Rhodes had increased its power through the combination of the navy and the island’s economic position. Athens’s position soon improved, and many of the cities became discontented with their growth. Mausolus of Caria had increased his power and coveted the islands of Rhodes, Cos, and Chios, which belonged to the Second Athenian League. He induced the islands to rebel in 357, and they were soon joined by Byzantium. The Athenians failed to bring the cities back under its control, so it made peace with them and granted them independence. Mausolus sent garrisons to the islands but did not live long enough to see his empire flourish since he died in 353. With his death, his widow, Artemisia, took over and controlled Rhodes. The Persians then mounted a major offensive against the cities of Asia Minor, and by 340, they had taken over the region. The city and island of Rhodes would become important sites in the Hellenistic period. The city withstood a failed attack by Demetrius of Macedon. In commemoration of their victory, the Rhodians commissioned the building of a colossal statue of the sun god, Helios. The island became a major economic power in the eastern Mediterranean. See also: Gela; Peloponnesian War; Samos; Sparta

Further Reading

Cohen, Getzel M. 1995. The Hellenistic Settlements in Europe, the Islands, and Asia Minor. Berkeley: University of California Press. Gabrielsen, Vincent. 1997. The Naval Aristocracy of Hellenistic Rhodes. Aarhus, ­Denmark: Aarhus University Press. Torr, Cecil, and Gerald Brisch. 2005. Rhodes in Ancient Times (New ed. with additional material/edited by Gerald Brisch). Oxford, UK: Archaeopress.

490 Rome For a general history of Rhodes, see “Rhodes,” Livius.org, 2017, https://www.livius.org/ articles/place/rhodes/ (accessed May 18, 2021). For an overview of Rhodes, see Brouwers, Josho, “The Splendours of Rhodes,” Ancient World Magazine, October 30, 2017, https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com /articles/splendours-rhodes/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Rome Rome lay at the fringes of the Greek world until the era after Alexander the Great. While not directly involved with Greece and its politics during the Classical Age, this city had commercial contacts not only with the Greek colonies in southern Italy and Sicily, but with the Greek mainland. This commercial connection can be seen through the finds of pottery in Italy and around Rome. Roman history began during the Bronze Age, but it was in the Archaic period (beginning about 750) that the legendary foundation of the city occurred. Its first king, Romulus, had picked the site of the city on the Tiber River, and during the next two and half centuries, the city was ruled by a series of kings, traditionally numbering seven, elected by the leading families with hereditary influence. The Etruscans in the north ultimately gained oversight of the city and had established themselves as the controlling faction by 600. In 509, the leading Roman families ousted the last king, Tarquinius the Proud, and established a republic led by the leading families. Coincidentally, this occurred at the same time that Cleisthenes had established the Athenian democracy after Athens had outed the tyrant Hippias.

Ruins of a Roman forum, the center of ancient Rome. (Rudi1976/Dreamstime.com)

Rome 491

During the next century, Rome established itself in central Italy by fighting the Etruscans to the north and the Sabines in the central mountains. At the same time, the Etruscans had more contact with Greece and its colonies, and it was probably through them that Rome received its contacts. The government of Rome during this time advanced continually with a struggle between the aristocracy, the Patricians, and the lower classes, the plebs. These struggles over the next century ­(450–350) were analogous to many of the issues that Greece had faced previously, especially during the late Archaic period. One of the most important accomplishments was the victory of the plebs by requiring that the laws be written down in the Twelve Tables, where according to legend (although some deny this happened), the Romans sent representatives to Athens and other Greek cities to study their laws. The Greek idea of lawmakers was well known and clearly helped established the precedent for Rome. Another victory by the plebs was the establishment of the tribune, an individual who protected the rights of the plebs over the patricians. Although there was no direct equivalent to this in Greece, it was akin to the rise of the tyrants, who often proclaimed that they were acting on behalf of the poor against the oppression of the aristocracy. During the fifth century, the Roman magistrate advanced via the creation of two consuls and of a republic, wherein the consuls could stop each other by use of a veto; a collection of other magistrates to help the consuls arose gradually; a senate that advised the consuls, composed of the leading family; and the popular assembly. Unlike Athens, where the voting system was one man, one vote, the assembly in Rome voted in tribes, controlled overall by the patricians. After the ouster of its king, Rome did not see the same type of development as Greece, with the rise of tyrants. As the fifth century progressed, the Romans not only engaged in a series of wars against their neighbors, but also formed alliances such as the Latin League, in which Rome, although recognized as one of the leaders, was merely a component of the league. In 390, this growth and sets of alliances were shattered when the Goths, led by Brennas, arrived. The Goths successfully defeated the Latin League, destroying the alliance, capturing the city of Rome, and forcing its citizens to pay an indemnity. During the next few years, Rome was forced to fight the Goths and many of its former allies to regain its position and strength. By the mid-fourth century, Rome had not only regained its former position, but had begun to move south toward the Samnites in southern Italy. Rome would fight a series of wars against them, often in cooperation with the Greek cities along the southern Italian coastline. It was through these wars that Rome came into more and more direct contact with the Greek colonies, especially Tarentum and those around the Bay of Naples. It was these interactions that would later lead Rome and the Greek colonies to war, such as during the 280s, with the war against Pyrrhus from Epirus. The interactions of Rome and the Greeks down to the war against Pyrrhus were mainly tangential to both Roman and Greek political life but do provide an example of cultural and trade exchange. After Rome began to come into contact with the Greek cities in the south, their political and cultural interactions increased to the point of often becoming contentious. Although outside the period under

492 Rome

discussion, Rome would ultimately interfere directly in Greek affairs and by 146 had even taken over Greece. More important than the political-military conquests were the cultural interactions. Traditionally, Rome viewed the Greeks as superior in the arts. This may be seen through the numerous copies of Greek art and appropriation of the Classical style by the Romans. With the conquest of Greece, Rome also ransacked many of Greece’s art treasures, bringing them to Rome; this prompted one ancient author to quip that the conquered (Greece) had beaten the victor (Rome). In addition, Rome benefited from the influence of Greek philosophy, which set the standard for intellectual achievement. Most respectable Romans would learn Greek, which became the language of philosophy, history, and even literature. Wealthy Romans would buy educated Greeks as slaves to teach their children and have Greek doctors to care for their sick. In all of these instances, the superiority of the Greek culture was recognized. When Rome defeated the successors to Alexander the Great in Macedon and arrived in Greece in 200, the victorious general Flaminius declared freedom for the Greeks. This statement showed the innate differences between the Greeks and Romans. To the Greeks, it meant that they could continue their internecine fighting among each other and their cities. For the Romans, it meant that they would be free from foreign domination (i.e., by Macedon and Syria), but they were not free to do whatever they wanted. The Romans meant for the Greeks to live under Roman protection and influence. The influence of Greek on Rome was immense, and Rome would become the avenue wherein Greek culture became the dominate form of Western civilization. See also: Carthage; Cyme; Etruscan; Syracuse

Further Reading

Cornell, Tim. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars, c.1000–263 BC. London: Routledge. Forsythe, Gary. 2005. A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War. Berkeley: University of California Press. Ogilvie, R. M. 1976. Early Rome and the Etruscans. Hassocks, UK: Harvester Press. For a general overview of Greece and Rome, see “Greece and Rome,” Canadian Museum of History, https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/greece/gr3010e .html (accessed May 18, 2021).

S Salamis, Battle of After the Greek defeat at Thermopylae in late August to early September 480, the accompanying Greek fleet at Artemisium retreated from the straits of Euboea and sailed to Athens. A debate occurred in Athens as to its future plans. Some citizens argued that Athens should defend the city at all costs, while others believed that it should be evacuated. Both sides claimed guidance from the cryptic response from the Oracle of Delphi that Athens would be saved by its wooden walls. Since the Acropolis had wooden walls, some argued to stay within the city and hold out, while the Athenian general Themistocles pronounced that the wooden walls were in fact the new fleet. In the end, both plans were followed—a small group remained behind to defend the city while the majority planned to evacuate. The fleet arriving from Artemisium helped evacuate the Athenians to safety to nearby Troezen. During the evacuation, Xerxes’s Persian army advanced from Thermopylae into Boeotia, where most of the cities, including Thebes, surrendered while Plataea and Thespinae were leveled for not submitting. Xerxes and his army now advanced toward Athens and Attica. When his army entered the city, Xerxes and his forces stormed the Acropolis, destroying the old wooden walls and razing the temples. Xerxes then supplied and refitted his ships and prepared for the next phase. The Greek strategy was multifaceted. The Peloponnesians wanted to defend the Isthmus of Corinth, with the fleet protecting the shoreline. The Athenians believed that this strategy would allow the Persians to outflank the Greeks and land in any part of the Peloponnese, therefore bypassing the isthmus. Themistocles advocated that it was best to confront the Persians in a battle and hopefully knock them out of the war. He had learned from Artemisium that the Greeks had an advantage in confined spaces since the Persian numbers could be negated for they could not use all of their ships to encircle or engage the Greeks. His plan was to engage the ­Persians in the straits at Salamis, off the coast of Attica. The allies agreed to his plan. The historian Herodotus indicated that Xerxes received information that the Greeks were divided, with the fleet from the Peloponnese wanting to sail away from Salamis. This may have been information given to the Persians by the Greeks to force a battle, or perhaps the allies were afraid that the Persians would continue their activities by sending an army to the isthmus. The Persians’ strategy was to use their superiority of numbers to overwhelm the Greeks. With their better seamanship, more ships, and better maneuverability, the Persians would achieve their best success in the open seas. According to Herodotus, the Greek fleet numbered about 370 ships (mainly triremes), while the Persian fleet had about 800 ships, due to losses out of the original 1,200 ships sailing from Persia, at Magnesia and Artemisium and caused

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Salamis, Battle of

by storms. It is possible that the fleet was smaller if replacements did not fully arrive or failed to in sufficient numbers. The Persians were better sailors and their ships were more maneuverable. The Persians therefore outnumbered the Greeks at least two to one. Xerxes’s arrival and outfitting of ships probably took place in mid-September, but there is no real chronology given in the sources. It appears that Xerxes and his general, Mardonius, wanted to engage the Greek fleet, while his advisor and admiral, Artemisia, queen of Halicarnassus, recommended delaying any attack and letting the Greeks surrender after dissension occurred within their ranks. Xerxes rejected her advice and pressed for an attack. Upon receiving news of the dissension in the Greek fleet, Xerxes now decided to put into play his attempt to force a battle. He initially planned to block the southern end of the straits to prevent the Greek fleet from fleeing. Xerxes then ordered them back, perhaps hoping to catch the Greek fleet fleeing or to pursue them so they could attack. During the night, the allies debated as to whether they should leave, as the Peloponnese fleet wished, or engage the Persians, as Themistocles desired. Given that the Peloponnese fleet accepted Themistocles’s plan, it may also have been a party to the ruse. According to Herodotus, Themistocles sent a servant who informed Xerxes that Themistocles was really favorable to the Persians, the Greek fleet planned to break up and sail away, and in order to prevent their escape, they should blockade the straits. Themistocles appears to have wanted the Persians to attack the Greek fleet, and his disinformation was meant to entice the Persians. Xerxes planned to attack the Greek fleet in the straits the next day and ordered a throne to be set up above the straits so he could watch the battle. It is unclear if the Persians entered the straits at night (probably not) or early in the morning. Supposedly, the Egyptian fleet was sent to the eastern edge to prevent escape. Although the Greek fleet took its directives from Themistocles, the leadership of the navy was under the command of Sparta. Most of the Greek cities desired Sparta to take the leadership of the defense of Greece and were probably wary of Themistocles and Athens. Although Themistocles created the strategy and tactics for the battle, he was denied the honor of taking command. As at Thermopylae, where the geography benefited the Greeks, so too was Salamis. The Athenians were probably positioned on the shoreline of Salamis opposite Attica in a north-to-south arrangement. It is possible that the Greek fleet was positioned across the straits east to west, but that would have made them touch the Persian disposition and invite possible engagement before all sides were ready. The Persians were initially arranged east to west to block the exit from the straits, and at some point, they moved into the straits so that they were positioned north to south. It is unclear if the Persian fleet waited to enter the straits in the morning or if they had moved into the narrow straits during the evening. Given the difficulty of maneuvering at night and the danger of mayhem produced from an accidental engagement, it is probable that the Persians waited until morning. When they entered the straits, the fleet had to bunch up due to the number of ships and the small width of the straits. As the Persian fleet entered the straits, they were now arranged north to south, with Attica to their rear and facing Salamis, and the Greek fleet was also arranged north to south. On the Persian right, to the north,



Salamis, Battle of 495

Wooden Walls of Athens During the Persian invasion, the Delphic oracle appears to have decided that resistance was futile. The responses given by many cities seemed to indicate that the Persians would win. When Sparta sent a delegation, the response was that only with the death of a king (hence a military defeat) would Sparta survive. To Athens, the first response was to give up, flee—all was futile. The second response was less gloomy but even more cryptic— wooden walls and an insignificant island, Salamis, would be their hope. The following passage from Herodotus’ Histories shows how the oracle gave cryptic responses to cities seeking hope: Upon this the priestess gave them a second answer, which was the following: — “Pallas has not been able to soften the lord of Olympus, Though she has often prayed him, and urged him with excellent counsel Yet once more I address thee in words than adamant firmer. When the foe shall have taken whatever the limit of Cecrops Holds within it, and all which divine Cithaeron shelters, Then far-seeing Jove grants this to the prayers of Athene; Safe shall the wooden wall continue for thee and thy children Wait not the tramp of the horse, nor the footmen mightily moving Over the land, but turn your back to the foe, and retire ye. Yet shall a day arrive when ye shall meet him in battle. Holy Salamis, thou shalt destroy the offspring of women. When men scatter the seed, or when they gather the harvest.” Source: Herodotus, George Rawlinson, and Edward Henry Blakeney. 1912. The History of Herodotus. London: J. M. Dent. Volume 2, pp. 172–173.

were the Phoenicians, and opposite them on the Greek left were the Athenians. On the left flank of the Persian fleet were the Ionians, and opposite them were the Spartans. Finally, in the center of both fleets were the remaining allies. It appears that the Egyptian fleet sailed around the island to block the northern exit, which would make sense since Xerxes planned to keep the Greek fleet from sailing away. The Persian fleet now engaged the Athenians at dawn. It is probable that the Persian sailors did not get much rest since they were being vigilant to prevent the Greeks from fleeing. The Greeks, knowing that they were not going to flee, probably got a good night’s rest. At dawn, the Greek marines boarded their ships and sailed out. At this point, the Persian fleet attacked. They were three rows deep, while the Greeks were arranged in two rows. This disposition resulted in the two sides being roughly equal in breadth, but now the Persians were bunched upped and hemmed in, with Attica in their rear, and could not maneuver. The Persians became disorganized, and with the Greeks still in formation, the Greeks began to retreat in an organized fashion, perhaps to get a more favorable wind. As the fleet retreated, the Persians moved forward, and then a single Greek ship rammed the nearest Persian ship (with Athenians and Aeginetans each claiming the honor).

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At this signal, the entire Greek fleet attacked. The Greeks were able to push the first row of the Persian fleet back, and this in turn resulted in the second and third rows pushing forward. Therefore, the Persians’ ships were not able to turn. The Persian admiral, Ariabignes, the brother of Xerxes, was killed, leaving the Persians without a leader. It is said that Artemisia found his body in the water and returned it to Xerxes. The Phoenician fleet was pushed back and ran aground. The center of the Greek fleet successfully split the Persian fleet in two, creating more dissension. Artemisia and her fleet tried to escape, and to accomplish this, they rammed other Persian ships as she fled. Xerxes, seeing this and believing that he was ramming Greek ships, remarked that his men were fighting like women and his women like men. The Persian fleet tried to retreat, and in the process it was attacked by the Aeginetans, causing even more disaster. The remnants of the Persian fleet now sailed back to the harbor at Phalerum at Athens. In addition to the losses suffered in the battle (probably around 200 to 300 ships), many of the sailors drowned since they did not know how to swim. Herodotus reported that the Greeks lost forty ships. The Greeks sent an armed force to the small island of Psyttaleia, where a small Persian force was garrisoned to deal with any Greeks who had ran ashore but now found itself under attack. Xerxes now looked to blame someone. He ordered some Phoenicians to be executed for starting the attack, and then for cowardice afterward, but that night the Phoenicians sailed back to Asia Minor, depriving Xerxes of his best sailors. Realizing that the battle had thwarted his plans, Xerxes decided to withdraw from Greece with the majority of his army, probably to prevent any rebellion in Asia Minor. He immediately made way to the Hellespont so he could arrive before the Greeks could destroy the bridge across the Hellespont. Themistocles had already planted the seeds of this strategy when he sent his servant to Xerxes to tell him that Themistocles had not wanted to attack the Persians and in fact wanted to warn Xerxes of the Greek intent of destroying the bridge. Mardonius now remained, with about 200,000 men, and wintered in Thebes. Salamis was a complete victory for the Greek fleet. As at Thermopylae, Salamis showed how topography could greatly influence the outcome of a battle. The constricted space allowed the Greeks to use their smaller numbers to better advantage. Xerxes’s poor leadership and lack of tactical ability led to the disaster. If he had followed Artemisia’s advice and waited, the Greek fleet probably would have broken up, allowing the Persians to attack piecemeal. In addition, he could have sent his fleet around the Peloponnese to land at any number of places that the Greeks could not adequately defend. The major issues that the Persians faced were the potential lack of resources needed to supply the army and fleet and the danger of rebellion in Asia Minor. Xerxes had hoped to knock the Greeks out in one quick battle, but with his failure, Xerxes realized that the war would be prolonged. The Persians had suffered a major humiliation in the defeat. The plan now was to have Mardonius continue the war by defeating the Greeks in a land engagement. See also: Athens; Military Ships; Navy; Persian Wars; Phoenicia; Sparta; Thermopylae, Battle of

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Further Reading

Green, Peter. 1970. Xerxes at Salamis. New York: Praeger. Lazenby, J. F. 1993. The Defence of Greece, 490–479 B.C. Warminster, UK: Aris & Phillips. Strauss, Barry S. 2004. The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece— and Western Civilization. New York: Simon & Schuster. For a general overview of the battle, see “The Battle of Salamis,” Spyglass Hill: The Molossian Naval Academy, http://www.molossia.org/milacademy/salamis.html (accessed May 18, 2021). see Morrison, Paul, “Battle of Salamis,” Piraeus Port of Athens, http://www.piraeusgreece.org/themistocles-salamis.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Samos Samos is a mountainous island two miles off the coast of western Asia Minor, at Cape Mycale in the southern part of Ionia. The original inhabitants of this twentyseven-mile by fourteen-mile island were Carians from the mainland. Around the year 1000, immigrants from Epidaurus under Procles in the Argolid fled the Dorians, landing and establishing a Greek colony with the four usual Ionian tribes and the addition of two Carian tribes. Having six tribes instead of the traditional four probably represents the situation where the native population was assimilated peacefully, with the Greek colonists cohabiting and mingling freely. The Greeks established themselves on the southern part of the island at a circular, all-season harbor. The island formed one of the twelve Ionian cities. The region was fertile, and the aristocratic elements ruled. The island soon became a mercantile powerhouse due to its favorable harbor and location. It soon developed an historical rivalry with the city of Miletus, since it was able to divert much of the sea and overland trade to its realm. During the seventh century, it had ties with Sparta and imported Laconian pottery and goods, more than any other city. An example of Samos’s commercial power came from its trade with the west. In 640, a Samian merchant named Colaeus was blown off course, sailing to Egypt and Libya and through the Straits of Gibraltar. He landed at the Baetis River on the Atlantic coast at Tartessus, a non-Greek settlement in Spain, and established trade relations. This relationship allowed Samos to receive tin from England and silver from Spain. Samos also took the lead in establishing colonies, most notably tied to its mother city Epidaurus, throughout the Aegean. They also settled colonists in Egypt at Naucratis to help create a multinational emporium. They erected there a temple to Hera, which through successive iterations became an important shire and example of Greek architecture and art. Although it was briefly ruled by a dictator, Demoteles, in 600, the island continued to be run by an oligarchy based upon wealth. This government was then overthrown around 540 by the tyrant Polycrates, who established a powerful state at Samos. He not only had mercenaries but also recruited a force of 1,000 Samian archers, as well as a fleet with over 100 penteconters and 40 triremes, a new style of warship that he made the bulwark of his navy. He used this new navy to attack

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the traditional Samian enemy Miletus, which was now under Persian control. Polycrates understood the importance of a navy and how it could shape the balance of power in a region. He was able to thwart the ambitions of other powers, notably Persia, Phoenicia, and Egypt, keeping them all at bay. By selectively aligning himself to one or another, he could prevent all of them from taking Samos. Polycrates also developed ties with other islands, establishing control over Siphnos, with its rich silver mines, and Rhenia, near Delos, so as to control the Delphic festival. He increased the domestic economy by importing Milesian sheep, noted for its quality, as well as enhancing the agricultural base of the island. He had built a tunnel over 1,000 yards long in order to bring fresh water to the city and enhance the harbor. Polycrates believed that Oroetes, the Persian satrap at Sardis, would help him in his ambition of naval power, but he was tricked—when he arrived, he was seized, mutilated, and executed. The Persians conquered the island after the death of Polycrates in 522. They depopulated part of the island and resettled it with some inhabitants from Asia Minor. During the next generation, the population and power of Samos increased. The Samians participated in the Ionian Revolt in 499, having recovered their strength. While they initially participated in the rebellion, their long-standing distrust and hatred of Miletus prompted them to withdraw from the Ionian fleet during the decisive Battle of Lade in 495. When the Persian fleet had been destroyed at Salamis in 480, Xerxes fled Greece and returned home. The Greek army assembled to fight Persia at Plataea, while their navy assembled off Samos at Mycale. The Samians joined in the battle, rebelling against Persia. With the victory at Mycale, the Greeks created the Delian League, in which Samos was one of the primary members contributing ships. Samos was ultimately only one of three cities that supplied ships instead of money to Athens, giving it a degree of independence. As part of this independence, it could pursue its own policies, so long as it did not go against Athens and its mission. In 440, Samos defeated Miletus, also a member of the Athenian Empire that had previously rebelled against Athens and had been disarmed by the Athenians. Miletus now asked Athens to intervene and help it, since Samos was attacking a fellow member-state. Under Pericles, Athens sent a fleet of forty triremes and successfully overturned the oligarchic government and established a democracy. Pericles then took 100 hostages, presumably from the wealthy oligarchic families, and sailed away. The oligarchs now returned and retook the city with the help of the Persian satrap. The Samians prepared for war and with a series of other Athenian subjects in rebellion, Samos made ready. Pericles returned with a fleet and successfully defeated the Samian fleet and began to blockade and besiege the city. For the next nine months, Samos withstood the siege but finally was forced to surrender. It gave up its fleet, tore down its walls, and paid an indemnity of over 1,000 talents during the next two decades. It appears that Sparta was ready to go to war against Athens in 440 to help Samos, but Corinth, with its necessary fleet, refused. Crucially, only a few years later it was Corinth demanding that Sparta go to war.



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During the Peloponnesian War, Samos remained loyal to Athens and allowed its fleet to use Samos as a port and staging ground. When the oligarchic revolution took place in Athens in 411, the democratic elements of Athens, mainly the fleet, transferred its base to Samos. This prompted Athens to give Samos citizenship. The Spartan admiral Lysander arrived at the end of the year and besieged the city, taking it over and establishing an oligarchy. When the Spartans abandoned the area in 394, the Samians declared their independence, which lasted until Persia conquered it and held it by 387 with the Peace of Antalcidas, which gave Persia control. The Athenians, during their Second Delian League, retook Samos in 366, and it remained in the Athenian sphere of influence until Alexander the Great. See also: Persia; Persian Wars; Phoenicia; Rhodes; Tyrants

Further Reading

Carty, Aideen. 2015. Polycrates, Tyrant of Samos: New Light on Archaic Greece. ­Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. Heath, Thomas Little, and Aristarchus. 2004. Aristarchus of Samos, the Ancient Copernicus. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. Mac Sweeney, N. 2013. Foundation Myths and Politics in Ancient Ionia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Meiggs, Russell. 1972. The Athenian Empire. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Robinson, E. W. 1997. The First Democracies: Early Popular Government Outside ­Athens. Stuttgart: F. Steiner. For a discussion on the water technology of Samos, see Mays, Larry W., “Water Features of Ancient Samos,” Ancient Water Techniques, November 11, 2017, https:// ancientwatertechnologies.com/2017/11/11/ancient-samos/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Sardis and Lydia Outside of the Greek world in Asia Minor lay regions that constantly interacted with the Greeks. In the east, on the large central plateau, was Phrygia, known for its good pastures and horse-rearing aristocracy. The Greek colonies of Ionia had contact with it, and either the Phrygians adopted their alphabet or both shared a common script. The Phrygians supposedly had emigrated from Thrace during the late Bronze Age upheavels and were known as the Bryges, and according to Greek legend, they included the kings Midas and Gordius. The Mycenaeans may have forced their departure from Thrace. Once arriving in Phrygia, the Phrygians helped with the destruction of the Hittites. Gordius established his capital at ­Gordium, which was mentioned by the epic poet Homer. In the Dark Ages, King Midas (738–698) ruled the region and fought with others from the region against Sargon II of Assyria. He successfully took over Cilicia in southeastern Asia Minor, but the Assyrians defeated him and forced him to become a vassal. In his later reign, the Cimmerians from the Caucasus Mountains defeated him and raided many of the western cities of Asia Minor. Midas sent gifts to Delphi and married a Greek princess from Cyme in Aeolis. Contemporary with Midas was the Lydian kingdom under the Heraclid line, whose last king, Candaules, was assassinated in about 685 by Gyges, who

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established the Mermnad dynasty. Gyges (685–657) married Candaules’s widow and received the first known title of tyrannos from the Greek poet Archilochus. (However, the word may in fact be a Lydian term.) Gyges seized power through violence and established himself as absolute ruler, components of the Greek meaning of tyrant where one ruled outside hereditary power, usually seen with a coup. He attempted to ingratiate himself into the Greek world by presenting gifts to Delphi. The new Lydian monarch attacked several Ionian cities and with his developed cavalry army defeated the city of Colophon, the strongest of the Ionian cities in the early seventh century. Although he defeated the city of Miletus in several battles, he could never take over the city. His inability to take the coastal city forced Gyges to seek a peaceful accommodation, so he made an alliance with Miletus. He was allied with the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, perhaps as a vassal, but he supported the Egyptian Psammetichus against Assyria. When the ­Cimmerians raided Lydia, Assyria refused to help, and Gyges was killed. Gyges’s son Ardys (652–625) continued the war against the Cimmerians, as did Ardys’s son Sayattes (625–615). It was probably Sayattes who invented coinage, where a standard weight of metal was issued and marked by some kind of authority in order to replace the former system of bullion or bars of metal. Although his coins were not meant for everyday transactions (they were each valued at a half or full year’s salary), they were probably used as an accounting method and to pay mercenaries. Sayattes’s son Alyattes (617–560), who was also credited with inventing coinage, successfully drove out the Cimmerians. Under Alyattes, the Lydian kingdom expanded east to the Halys River and came into conflict with Cyaxeres of Media. It was during his reign that the Medes, Scythians, and Cimmerians attacked Assyria and, aided by Babylon, defeated it. It is possible that Alyattes helped in this war since the Assyrians did not aid his great-grandfather, Gyges. Alyattes wanted to create a Lydian empire and to that end moved west to the coast of Asia Minor, where he captured the allies of ­Ephesus and Smyrna, and had his daughter married to its tyrant, Melas. His attempt to take Clazomenae and Miletus failed, but he made an alliance with Miletus by helping to reconstruct their sanctuary at Didyma. The Greek cities during his reign feared that Lydia would take over the entire coastal region and subject the Greeks to foreign domination. Alyattes’s son was Croesus, who ruled from 560–546 and became known for his great wealth. He consistently sent gifts to Delphi and helped Ephesus restore its Artemisium. During this time, Ephesus became a dependent of Croesus, which allowed him to continue his advance into the Ionian cities. Lydia under Croesus accomplished what Alyattes could not—control of the Greek cities. He did not rule these cities but rather dominated them. His capital, Sardis, became a center for international commerce and trade. Croesus would receive visitors, including the famous Solon of Athens, making Sardis a cosmopolitan city. In 546, Croesus marched east to fight Cyrus of Persia at the River Halys. Although the battle was indecisive, Croesus retired to Sardis for the winter and attempted to get aid from the Greek cities and Egypt to fight Cyrus again. The Persians, however, did not retire after the battle; rather, they pursued Croesus to Sardis. With his army disbanded for the winter, Croesus could not withstand the Persian attack and fell.



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Solon and Croesus: On Happiness The following interaction, given by Herodotus in his Histories between the lawgiver Solon of Athens and King Croesus of Lydia, supposedly the richest man in the world, shows the variation of views. Croesus believes that wealth equals happiness, while Solon attempts to dissuade him of this since happiness is only known when you know your whole life, (i.e., after death): Solon set out upon his travels, . . . came on a visit to Croesus at Sardis. Croesus received him as his guest, and lodged him in the royal palace . . . he bade his servants conduct Solon over his treasuries, and show him all their greatness and magnificence. When he had seen them all, . . . Croesus addressed this question to him. “Stranger of Athens, . . . I am curious therefore to inquire of thee, whom, of all the men that thou hast seen, thou deemest the most happy?” This he asked because he thought himself the happiest of mortals: but Solon answered him without flattery . . . “Tellus of Athens, sire.” Full of astonishment at what he heard, Croesus demanded sharply, “And wherefore dost thou deem Tellus happiest?” . . . “If, in addition to all this, he end his life well, he is of a truth the man of whom thou art in search, the man who may rightly be termed happy. Call him, however, until he die, not happy but fortunate. Scarcely, indeed, can any man unite all these advantages: as there is no country which contains within it all that it needs, but each, while it possesses some things, lacks others, and the best country is that which contains the most; so no single human being is complete in every respect something is always lacking. He who unites the greatest number of advantages, and retaining them to the day of his death, then dies peaceably, that man alone, sire, is, in my judgment, entitled to bear the name of ‘happy.’ But in every matter it behoves us to mark well the end: for oftentimes God gives men a gleam of happiness, and then plunges them into ruin.” Source: Herodotus, George Rawlinson, and Edward Henry Blakeney. 1912. The History of Herodotus. London: J. M. Dent. Volume 1, pp. 13–17.

Sardis was then the capital of the Persian satrapy of Lydia. Cyrus of Persia appointed Tabalus, but the Lydians under Pactyes, whom Cyrus had charged to deal with Croesus’s treasury, rebelled and besieged Tabalus in the acropolis. Cyrus sent his generals, Mazares and Harpagus, to deal with the insurrection. Cyrus was contemplating destroying Sardis, but Croesus, now the prisoner of and counsellor to Cyrus, recommended that Sardis be spared and that Lydia would soon comply. Cyrus agreed, and his general moved against the rebels. Pacytes fled and Mazares followed, taking over the Ionian cities of Priene and Magnesia, and then Mazares captured Pacytes and sent him back to Cyrus, who executed him. Mazares continued his war in Asia Minor but soon died. Cyrus sent Harpagus to replace him, who completed the conquest of Asia Minor, including Ionia, Phoenicia, Caria, and Lycia; he was known for using earthworks and mounds for besieging cities. Cyrus then put Oroetes in place as satrap of Lydia in Sardis who also ruled during Cambyses’s reign and the chaotic period afterward. He took over Samos and had Polycrates executed. When Darius was made king, Oroetes defied his power and was executed by Bagaeus. Under the next satrap, Otanes, he later successfully took Byzantium and other cities in the Troad in the war. He was succeeded by Artaphernes, the brother of Darius, who was made satrap in about 510 and took an

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active role in defeating the Greeks during the Ionian rebellion. It was under his rule that the Athenians in 507 asked for help and in return submitted to giving Earth and Water, which was a sign of submission to the Persians; he also informed Athens that they should take back the tyrant Hippias or face Persian attack. They refused, and in 499, the Athenians returned and burned Sardis after ­Artaphernes had sent troops to Miletus. Artaphernes retreated to the acropolis and citadel and held them. Afterward, he led his army against the Greek Ionian cities and defeated them. After putting down the rebellion, Artaphernes assessed the lands, and on the advice of Hecataeus, the Milesian historian and geographer, he was lenient with the assessments of the recently rebelled. In 492, Artaphernes was replaced by Mardonius as satrap, and then by Artaphernes II, the son of the earlier leader, who helped with the invasion of Persia at Marathon and Xerxes’s invasion in 480. ­Sardis became the meeting point of the troops marching to Greece under Xerxes. See also: Athens; Euboea; Ionian League; Ionian Revolt; Miletus; Persia; Persian Wars; Tyrants

Further Reading

Hanfmann, George Maxim Anossov. 1975. From Croesus to Constantine: The Cities of Western Asia Minor and Their Arts in Greek and Roman Times. Ann Arbor: ­University of Michigan Press. Pedley, John Griffiths. 1968. Sardis in the Age of Croesus. Norman: University of ­Oklahoma Press. Stoneman, Richard. 2015. Xerxes: A Persian Life. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. For a discussion on Sardis, see Hemingway, Colette, “Sardis,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004), https:// www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/srds/hd_srds.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Scythians In Herodotus’s account of the Persian Wars, the story of the Scythian invasion moved from the historical attack on Thrace and a raid across the Danube to an act of hubris, with Persia’s invasion of the Ukraine and southern Russia in an attempt to conquer the entire Scythian nation. The Scythians probably represented a variety of tribes with similar backgrounds and cultures. The term, when used by the Greeks, represented any of the Eurasian tribes across the Russian steppes. One theory has them coming from inner Asia, modern Turkestan, and Siberia, while another had them from the local Black Sea region. The Scythians, therefore, may have been a conglomeration of various peoples. The Scythians and Cimmerians may have been from the same tribal organization, although Herodotus has the Scythians pushing the Cimmerians out of Russia. The Cimmerians had swept into the Russian steppes, probably in the ninth century, and by the seventh century, they had moved across the Caucuses and attacked the Middle East. They dominated the Medes for a short period of time (650–630). The Persian king Darius stated that his purpose was to punish the (Cimmerians, often calling them Scythians as well for an invasion of Media a century

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earlier. The real purpose was something more strategic and realistic. The invasion by Darius into Thrace was the primary objective. By controlling the region to the Danube, Darius could move against Greece with a secure northern border. Eight years later, Darius now moved against Thrace, and perhaps Greece. Darius moved into Thrace after crossing the Bosporus to make the Danube River his northern boundary. After this, he desired to move into M ­ acedon to the west of Thrace to control northern Greece. Thrace was a rough, mountainous country, with warlike tribes. Darius, therefore, needed a large army to subdue the region. North of Byzantium at the Bosporus, a Dagger of a Sarmatian warrior. (Potatushkina/ pontoon bridge was built, where Dreamstime.com) Darius ordered pillars erected with the names of the nations that composed his army and the Persian army crossed the bridge. The Ionian Greeks sent a large fleet that accompanied Darius sailing along the western shore of the Black Sea, accompanying the army to the Danube, supplying and providing assistance to it. The Ionian Greeks in Darius’s army were commanded by their tyrants, including Histiaeus of Miletus and Miltiades of the Thracian Chersonese. The Thracians are said to have submitted except the Getae, who indicated that they would not submit without a fight. It seems probable that the other Thracian tribes did not just give in, but in fact fought. The tribes on both sides of the D ­ anube were probably similar to each other, and the river did not create a boundary. The Scythians in the west approximated the Thracians, while those in the east were culturally close to the Persians. The Thracians probably had connections with these Scythians across southern Russia and may have sought their aid against the Persians. With Darius’s preparations known, the Thracians would have had time to request aid. With the Greek fleet sailing to the Danube, they threw across another bridge, allowing Darius’s army to invade Dacia (modern Romania), with its gold mines controlled by the Agathyrsi. This was probably one of the goals for Darius. From the accounts, it is probable that the Agathyrsi opposed the Persian advance. Darius then erected a series of forts on the Oaros River (which is unknown, but

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probably was a tributary of the Danube, perhaps in the east). Finally, his march across the Danube resulted in loss of contact with the Greek fleet stationed at the Danube delta. As a consequence, some of the Ionian Greek commanders thought of leaving, but they did not, and Darius subsequently rewarded them for their loyalty. Their loyalty was even more poignant since the states of Byzantium, Perinthus, and Chalcedon had revolted. He had to avoid the Bosporus and instead marched to the Hellespont. When he marched back through Thrace, Darius left an army under Megabazus, who was to continue the conquest of Thrace, as well as conquer the Greek cities along the northern coast of the Aegean and Propontis. He successfully established Persian control over the region between the Strymon and Axius rivers, and Macedon submitted into allegiance. Persian control would last for the next fifteen years. This reality was different from Herodotus’s version, which gave rise to the legend to the Scythian invasion. Although Darius’s expedition was successful, it has been told in a completely different way. In Herodotus’s story, the expedition was not to conquer Thrace, but rather to take over all of Scythia in the southern steppes of Russia. The story presented Thrace as nothing more than a convenient thoroughfare on the way to Scythia. The success was now slight in comparison to the disaster in Scythia that followed. Darius planned to avenge the invasion of Media by the Scythians. The Greeks in this story were there only to construct the bridge across the Danube. In this story, he told the commander of the fleet to wait sixty days, and then, if the Persian army did not come back, to leave. Darius and his men then attacked the Scythians across the steppes of Russia, failing to lure the Scythians into battle. Herodotus then had Darius traveling to the Don and beyond. Here, Herodotus put the Oaros River not in the Danube region, but beyond the Don, in the Maeotic Sea. According to Herodotus, the Persians are successful in their plan, but upon their return to the Danube, they were harassed by the Scythians in hit-and-run attacks. During this invasion, the sixty days had elapsed, and Darius feared that the Greek fleet had left. In the story, the Scythians arrived at the bridge and urged the Greeks to destroy it. The Ionians decided to only take apart the boats on the Scythian side so that the Scythians would leave. Miltiades urged the Greeks to destroy the bridge completely and return home to rebel. This is probably due to the later struggle between Miltiades, the victor at Marathon, presenting himself as an enemy of the Persians instead of their ally. Histiaeus, however, argued against the plan since their power in Ionia depended upon Persian power. Darius now returned to the Danube, and an Egyptian called out for Histiaeus, who answered and had the bridge rebuilt. In Herodotus’s story, the Milesian Histiaeus saved Darius, and if they had agreed to Miltiades’s plan, then the attack on Greece would not have taken place. The story here set up the struggle between East and West and the Persian attack on Greece. Herodotus desired to show how immense the Persian Empire was by having the invasion of Scythia as a prelude to the attack, not on Darius, but on Xerxes. The account also wanted to highlight the wisdom of Miltiades, the victor at Marathon, and how his plans were sound. The Scythians became the archetype of the enemy that could not be defeated. The Persians had attempted to conquer them and Darius’s attempt was a show of

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hubris or outrageous arrogance. His attempt to conquer the wind was elusive, and even trying showed his contempt for the gods. See also: Geography; Macedon; Persia; Persian Wars; Thasos

Further Reading

Meyer, Hans-Caspar. 2013. Greco-Scythian Art and the Birth of Eurasia: From Classical Antiquity to Russian Modernity. New York: Oxford University Press. Minns, Ellis H. 1965. Scythians and Greeks; a Survey of Ancient History and Archaeology on the North Coast of the Euxine from the Danube to the Caucasus. New York: Biblo and Tannen. Rolle, Renate. 1989. The World of the Scythians. London: B. T. Batsford. For the story of Darius, see Rubinson, Karen S., 1975, “Herodotus and The Scythians,” Expedition, Penn Museum, volume 17, https://www.penn.museum/sites /expedition/herodotus-and-the-scythians/ (accessed May 18, 2021). For the archaeology of Scythia, see Curry, Andrew, “Rites of the Scythians,” Archaeology, July/August 2016, https://www.archaeology.org/issues/220-1607/features/4560rites-of-the-scythians (accessed May 18, 2021).

Sex In the ancient Greek world, the perception and reality of sex varied according to gender, class, and location. For an aristocratic family in Athens, women were kept cloistered and protected. Young girls who would be in line for a dowry were often married young, at about fifteen, to an older bachelor in his late twenties to thirties. The young girl was expected to remain a virgin until her marriage and would not date anyone, even her prospective husband. Since marriages were arranged, she would have no say in picking her future mate. She would not dress in any revealing fashion and would always be chaperoned if she went outside the home. She would be expected to learn the trades of domestic life, including weaving, cooking, and keeping the family home in order. Once married, the aristocratic woman was expected to provide her husband with children, and her sexual relations with men were confined to her husband. It is probable that aristocratic women engaged in extramarital affairs, given that laws were passed providing punishment, including death, for them if they did so. In addition, aristocratic women, married or single, probably engaged in homosexual relations with other members of the household, including servants. For aristocratic men, the opportunity to gain part of the family fortune usually came late, with the death of their father. Before marrying, a man was expected to train to be a soldier and active citizen in the state. Given that an aristocratic bachelor could not date an aristocratic woman due to the social norms, he might need to find alternative sexual activities. He might find pleasure in his family household by engaging in relations with household servants. These servants were subordinate and may not have been able to resist even if they wished. The young man was also expected to be part of the gymnasium. Here, pederastic homosexual relationships existed, and to some extent they may have even been encouraged. In the semiprivate environment of the gymnasium, where men

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exercised and engaged in social interactions, it was natural for older men, married or single, to seek physical outlets with younger, more vulnerable males. The men could engage in sexual experimentation, and in this situation, a sophisticated system of etiquette regarding acceptable activities developed. This allowed some males to engage in sexual activity in lieu of heterosexual dating or relations until they married. This behavior seemed to also continue after marriage, and at times it seemed to be encouraged. It would appear that bisexuality also existed. This may be seen in stories about the elite Spartans and their cadet corps, the phiditia, or the Theban Sacred Band of 600, elite warriors known as the “300 lovers.” Homosexual relations were openly allowed, and men were encouraged to build esprit de corps with each other, both on and off the battlefield. Those males who were not homosexually inclined were often protected by pedagogues, or family slaves who accompanied them to the gymnasium; but given that there was tremendous pressure within the aristocracy of the hoplite organization that promoted the emulation of their older comrades, many aristocratic youths engaged in homosexual activity. These relationships also continued after a man got married. A gathering of wealthy men often took place in an educational and social setting known as the symposium. Since aristocratic women were not expected (or perhaps socially not allowed) to visit other homes, especially at night, when the symposium took place, many men were entertained there by women known as hetairai. These were typically slaves or foreign women who were educated and culturally trained at an early age to converse with men on a wide variety of subjects, such as politics, art, dance, music, and literature. These attractive prostitutes, commanding fees far in excess of normal brothel workers, often became part of the aristocratic circles, where they entertained men, married and single, at social parties. The host of the symposium would recruit the hetairai as well as flute girls to entertain his guests, which often led to sex. An aristocratic man might even have an hetairai as his mistress, but he would never be seen in public during the daytime with her. The hetairai allowed poor, slave, and nonrespectable women to move upward socially. Other avenues of sex were open to aristocratic men in their own households. They could engage in sexual relations with their servants, both women and men. Since household servants were inexpensive, subordinate, and vulnerable, they often could not refuse the advances of their masters. While a slave might seek recourse from his or her mistress, the wife of the master, it may not have been enough to help. There were two recorded murders by female members of the household. In both cases, the man was killed by his wife and her servants, supposedly due to his continual sexual assaults on them. What is informative is the representation of sexual acts on Greek pottery. Many of these vases and drinking cups, the kantharos, kylix, and skyphos, show the events that take place at a symposium, including free-for-alls. The thousands of Attic Red Figure forms portray a variety of scenes of everyday life, including sex. The number of surviving examples is large and probably represents the demand for such motifs. This would not necessarily mean that these scenes were commonplace, but rather that the images were much sought after. These included a variety

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of graphic sexual scenes from group homosexual and heterosexual activities— romantic relations between men and boys as well as men and women; violence between men and women; and various sexual positions. Of course, it is not known or clear if these representations were commonplace behaviors in society, or associated with the aristocracy, or perhaps fantasies. To help with sex, aphrodisiacs were sometimes used, such as the mandrake root, garlic, oysters, and leeks. The Greeks viewed masturbation as a safety valve to prevent rape and other acts. Miletus was known for the production of olisbos, later called the dildo. Made of wood or leather, it appears to have been a common item. Women were also seen to have gained some power in life by using their sexuality. During the Peloponnesian War, Aristophanes wrote the play Lysistrata, in which Athenian and Spartan women withhold sex to get the men to stop fighting. While there is debate over whether it was a peace play or, more likely, a play promoting war by making fun of women and their possible role in politics, it does relate to the concept of the sexual power of women. There also appears to have been the idea of Near Eastern Temple prostitutes in Greece, especially in relation to the temple of Aphrodite at Corinth. In addition, art would often portray male genitalia, the phallus, not only on vases but on sculpture. The phallus was not considered obscene, but rather a symbol of fertility and luck. One of the most famous examples of such art was the Herms, columns with the head of the god Hermes at the top and a large phallus about midway down. Put at the crossroads of streets, such columns were supposed to ward off evil and promote good luck. One of the most famous incidents involving the Herms occurred in 415, before the Athenians sailed to Sicily; someone knocked off the phalli on Herms throughout Athens. This was viewed not only as sacrilege but a portent of bad luck. The idea of love between a married couple is more of a modern twentieth-century idea. In ancient Greece, marriage was meant to provide heirs to the male family line and the transmission of property. Whether the man and woman loved one another was not a prerequisite for marriage. They may find that they would grow into love, but it was not necessary. There were supposed love spells, but most of these related to being fruitful, either for the woman or man. There were also some attempts at avoiding pregnancy using crude forms of contraception and spermicides. One of the more important use of plants, the silphion from Libya, supposedly was a contraceptive. Although it became extinct by the fourth century CE, during the time of Athens it was common. There may have also been abortions, often induced with drugs. If a fetus did not have features, its abortion was legal. The Law Code of Gortyn on Crete from 450 imposed a variety of fines upon individuals who committed rape. For a free man or woman, it was 100 staters (probably equaling 200 drachmas); for a free man on a male or female serf, it was five drachmas; if one violated a female house slave by force, it was two staters. However, if one was already debauched, in the daytime the fine was an obol (six obols equaled a drachma), and at night it was two obols. Clearly, the act of rape was illegal, but the penalty varied according to the class and standing of both accuser and victim.

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The act of sex in ancient Greece was as complicated as in the modern world, involving a variety of social and political interactions. While in modern life ideas of love and sex often intersect, in the ancient Greek world that was not necessarily the case since for many, especially the upper class, marriage and love were not necessarily connected and sex was procreation often without love or passion. See also: Family; Slavery; Social Status; Sparta

Further Reading

Chrystal, P. 2016. In Bed with the Ancient Greeks. The Hill, Stroud, UK: Amberley Publishing. Faraone, Christopher A., and Laura McClure. 2006. Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Ancient World. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Kapparis, K. A. 2018. Prostitution in the Ancient Greek World. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH. For useful websites and more information, see Hays, Jeff, “Sex in Ancient Greece,” Facts and Details, http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub406/item2019.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Sicilian Expedition After the Peace of Nicias in 421, which brought the first phase of the Peloponnesian War to a close, nothing had actually been resolved. Athens decided to renew its plan of expansion in 416 by taking the island of Melos and receiving a request from Segesta in Sicily for aid against some of the neighboring cities. Athenian ambassadors arrived at Segesta and were fooled into thinking that the city had more resources than it really did. The Athenians debated the request for help, with Nicias opposed to it and Alcibiades, the nephew of Pericles, supporting it, and the latter carried the day. The Athenians then put Alcibiades, Lamachus (a capable general), and Nicias in charge of the expedition. Before the expedition set sail, a religious atrocity occurred with the mutilation of the Herms in Athens. Alcibiades was suspected of the deed and when he demanded to be tried before the expedition sailed, the charges were delayed. The fleet of 100 warships and 30,000 combatants, including 5,000 hoplites, sailed in the early summer of 415. When the fleet arrived, it found that Segesta did not have the promised funds. Nicias suggested that the fleet sail about the island and make a show of strength and then leave; Alcibiades suggested that they get allies from the other cities and come back to help Segesta; and Lamachus realized that the main objective was Syracuse, so he suggested that since Syracuse was not well organized, they attack right away. If Lamachus’s plan had been adopted, the city and island probably would have fallen. Instead, they decided to follow Alcibiades’s plan, but before he could put it into action, the Athenians decreed that he should be brought back for trial. Alcibiades escaped and arrived in Sparta, where a delegation from Syracuse had also come to seek help. Alcibiades suggested that Sparta send a capable general, who would be more valuable than an army, and fortify the Decelea camp in Attica to cut off the supply of silver so that Athens could not finance its fleet in Sicily. The Athenians in Sicily under Nicias fritted away the remaining campaigning season, allowing Syracuse time to reorganize.



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Destruction of Herms—a Bad Omen for Sicily The Athenian expedition to Sicily promoted by Alcibiades was hotly contested. Debated in the assembly, the expedition was finally approved. Thucydides in his work The Peloponnesian War, recounts that before its departure, the Herms or Mercuries, which had a phallus, were attacked and the phallus was broken or mutilated, which was seen as a bad omen. The Athenians were outraged, and soon some of Alcibiades’s enemies declared that he had done it. Alcibiades demanded to be given the chance to defend himself in a trial, but his enemies, realizing that he could persuade the crowd and jury (members of the expedition), moved to have it postponed, which was accepted. Debate centers on who did it, and it was unlikely to be Alcibiades. It was more likely a group opposed to the expedition. In the meantime, the Mercuries of stone throughout the whole city of Athens (now there were many of these of square stone set up by the law of the place, and many in the porches of private houses and in the temples), had in one night most of them their faces pared. And no man knew who had done it: and yet great rewards out of the treasury had been propounded to the discoverers; and a decree made, that if any man knew of any other profanation, he might boldly declare the same, were he citizen, stranger, or bondman. And they took the fact exceedingly to heart, as ominous to the expedition, and done withal upon conspiracy for alteration of the state and dissolution of the democracy. Hereupon, certain strangers dwelling in the city, and certain serving-men, revealed something, not about the Mercuries, but of the paring of the statues of some other of the gods, committed formerly through wantonness and too much wine by young men; and withal, how they had in private houses acted the mysteries of their religion in mockery: amongst whom they also accused Alcibiades. This they that most envied Alcibiades, because he stood in the way that they could not constantly bear chief sway with the people, making account to have the primacy if they could thrust him out, took hold of and exceedingly aggravated; exclaiming, that both the mockery of the mysteries and the paring of the Mercuries tended to the deposing of the people, and that nothing therein was done without him; alleging for argument his other excess in the ordinary course of his life, not convenient in a popular estate. Source: Hobbes, Thomas, William Molesworth, Thucydides, and Homer. 1843. The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. London: J. Bohn, Volume 9, pp. 140–142.

The Athenian expedition force in 414 now attacked Syracuse, hoping to force them into submission. They seized the high ground of Epipolae and fortified the nearby area of Labdalon, but not the heights. The Athenians began building a wall to cut off the city from reinforcements. During the building, the Athenians destroyed a Syracusan counter wall and attacked a ditch going through the swamp. Again, the Athenians’ attack was successful but their general, Lamachus, was killed. Thinking he had won, Nicias failed to complete the wall even after he heard that help for Syracuse from Sparta was arriving. The Spartan general ­Gylippus now arrived and, seeing the unfinished Athenian wall, made his way to the undefended heights of Epipolae, depriving the Athenians of an advantage. He then decided to build a counterwall against the Athenian wall. Both sides raced to complete their wall, with Syracuse winning. The Athenians had failed to complete their wall or fortify the heights; doing either would have curtailed Gylippus. The Athenian fleet had sailed into the Great

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Harbor at Syracuse and occupied the southern shores, building three forts; unfortunately, they were near the swamps where disease infected the army. At this point, with winter arriving, Nicias sent a report indicating that Lamachus had been killed and that the situation was not to Athens’s advantage. He requested either that he be allowed to return, or that a larger force be sent out and he be relieved of duty. Once again, Athens failed to realize that it had the wrong commander in place and allowed a second fleet with more troops under Demosthenes to be sent. Before the second fleet arrived, though, Gylippus decided to attack the Athenian forts and fleet. While their fleet was successful, the Athenians lost their forts and were forced to hole up in an even more tenuous situation. The Athenians attempted another sea battle, but this time they were defeated. In 413, the second fleet with seventy-three warships and 5,000 more hoplites and a large number of auxiliaries arrived under Demosthenes, and seeing the destruction of the Athenian fleet, realized that he needed to seize the heights and wall. The attack failed, and Demosthenes suggested leaving the encampment near the marsh. Nicias, however, could not be persuaded and opted to remain. He had refused the counsel of Lamachus to attack Syracuse at the beginning, which probably would have won the war, and now he failed to listen to Demosthenes, which would have saved his army. Finally, after the delay allowed Gylippus to arrive with reinforcements, Nicias agreed to flee, but on August 27, a lunar eclipse occurred, and the priests said they had to wait until the next full moon. With the departure postponed, the Syracusan fleet and army became bolder. The Athenian fleet moved out but was defeated since it could not use its advantage of maneuvering in the confined space of the harbor. The defeat now broke the Athenians’ morale, and with the harbor now blockaded, the fleet made one last attempt on September 9. It was again defeated, and the Athenians on land panicked. Demosthenes suggested that they again attempt to break through the harbor barrier, but the sailors refused. Demosthenes suggested that they now flee over land, but the Syracusans sent messengers to the Athenians, disguised as sympathizers, saying the roads were blocked when they were not. The next day, the Syracusans blocked the roads, forcing the Athenians on September 11 to move overland. During the retreat, the Athenians were constantly harassed, and by September 16 the rear guard had been separated, and Demosthenes surrendered. Nicias was attacked on September 18 and surrendered to Gylippus. The prisoners were treated harshly. The Athenian allies were kept in terrible conditions for seventy days, and the Athenians were forced to endure them for six months longer. Those who survived this misery were then either sold or made to work in public prisons. Some ultimately made it back to Athens with the news of what happened, producing panic. Nicias and Demosthenes were executed. Not only was it’s the expedition a failure, it produced a series of rebellions throughout the Athenian Empire, which took years for Athens to suppress. Who was to blame for the disaster? There were multiple reasons since there were both policy and military failures. The policy of trying to control the entire island of Sicily was flawed without sufficient allies and resources to do so. The Athenians were too eager to believe the stories of wealth and did not prepare appropriately. Most important, they chose Nicias as commander even though he

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did not believe in the mission, and they recalled Alcibiades, the driving force behind the plan. Then, when the fleet arrived, the military plans were deployed disastrously. Instead of listening to Lamachus, a capable general, the Athenians failed to take the initiative and attack Syracuse. Nicias then failed to fortify the heights and complete the wall. When Gylippus arrived, the Athenians did not immediately redouble their efforts. Nicias then showed no initiative and was completely inactive. When the second fleet arrived, Demosthenes deferred to Nicias, even though he could have overruled him. This plan, followed by the failure to retreat immediately, caused the Athenians to become trapped, and when they finally fled, they did not retreat in an organized fashion and were systematically eliminated. The disaster, then, should be blamed on everyone: the Athenians for their p­ olicy and decisions to select Nicias and recall Alcibiades; Alcibiades for his duplicity; Nicias for his total incompetence; and Demosthenes for failing to stand up to Nicias. See also: Athens; Peloponnesian War; Sparta; Syracuse

Further Reading

Hardy, Clara S., and Robert B. Hardy. 2020. Athens 415: The City in Crisis. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Kagan, Donald. 1991. The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition. Ithaca, NY: ­Cornell University Press. Romilly, Jacqueline de, and Elizabeth Rawlings. 2019. The Life of Alcibiades: Dangerous Ambition and the Betrayal of Athens. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. For a history of the expedition, see “Sicilian Expedition,” Livius.org, 2005, https://www .livius.org/articles/concept/peloponnesian-war/sicilian-expedition/ (accessed May 18, 2021). For more information on the expedition, see McLaughin, William, An Island Too Far: The Disastrous Sicilian Expedition, War History Online, March 18, 2016, https://www .warhistoryonline.com/ancient-history/island-far-disastrous-sicilian-expedition .html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Sinope On the south coast of the Black Sea on Asia Minor (in modern Turkey), a series of Greek cities were founded by Miletus over the course of several centuries, one of which was Sinope. The Black Sea, or Euxine as the Greeks knew it, had been the source of legends, the most famous being that of Jason and the Argonauts during the Heroic Age. The land in this region is well watered and rich in natural resources. The currents move in an easterly direction along the south coast, allowing access from the Aegean Sea. During the ninth century, the Ionians, and ­Miletus in particular, entered the Black Sea and began to colonize the region. The region known as the Pontus was inhabited by non-Greek speakers organized into tribes built around temples ruled by priests. In addition to rich resources, the area had a mild climate and rich pastureland that grew grains and fruits. In addition, it had iron mined by the Chalybes, who were reported to have been the first to work

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the mines. The mountain ranges in the interior were rich in timber, which allowed shipbuilding. The region also allowed the cultivation of olives and the production of olive oil. Sinope was also renowned for its red earth, or iron oxidized into clay, which was used for pottery. It was an important substance used for painting, especially for ships. Associated with its rich pasturelands was the presence of livestock in the region. Sinope was ideally situated on the southern coast, about halfway between the Hellespont and the far eastern shore. The promontory was steep and nearly impregnable, and on the nearby peninsula, about 600 feet high, the city was built. The peninsula was about two miles long and one mile wide, and it looked like a boar’s head. This promontory or peninsula had two deep harbors near the connection with the mainland. Its original inhabitants were the Paphlagonians, and perhaps some Phrygians. It is possible that the site was also associated with the Assyrians, perhaps through trade, as associated with the Argonauts. Its name may go back to the Assyrian moon god Sin, and the worship of the moon god was known to be strong on the southern coast of the Black Sea. It is unclear as to when Sinope was first founded, with two dates offered. The first was about 756, when Habrondas from Miletus supposedly established an emporium at the site. If it was established at this time, it was soon destroyed when the Cimmerians raided the region. It was a strong site and supposedly the foundation of the Cimmerian stronghold. The Cimmerians were nomadic tribes from the Pontic region, probably from modern northern Iran, and the Caucasus of Southern Russia and Ukraine. They may have been expelled from southern Russia in the late ninth to early eighth centuries by the nomadic Scythians, and then they moved south into the Pontus region, raiding it before attacking Lydia and Phrygia and going to Assyria. If Sinope had already been established and then destroyed, it was founded again around 630 by the Milesian exiles Coes and Cretines. Originally, Sinope’s wealth was associated with maritime activities, surpassing those of the other Black Sea colonies. Although its land-based activities would become important later, during the Archaic period, the sea gave Sinope its wealth, especially from the tunny fish. The tuna was especially rich in breeding grounds just east of the city. Because of its economic strength, Sinope was able to remain independent. It had extensive trade connections with the region along the coastline, as well as into the interior, as shown by amphorae from Sinope. The city established colonies of its own in the east from land seized from the Paphlagonians. During the Classical Age, Sinope established an elaborate trade network throughout the Black Sea. It used its hinterland’s resources, especially growing timber for shipbuilding and mining, to establish a strong presence. With its two deep harbors, the city easily dominated the region. This network went west, north, and east, all along the coast of the Black Sea, although the west was more crucial than the east. Although the city was strong and maintained its independence, it was influenced greatly by the Persian Empire, which collected taxes periodically, but the Delian League (Athenian Empire) greatly reduced Persian influence and revenue. Pericles from Athens sailed around the Black Sea in an attempt to curry favor and

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increase Athenian power. Sinope was ruled by the tyrant Timesilaus, and the Athenian fleet under Pericles and Lamachus sailed into Sinope, overthrew him, and established a democracy. Timesilaus probably either was pro-Persian or at least governed in the interest of the Persians and thus was helped by them. Pericles left Lamachus with thirteen ships and a number of men to keep the peace and protect Sinope. Timesilaus, together with his allies, were driven into exile. His lands and houses were then divided between the 600 colonists sent by Athens. Sinope attempted to maintain friendly relations with Persia under its later rulers and the Greeks, including Athens and Macedon. Because of its isolated position in the Black Sea and protection from the south by the mountain ranges, the city was able to remain free of foreign conquest. See also: Athenian Empire; Colonization; Miletus

Further Reading

Doonan, O. P. 2004. Sinop Landscapes: Exploring Connection in a Black Sea Hinterland. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Grammenos, Dimitrios V., and Elias K. Petropoulos, eds. 2003. Ancient Greek Colonies of the Black Sea. Thessalonica: Archaeological Institute of Northern Greece. Manoledakis, M., ed. 2016. The Black Sea in the Light of New Archaeological Data and Theoretical Approaches. Oxford: Archaeopress. For more information on the port of Sinope, see Silvia Pedone, (2015) ”Sinop (Ancient Sinope) in the Pontus region, Turkey” Limen: Cultural Ports from Aegean to the Black Sea Common borders https://www.limenproject.net/sinop/ (accessed ­October 21, 2021). Owen Doonan, Huseyin Vural, Andrew Goldman, Alexander Bauer, E. Susan Sherratt, Jane Rempel, Krzysztof Domzalski, and Anna Smokotina (2016) “Sinope ancient Kale excavations 2015: towards a new model of mobile fishing communities and incipient trade in the Black Sea,” Antiquity volume 90, 2016. https://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/doonan351 (accessed October 21, 2021).

Slavery The Greek world had a range of social classes, from the elites or aristocracy to the lowest, or slaves. The condition of slaves often depended upon the type of work they did. The Greeks held that their citizens were free; as Aristophanes, the ­Athenian playwright, stated, no Greek was a slave. Meanwhile, the Persians held the view that no one was free except the king. To Aristophanes, this idea showed the political and moral superiority of the Greeks over the Persians, the West over the East, and the civilized over the barbarians. This view, however, does not fully illustrate the vast differences in the Greek world. Although the Greeks claimed this philosophical superiority over the Persians and called the Persians slaves and barbarians, the Greeks continued to exploit the institution of slavery. The Greeks could not conceive of the idea that all individuals were equal. They clearly saw the need for slaves to do the heavy work so they could continue to enjoy the fruits of their economic system. Slavery in antiquity was based upon a variety of factors. An individual could be captured in war and sold into slavery; an individual could be the child of a slave

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and remained a slave; a child could be exposed or abandoned to die, and if that person was found, he spent life as a slave; one could be sold into slavery by family; or the state could sell someone to pay a debt or as punishment for a criminal act that that person committed. The major avenues for obtaining slaves were war, piracy, banditry, and trade. Aristotle classified slaves into two classes—those made by nature or created by law. The first group included those born into slavery, while the second were those who became slaves due to war or piracy. In Sparta, there were state slaves called helots; these individuals belonged to the government or state, and although they were under state control, they had the ability to remain in family units. In addition, slaves were individuals who could be bought and sold, while helots could not. Aristotle also said that slaves who had deformed bodies were slaves by natural law. Although here, Aristotle was probably remarking on the results of slavery, these people were deformed because of the work they did, rather than being born deformed and made slaves. Slavery during ancient Greece was an accepted social and personal occurrence. The Greeks believed that slaves were necessary tools that allowed them to achieve a life of leisure and happiness. While slavery was and is morally repugnant, the ancient Greeks did not attach any kind of moral value to it. Slaves did not have any political and legal rights in ancient Greece. The Greeks had a variety of terms used to describe slaves. In the early period under Homer and Hesiod, the term used was domos, meaning “war booty” or “property.” In the Classical period, it was common for slaves to be called andrapodon, meaning “one with the feet of men,” as opposed to tetrapodon, meaning “one with four feet or livestock.” The most common word used to describe a slave was doulos, which was the opposite of a freeman; the word came from the Mycenaean terms for “male slave” doero and “female slave” doera really meaning bondman and bondwomen respectively. Homer used the term therapon to mean an understudy such as Patrocles, the friend and follower of Achilles who was a freeman, but in the Classical Age, the term meant “servant.” The Classical period also used the term pais (boy) to describe a slave. Slaves are first mentioned in the Mycenaean period, and they could have been slaves of the gods, who are mentioned in texts by name and own land and approach the status of freemen. Those who were common slaves came from the islands and probably were enslaved due to piracy. The distinction in this period is related to those who lived in the palace and those who worked the land. Slaves are mentioned in the earliest legends and in the Iliad and the Odyssey. In the Iliad, most of the slaves were women taken as booty in warfare, while male soldiers were ransomed or killed on the battlefield. Likewise, in the Odyssey, slaves were usually women who worked in the household or were concubines. Men were also known to be slaves, such as Eumaeus the swineherd who helps Odysseus on his return to Ithaca. In these stories, they were part of the family or household, the oikos. In the Odyssey, the master and slaves eat together, and the term does not convey humiliation or denigration. After the Dark Ages, probably when the slave trade began to increase, there was a move toward slaves being lower class and subservient. Slaves became more prevalent after the time of Solon, which may reflect the increase in economic conditions that occurred with his changes to the democracy of Athens based on wealth.

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Individuals captured in war faced a few potential outcomes. They could be executed, although this was often viewed as sacrilege and dangerous given that today’s victors could someday be captured and subjected to the same treatment. A prisoner could be exchanged for a prisoner held by the army or home city, or he could be ransomed from the family or home city. Finally, a prisoner could be either made a slave for the city or sold on the open market. If slaves were held by the city, they were often put to work in mines or quarries. These conditions were harsh, and as seen from the Athenians taken prisoner after the disaster at Syracuse in 413, many did not survive. Those who were sold into slavery often found themselves in a harsh setting such as on a farm or in a workshop. If they were fortunate, they may work in a household, or if they were educated, they could serve as teachers. Most Greek city-state prisoners of war were not subjected to these harsh conditions since they were ransomed; prisoners taken from the northern tribes (barbarians) became slaves based upon Aristotle’s view of slaves by law. Piracy and banditry allowed for a large number of slaves; if these people were not ransomed, they were sold to traders, who in turn sold them on the open market. This allowed for the third major area of the slave trade—a market that allowed slave traders to sell slaves that they captured in war, took in raids of barbarian lands, or bought from pirates and bandits. The slave market became a major element of the economy. Families would occasionally allow their slaves to reproduce, although it would cost the owner money to raise a slave’s offspring. If the slave was a woman, she might become the concubine of her master and be allowed to keep her child. The child, however, would be a slave, with no chance for legitimacy or social standing. Often a family would expose a newborn child (whether a slave or a family member) to rid itself of an extra mouth to feed or a potential financial liability such as a daughter who would require a dowry when married. In Sparta, any child born with a deformity would be exposed, and this was probably the case in other cities as well. If the child was found, it could be raised either as a family member (such as Oedipus in mythology) or as a slave. A family might be willing to raise the child if they did not have children of their own. A child so exposed lacked rights and was at the whim of those who found him or her. If raised as a slave, the child would not have much of a future. If a family found itself in financial trouble, it might be forced to sell a child (often grown) into slavery to pay off a debt. The servitude could be permanent or for a set period. This was similar to when the state would seize a person and sell him or her into slavery to settle a state debt. The state could also sell someone, often a noncitizen, into slavery if he or she had committed a crime that was severe, but not meriting a punishment of death or exile. Slaves were a commodity. As one’s wealth increased, families would often buy more slaves to show and increase their wealth. It is difficult to estimate the total number of slaves in Attica, but it may have been about 800,000 out of a population of 2.5 million (about one in three). Since slaves did not have rights, they could be abused or beaten at will, without justification. If a slave had to give evidence in a lawsuit and court, they were tortured until they either confessed their own guilt or gave evidence against someone else. The value of this evidence is hard to gauge

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since many slaves would have confessed or given evidence just to stop the pain, something still seen in today’s society. What mattered most to the way slaves were treated was who their master was. If the master was kind, then the treatment was better. This could be seen through Xenophon (a fourth-century Athenian), who in his work Economics stated that a slave should be like an animal—rewarded when good, punished when bad. In Athenian comedies, slaves were often presented as caricatures who were always trying to deceive their masters, beaten by their foremen (who often were fellow slaves), and being lazy and conniving. Since most slaves were in the family, with few being overseen by the state, there is no evidence of organized or wholescale slave rebellions such as the one led by Spartacus against the Roman republic. Slaves could be involved in nearly all aspect of the city except politics, since that was only open to citizens. Most slaves probably worked in agriculture since this was a city’s main economic source. The Greeks did not have large estates worked by slaves as the Romans did; instead, farms were small and might have been worked by only one or two slaves. Sometimes a wealthy individual, such as Nicias who led the Athenians to Sicily, owned a large number of slaves and would rent them out to the city to work in the quarries and silver mines. Slaves often became valuable members of the master’s household. The slave might be a cook, butler, teacher, or household worker. If slaves served their master well, they might earn money for themselves and even purchase their freedom if they could match their street value. A slave could be set free or manumitted. In this instance, the former slave would have the rights of a foreigner. Many slaves were often set free when they were old so that the master no longer had to pay for their upkeep. Since they could not outright kill them, the master would set them free and let them take their chances on their own. Sometimes public institutions would be involved in the manumission of a slave by announcing or publishing the conditions of the slave, including any payment to the city by the person. Slaves were often given their freedom when they were “sold” to a god who would then set them free; this was later replaced by a magistrate, who took on the role of a god and set the slave free. Slavery was a common phenomenon in the Greek world and allowed the economy to grow. As a society, the Greeks always viewed the institution of slavery as a given and could not imagine their society without it. Slaves performed a variety of different functions. See also: Helot; Punishment; Social Status; Sparta; Thasos

Further Reading

Finley, M. I. 1999. The Ancient Economy. Updated ed. Berkeley: University of California Press. Fisher, N. R. E. 2001. Slavery in Classical Greece. 2nd ed. London: Bristol Classical. Hunt, Peter. 2018. Ancient Greek and Roman Slavery. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. For a discussion on slavery in Athens, see “The Unenfranchised II—Slaves and Resident Aliens,” American School of Classical Studies, http://www.agathe.gr/democracy /slaves_and_resident_aliens.html (accessed May 18, 2021).



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Social Status Greek society was composed of many social structures influenced by birth, wealth, gender, economics, and chance. These were often interconnected and composed a situation in which, depending upon the location, different aspects of the social stratum are shown. The first aspect of social status revolved around gender. Men comprised the citizenry of a polis, and only they could vote or hold office. Although women were not permitted to have an official say in politics, some states, especially Sparta, gave them some degree of control of the household, even concerning its economy. The status of a child, however, depended upon the status of both parents. In Athens, after the citizenship reform of Ephialtes and Pericles in 452, both parents had to be citizens, meaning that a women’s position was crucial. After a person’s sex, the next important aspect of social structure was being free or enslaved. This again determined the status of the population. If one was free, he had more rights than a slave. The institution of slavery was common and nearly universal in the ancient Mediterranean. One became a slave by chance: piracy, war, raids, or exposure; or one could be born into slavery as the child of a slave. The Greeks did not condemn a person for being a slave. Further, the Greeks believed that any non-Greek was a barbarian, suitable to becoming a slave, and usually these individuals were considered below the Greek slave. It is estimated that half of Athens in the fifth century was composed of slaves, with some suggesting that there were as many as 100,000. A slave had no rights. Although people could not kill their slaves indiscriminately, a slave did not necessarily have an enlightened future. If a prisoner or a subject of a pirate raid, the slave may have a chance at being ransomed. Within slaves, there was a hierarchy, with government slaves working in political offices having the best opportunities, followed by those working for businessmen and merchants, where they could also become officers. These two positions were possibly the best since they led to close contact with other businessmen and leading citizens. Household slaves would have been next, where many slaves had close connections with individuals and many often even viewed as members of the family. Finally, at the bottom were slaves who worked the mines and quarries, who had little chance of securing their freedom. The status of a slave may also have to do with their sex. For women who were smart and attractive, they may have become courtesans or flute girls, slaves-prostitutes who could entertain with music in addition to sex, who could perhaps buy their freedom. For those who were members of a brothel, their chances of freedom were slim. Women who served in the household also probably had little chance to escape their slave status. The social status of slaves, then, existed on two levels. The first level was slave versus free citizen, where slaves were always at the bottom; and second, within the groups of slaves, there was various levels that could potentially lead to freedom and advancement. At the level of free people, there were again distinctions or gradations. At the top were free individuals who came from the aristocracy, who owed their status to birth. They were aristocrats due to the legacy of their ancestors, so they did not have to prove their status. They had achieved their position based upon their

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bloodline. For men, this meant that they could hold many political offices as recorded in early Athens and most likely in most cities. Although the democracy blunted their chances to exclusively control offices, most of them could find continual advancement based upon their family. As for women of the aristocracy, they often found that their dowry gave them access to other aristocratic families. Below the aristocrats by birth stood aristocrats who obtained their status through wealth. These were individuals whose families had risen to power due to commercialism, often trade. These individuals often were disdained by their fellow citizens, but they played important roles in the city’s political and economic future. Below the free citizenry aristocrats were citizens who were peasants or sellers. These individuals were often rural small farmers who, although free, were not able to amass a large fortune. In the city, they were often day laborers, who worked in shops or on building projects. The poorer citizens were still in a social stratum above the metics, who might be wealthier, but as foreigners, they could not sit on juries or serve in the fleet. Beneath the citizenry stood the foreign born, who often controlled trade in Athens. These were individuals who bought and sold goods and became part of the commercial center of Athenian society. Termed metics, they were not citizens and could not vote, hold office, or marry citizens. They were liable for taxes, liturgies, and even military service. They had some protection under the law. Like a slave captured in war or piracy, a metic could have been an aristocrat of their native land and held in high social status but now someone at the lower end of the social stratum in Athens. Below the metics stood the freemen. These were ex-slaves who had bought or been given their freedom. They often were workers in the shops or trades and had risen from slavery. Interestingly, as former slaves they were often the most demanding of slaves they were now put in charge. They could not vote or hold office and were often viewed as foreigners. For those areas in the Peloponnese controlled by Sparta, there was a group termed helots. These were not slaves, but rather serfs tied to soil. They were supposed to support the Spartans, but unlike slaves, they could not be bought or sold. They could live with their families and could not be separated from them. Social status, then, depended upon many factors, which contributed to the growth of city-states but often led to social disturbances. These disturbances in turn frequently led to open civil war. It was not uncommon in the early Archaic period for members of the aristocracy to oust the king, often an individual from one of the aristocratic families. The king, at the apex of the social stratum, was overthrown because he had a monopoly on power. With the overthrow of the king, the aristocracy often set themselves up as the source of political power. The social status of the aristocracy often led to their control, with a few families being in a dominant position. This was often termed an oligarchy. The power of these few people, often owing to their wealth, meant to exclude a large number of the populace. The ruling aristocracy could be large or small, depending upon the city. In this system, it was not uncommon for factions within the upper echelon to exist. In some cities, this struggle among the oligarchs and against the lower citizenry led to more social dissatisfaction, which could produce a tyrant. Many tyrants came



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from a faction of the aristocracy. Once empowered, the tyrant sometimes turned against his fellow aristocrats and raised the lower classes to power. These free individuals of the lower classes often looked to the tyrant to protect them from the aristocrats. In some cities, like Athens, tyrants provided new opportunities to those who had been disenfranchised the most (namely, the poor and merchants of the city who, unlike the aristocrats, did not have land). This allowed such advances as the rise of the middle class and commercialism. Tyrants were often replaced by democracy, where the lowest social classes had the ultimate power, or by aristocracy. The social status of the Greeks depended on birth, gender, wealth, and chance, which in turn influenced how they related to one another. The changes of social status could be positive, such as marriage or wealth, or negative, such as becoming a slave through war or piracy. The status then depended upon who you were and when it happened. See also: Athens; Family; Helot; Homeric Age; Metic; Sex, Slavery; Sparta

Further Reading

Kennedy, R. F. 2016. Immigrant Women in Athens: Gender, Ethnicity, and Citizenship in the Classical City. London: Taylor & Francis McClure, L. 2020. Women in Classical Antiquity from Birth to Death. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Silver, Morris. 2018. Slave-Wives, Single Women and “Bastards” in the Ancient Greek World: Law and Economics Perspectives. Oxford, UK: Oxbow Books. Small, David B. 2019. Ancient Greece: Social Structure and Evolution. Cambridge: ­Cambridge University Press. For a discussion of women in ancient Greece, see “Women in Ancient Greece” Canadian Museum of History: https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/greece /gr1100e.html (accessed October 21, 2021).

Socratic Method The philosophical school known as the Socratic Method, where one person continuously asks questions, forcing the other participant to make a binary choice, takes its name from the fifth-century Athenian thinker Socrates. In this philosophy, one attempts to discover universal truths by reducing them to a simple statement. The method was captured in a series of dialogues in which Socrates would approach someone and ask for a definition of a large idea. He would then evaluate the definition and often show how incomplete, contradictory, or absurd it was. He would then continue with questions designed to continually sharpen the views or answers. But Socrates never gave a final answer, though he would often explore the inaccuracies of the other argument. He liked order and classified things to the lowest level, foreshadowing Aristotle’s classification of ideas. Of course, his opponents pointed out that Socrates never created ideas; rather, all he did was tear them down. Another objection was that he never gave an answer to a question, but rather just argued. When opponents pointed out what Socrates was doing, he would try to turn it around by asking even more questions, which

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often made the original question or point even more confusing. To the public, he was similar to the Sophists, since like them, he engaged in dodges and tricks or changed the subject, or was just annoying. Although no writings from Socrates himself survive, the two main authors who knew him, Plato and Xenophon, presented different portraits. Plato showed an evolution of the philosopher from a timid youth in Parmenides to a contrary pupil in Protagoras to a wise sage in Phaedo. This evolution was supported by other authors of the age, particularly Aristotle, who stated that this portrayal of Socrates is accurate. Xenophon, on the other hand, presented an imaginary picture that Aristotle said portrayed the philosophical positions of Xenophon, not Socrates. The picture drawn by Plato is probably closer to reality, but Xenophon’s view may have been more popular among many Athenians. Other writers were less kind, describing Socrates as uneducated and debauched, while still others, like the contemporary playwright Aristophanes, depicted him as a gadfly. Socrates differed from the Sophists in important areas. He objected to rhetoric; he attempted to strengthen morality; he only taught people how to examine ideas; and he did not charge for his instruction. His students admired and loved him. His followers seem to have established a school, and he taught anyone who listened. His students came from a variety of backgrounds, and they became the founders of many of the great philosophical schools: Platonism, Cynicism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, and skepticism. All these movements traced their foundations to the great teacher. His pupil Antisthenes established the Cynic school, a philosophy to live a life in virtue rejecting wealth, power and fame, while Aristippus created the forerunner of Epicureanism, a philosophy of pleasure; Eucleides invented the idea of skepticism, which states that there was no real knowledge. Finally, there was Plato, who established his school, which became the most famous. Other pupils of Socrates included Phaedo, Xenophon, Alcibiades, and Critias the Oligarch. His enemies were often those who objected to the views of his pupils, such as Critias, who was antidemocratic and a member of the Thirty Tyrants set up after the Peloponnesian War who

Socrates: A Complicated Man Socrates served as a hoplite in the Athenian army during the Peloponnesian War and was known to have helped to save the life of Alcibiades, his friend and pupil. He fought at Delium and was supposedly the last man to leave, blocking the advancing Spartans. He also continued his father’s profession as a stonecutter and worker of statues. He was married to Xanthippe and had children, although she berated him for neglecting his family. He took another wife when polygamy was temporarily allowed due to high mortality among soldiers and the desire for Athens to increase the number of male children. He was overweight, and his pupil Alcibiades poked fun at his face as being more like that of a satyr or northern barbarian. Both Plato and Xenophon stated that he dressed in a shabby robe and preferred to go barefoot. Socrates did not long for possessions. He had a good temperament, although he could enjoy a drink and good food. He allowed his friends to feed and entertain him. He appears to have enjoyed a life of leisure enjoying his family’s wealth. Plato indicated that he was the wisest and most just man he knew. Socrates was surely a complicated man.

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executed prisoners and confiscated their wealth, and whose association with Socrates would be used to implicate the philosopher. Anytus the son of Anthemion argued that Socrates preached not to respect either the parents or the gods, and that he was critical of democracy as well. He would be a major opponent. Socrates did not have a dogma as presented by other philosophers. His view on religion is hard to discern, since he never spoke an impious word and he participated in the religious ceremonies of Athens. He said that he followed his own daimonion (inner force) from heaven. He argued to obey the oracle at Delphi, saying that “we know nothing of the gods.” To Socrates, philosophy was about politics and ethics. He believed that the Sophists weakened the supernatural basis of morals. To him, knowledge was the highest form of excellence. According to Xenophon, Socrates believed that aristocracy was the best form of government, while democracy was nonsense. If Xenophon was correct, then the charges against Socrates might have been valid. Socrates, however, saw the advantages of democracy and appreciated its liberties. He was viewed with irritation by some, but the notions he had about religion in which he rejected tradition led to attacks. When the oligarchic revolution took place at the end of the Peloponnesian War, many of his pupils, such as Critias, created a reign terror with executions and confiscations even though Socrates did not support their actions. When democracy was restored, democrats such as Anytus and Meletus viewed Socrates as the intellectual founder of the oligarchy and moved to remove him for not believing in the gods of Athens and corrupting the youth (i.e., the oligarchs). His ideas were passed to his pupil Plato, who promoted Socrates’s ideas in his Dialogues. These passages allowed Socrates and his ideas to become the primary forum of philosophy and led to the learning method named for him. See also: Aristotelian Philosophy; Athens; Pre-Socratic; Sophists

Further Reading

Benson, Hugh H. 2000. Socratic Wisdom: The Model of Knowledge in Plato’s Early ­Dialogues. New York: Oxford University Press. Bruell, Christopher. 1999. On the Socratic Education: An Introduction to the Shorter Platonic Dialogues. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Guthrie, W. K. C. 1971. Socrates. London: Cambridge University Press. Helfer, Ariel. 2017. Socrates and Alcibiades: Plato’s Drama of Political Ambition and Philosophy. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Stuttard, David. 2018. Nemesis: Alcibiades and the Fall of Athens. Cambridge, MA: ­Harvard University Press. For a discussion of Socrates, see Nails, Debra, “Socrates,” in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2020 edition), Edward N. Zalta, ed., https://plato.stanford.edu /entries/socrates/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Sophists The philosophers known as the Sophists, whose name comes from the Greek word sophistai (meaning “teacher of wisdom”), arose during the fifth century. They were known for their use of logic, speaking persuasively and clearly to win their

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arguments. These were useful skills for those who needed to make a sound legal argument in the Athenian law courts. They gained fame by being able to teach a litigant the arguments to use in a court case since Athens did not allow lawyers. They became in essence ghostwriters of the speeches made in the courts. With the growth of Athens and the flourishing of the arts, a need for teachers of these arts was needed. Without universities, the task fell to wandering philosophers who would instruct pupils in the lecture halls in town for a fee. While some Sophists were accused of taking high fees, not all did, with some charging on a sliding scale. The Sophists were akin to modern college teachers, and the term did not have a negative connotation until the backlash against philosophers and learning sparked by the conservative groups aligned against them. They were accused of commercialism by some critics, which provided the wrath of Plato against them as a whole. While the general population probably did not understand them and even mistrusted them, Sophists were held in high enough esteem to be welcomed to Athens when they visited. One of the most famous Sophists was Protagoras from Abdera (490–420). He became a friend of Pericles and earned a large fortune. He was respected, even by Plato. He held that “Man is the measure of all things, of those that are, that they are, and of those that are not, that they are not.” Plato took this to mean that whatever is to someone, it is to that person alone, so a cold breeze to one person is cold to that person, while to another who thinks it is warm, it is warm to that person. This would mean that any moral belief is true to the ­person who holds it, but not necessarily to all; it is relative and not absolute. He indicated that he taught his pupils prudence in public and private matters. He also taught his students persuasive speech and to become involved in public affairs. Protagoras also founded the study of grammar and philology. He differed from the Ionian philosophers in that he was more interested in thought than things. He believed that sensation, perception, understanding, and expressions were crucial. He further believed that no absolute truth existed; instead it would depend upon what someone held at the time. In other words, contradictory assertions could both be true, depending on who believed them. Of course, this went against the ideals of religion, which had certain absolutes. If these assertions were no longer held or viewed as absolute, then what was the role of religion or the gods? Because of this view, which frightened the Athenians, they expelled Protagoras. Gorgias of Leontini, born about 483, studied under the Pre-Socratic philosopher Empedocles and continued this change in Sophists, but outside Athens. Like other philosophers, he merged his ideas with politics. He was an ambassador to Athens in 427, and at the Olympics in 408, he urged the warring cities to abandon their fighting and band together against Persia. He traveled throughout Greece, where he successfully trained youths. He wrote his work on Nature, in which he tried to show that (1) nothing exists beyond the senses; (2) if anything does exist, it is unknowable (since all knowledge comes from the senses); and (3) if anything were known, it could not be communicated (since communication is achieved through the senses).

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The Sophists created logic and grammar. They would analyze the different forms of an argument, teaching their pupils to detect and predict fallacies. They promoted reasoning to the Greeks. In doing so, they allowed the transmission of thought. They refused to respect tradition since they questioned everything. This in turn broke down the religious and faith systems of Greece. This evolution and progression can be seen from the change in the view of oracles during the fifth century. The strong belief in oracles can be seen with Pindar accepting the pronouncements from Delphi. The oracle’s statements were then politically defended by Aeschylus, and by 450 Herodotus was criticizing the oracle. At the end of the fifth century, Thucydides rejected the oracles, and Euthyphro was laughed at in public when he spoke favorably of them in the assembly. The Sophists created a system that altered the philosophical view of faith. Their prominence and views made possible the Socratic Method, developed by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. See also: Aristotelian Philosophy; Law Courts; Pre-Socratic; Socratic Method

Further Reading

Guthrie, W. K. C. 1971. The Sophists. London: Cambridge University Press. Romilly, Jacqueline de. 1998. The Great Sophists in Periclean Athens. Oxford, UK: ­Clarendon Press. For a discussion of this philosophy, see Taylor, C. C. W., and Mi-Kyoung Lee, “The Sophists,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2020 edition), Edward N. Zalta, ed., https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sophists/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Sparta The region of Laconia in the Peloponnese contained one of the principal Greek cities, Sparta, which sat on the Eurotas River, one of the few rivers that flowed all year. Laconia lay between two mountain ranges, the Parnon in the east and the Taygetus in the west, separated by forty miles of land providing a rich plain for agriculture. Sparta (also known as Lacedaemon) was the capital of Laconia, with villages spread out around the region. Laconia was bordered on the west by ­Messenia, to the north by Arcadia, and on the east and south by the Aegean Sea. Laconia, a large, fertile piece of land, led the inhabitants to work mainly in agriculture, especially the cultivation of barley. The region also had iron mines, which would be useful in commercial undertakings and making weapons. During the late Bronze Age, the Mycenaean civilization, as related by Homer, controlled the lands from Sparta, with Menelaus as its king and Helen as its queen. The abduction of Helen by Paris, a prince of Troy, started the great Trojan War. The physical remains of the region are not extensive, but those near Sparta at Amyclae provide evidence of an ancient cult. From 1200 to 1100, the Mycenaean civilization was replaced with a new group called the Dorians. The decline of the Mycenaean kingdom occurred over time, and not because of one cause. Evidence indicates that the civilization fell due to war, pestilence, famine, or a combination of these factors. The Dorians are said to have arisen through the Heraclids, descendants of Heracles, Eurysthenes, and Proclus, as well as from the sons of

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Aristodemus, the brother of the founder of Argos. After these initial invaders, there was a second wave during the tenth century, established in four or five villages around the later Spartan acropolis. Other immigrants settled throughout Laconia in independent villages. During the ninth century, the villages around Sparta united, not just coalesced, to form the city of Sparta. What was unique about Sparta was that it contained none of the architectural accoutrements of a typical Greek polis. Although it did not have walls or the like, the city developed rapidly and became one of the earliest Greek poleis. The city-state developed rapidly and created what many Lead figure of a woman with wreath, late believed was a balanced gov- 7th–early 6th century, to Artemis Orthia in ernment. Its government took Sparta. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Gift the forms of monarchy, oligar- of A. J. B. Wace, 1924) chy (republic), and democracy. There were two kings instead of one, which provided checks and balances on one another. They were from the Agiad and Eurypontid families. Their primary function was military, as they led the Spartan armies on the battlefield. Due to their ability to check one another, it forced them to work together, or at least compromise not only with one another, but the other elements of government as well. The republic or oligarchy was housed in two groups, the Gerousia and the Ephors. The Gerousia (meaning “body of old men”) was an elected council of twenty-eight old men over the age of sixty and the two kings; it decided what policies would be presented to the assembly and examined other important matters. Since they were seasoned and experienced, their advice was often followed, especially when advocating against sudden or rash adventures. The five Ephors were elected yearly and had broad-ranging powers over the kings and the council. Since their power was so extensive, they could only hold the office once during their lifetime. The democracy element was the assembly or apella (ecclesia), which ostensibly decided all important matters. It was the final authority on all issues, and their voting was done by shouting, which was then interpreted by the Gerousia. The assembly was made up of all Spartans or Spartiates who were free-born citizens over the age of thirty. There were 9,000 homoioi (equals), who enjoyed parity before the law and held their own kleros (allotments) of land to provide support

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them. These citizens were the hoplites of the Spartan army, divided into five lochoi (companies) from the five Spartan tribes or obai, which had replaced the original three Dorian tribes. The Spartan army became the most feared group and built upon the new Argive model. The Spartiates were viewed as equal, not in economics or influence, but before the law and in status. These were distinctions not seen in other Greek cities. In many ways, the city of Sparta was a pure democracy, where all its citizens had the same rights and prestige. The Spartans were very protective of their citizenship; the number of full citizens or soldiers rarely increased but rather remained stable during the early Classical period before declining in the late fifth century. Below the rank of Spartiates were probably other Spartans who were not yet thirty or who had been demoted due to their inability to support themselves or other issues; as a result, they had no political rights; they were referred to as Inferiors. Below the Spartans was a group of individuals classified as neither slaves or citizens. These individuals were named the perioeci (meaning “dwellers around” in Greek) and probably reflected the original inhabitants, who may have been the elites and were now reduced in power. These individuals kept their own villages in and around Laconia but gave up all political freedom. They also engaged in commerce and provided Sparta with the merchants needed to interact with the outside world. They could also be organized as hoplites fighting in the army, but their status was not equal to the Spartiates. Below them were the helots. Although they had no political rights and could be ordered about by the Spartans, they were not slaves in the truest sense since they could not be bought or sold. Rather, they were more like later serfs, who were tied to the local farms, working them and paying half their produce in rent to individual Spartiates. They were probably the original inhabitants of the region when the Dorians invaded and took over Laconia. When fully developed, the Spartan system, the agoge, was highly regimented. At birth, a child was examined by the elders to determine if there were any imperfections; if so, the child would be abandoned. Males began their regimented life at age seven, when they were placed in a herd, where a Spartiate supervised them. At thirteen, they then went into another herd, where they remained for the next fourteen years, moving up through the combination of state-controlled schools and military formations. Since age seven, boys were no longer living with their families and were brutalized. They became part of a small unit, the bua, or a squad that joined together with other squads into a larger unit or troop called an ila, commanded by an eiren (a senior youth), who was under a paidonomos (senior commander). At age twenty, a youth would become an eiren and engage in military training. As yet, these boys were not full citizens. As their main training, they would enter the famous military messes or dining associations, called the pheiditia or sussitia. These clubs became the bulwark for the Spartan military and social organization. Entrance into the club required a unanimous vote of the roughly fifteen members. The mess was known for its horrible food; it was financed by deductions from their families’ land, and failure to pay such bills could result in them being blackballed, demoted to Inferiors, or delayed in their promotion to the next level.

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The youth remained in the mess until age thirty, when they became full citizens. Their sole function during this time was to train as military men. They did not have to worry about working in the fields; instead, they would join a professional army. They would train and fight with their mess mates and become a cohesive fighting unit. As related in antiquity, the Spartan system promoted a type of homosexuality in which the elder trainers or lovers (erastes) took under their guidance a younger lover (eromenos) not only as a teacher of military arts, but as a lover. The elder was held responsible for the younger man’s behavior and performance on the battlefield. While the Spartans stated publicly that this was not a sexual system (in fact, any sexual act would be punished), that was probably just a cover-up. A Spartan man was expected to marry around age twenty. The woman had the right to pick her mate. She would cut her hair and put on men’s clothes, and then she was placed on a hard bed. The groom would then come in and have sexual relations with her before hurrying back to the men’s barracks. Many times, they would only see each other secretly until a child was born. At age thirty, the man could return to his house, but he often continued to live in the barracks. A man who did not marry was often shunned and even penalized. Spartan women had many rights. They could manage their own property and act for their husbands in their absence. They could marry when and whom they wanted, and when married, they had extensive freedom, much more than any other ancient society. In addition, since the state needed to promote more children, Spartan women could take lovers, including helots. To keep the helots under control, the Spartans created the krypteia (secret police), who were responsible for ferreting out discontent among the helots. They often made an example of malcontents by killing them. Sparta did not have traditional coinage as other Greek cities did. It did not use silver but rather used iron bars as currency. This often gave rise to Spartan commanders taking bribes so as to enrich themselves and have luxury items when abroad. The bribes also allowed them to have funds in case they needed to flee Sparta and live abroad. The Spartans nevertheless were known at least until 500 for their fine workmanship in art, especially in bronze. The Spartan system did not spring up immediately. Early in this history, the Spartans expanded west into Messenia, where they subjugated the inhabitants in the First Messenian War (740–720), making them helots. In the seventh century, they faced a struggle with Argos, which defeated them at Hysiae (669), and then with Messenia in the Second Messenian War (660–650). This probably prompted the use of perioeci in the army. In the sixth century, Sparta faced a harsh struggle with Tegea, where after an initial defeat, they won the war but enacted a new policy instead of seizing their land as in Messenia. Sparta made a treaty binding itself with Tegea. They were now allies, and Sparta became heroes for eliminating tyrants and protecting the Peloponnese from Argos. This new policy created “the Lacedaemonians (Spartans) and their allies,” which became better known as the Peloponnesian League. The ultimate achievement occurred in 546 with the Spartans’ victory over Argos, which secured their leadership and military dominance. Sparta continued to be known as the Tyrant Bashers, as they systematically

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removed tyrants from power, including in Athens, where they forced Hippias to flee into exile in 510. With these victories, Sparta became the most important military power in Greece. In 499, the Ionian cities rebelled against Persia. The rebels sent a delegation to Sparta for help, which was refused. When Persia retook Ionia, Persia sent ambassadors to Western Greece in 492 to demand submission. The Persian ambassadors were killed at Sparta. In this period, the Spartan king, Demaratus, was exiled and arrived at the Persian court. He had fought the other king, Cleomenes, in several conflicts, including punishing Aegina in 492 for submitting to Persia. When Persia attacked Athens in 490, the Spartan army did not move north in time to take part in the Battle of Marathon. The Spartans were celebrating a major feast and did not move until after the battle, when they arrived a few days later, there were many Persian deaths to assess. During the interwar period, the Spartans had as their king Leonidas, the halfbrother of King Cleomenes, who was dethroned due to his insanity, which promoted anti-Persian sentiment. When Xerxes attacked in 480, Leonidas marched north with his bodyguard, 300 strong, to defend the pass at Thermopylae, while the main Spartan army waited for a religious festival to occur, similar to what had happened in 490. The Spartan army once again showed the superiority of the Greek hoplites against the Persian minimally armored troops. After the Greek victory at Salamis, the allies decided to plan the next major stage in the war. The Spartans and their allies began to build a wall across the isthmus at Corinth. In 479 the Athenians urged the Spartans to bring their army north to fight the Persians but the Spartans informed the Athenians that they had to celebrate a major festival. Athens, frustrated at the delay and inactivity of Sparta, indicated to the Spartans that they might join the Persians as allies, submit to them, or evacuate their city. Pausanias, the regent to Statue of a hoplite known as Leonidas, found in Leonidas’s son, convinced the ancient Sparta. (Lefteris Papaulakis/Dreamstime Spartans to move north, and in .com)

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479, over 100,000 soldiers from the Peloponnese arrived at Plataea near Thebes and defeated the Persians. Pausanias attempted to lead the Greeks against the Persians in the north, but his arrogance forced his recall, and Sparta gave up leadership against the Persians. The Spartans moved to isolationism. The helots rebelled in 462, and the Spartans asked Athens for help, and it sent Cimon; he was then sent away, and Athens was humiliated. Sparta during this time remained inactive in combating Athens. Ultimately, the allies of Sparta forced them to go to war against Athens in 431, in the Peloponnesian War. This war, lasting from 431 to 404, finally saw Sparta come out on top after a brutal war. The period after the war led to Spartan expansion and control until a coalition of Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Argos confronted Sparta in the Corinthian War (395-387). The conclusion led to the King’s Peace, in reference to the Persian king Artaxerxes; but it also resulted in Spartan dominance, which lasted until Thebes defeated the Spartan army in 371, leading to the breakup of the Peloponnesian League. This latter campaign led to the freeing of the helots and the destruction of Spartan power. During the next forty years, Sparta attempted to regain its power, but without success. Sparta’s power rested in its strong military. When the population declined, Sparta’s power likewise declined. Without the ability to increase its population, Sparta became less and less capable of domination. See also: Aegospotami, Battle of; Amphipolis; Archidamian War; Army; Athens; Dorian Invasion; Ecclesia; Ephors; Gerousia; Helot; Monarchy; Peloponnese; Peloponnesian War; Persian Wars; Punishment; Pylos; Sicilian Expedition; Syracuse; Thebes; Thermopylae, Battle of; Troy; Tyrants

Further Reading

Cartledge, P. 2009. Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jones, A. H. M. 1968. Sparta. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Kennell, Nigel M. 1995. The Gymnasium of Virtue: Education and Culture in Ancient Sparta. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Kennell, Nigel M. 2010. Spartans: A New History. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. For more on the culture and history of Sparta, see “Sparta,” British Museum, http://www .ancientgreece.co.uk/sparta/home_set.html (accessed May 18, 2021). For information on arts and crafts in Sparta, see Bencze, Agnes, “Art and Craft in Archaic Sparta,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, June 2014), https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/spar/hd_spar.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Stadium The word stadium derives from the Greek word stadion, meaning a unit of measurement ranging from 580 to 630 for foot races. The simplest plan had the stadium on level ground in a rectangular shape or a race course with a semicircular end or sling on the opposite side of the starting point. Races would begin at the starting point, which was called the line or discharge. The best type of stadium

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Ruins of a stadium at Delphi. (Sergey Novikov/Dreamstime.com)

was located on a level field between two hills that could provide seating for the spectators. If two hills were not available stadiums could use one hill and an artificial stand or even two artificial stands, but these would be expensive. Often the seats would range from simple wood to marble. In a full-fledged stadium, the seats were arranged in a wedge formation with tiers and a corridor at the top, often covered with a portico. At the lower level were marble seats with a drainage system to allow rainwater to be moved away from the stadium and seats. About halfway up on the long sides or length of the stadium were seats for judges and officials, usually made of marble, and at the top were wooden seats. Examples of ancient stadiums include those in Athens, Olympia, Delphi, and Epidaurus. In Athens, the stadium was located between the Ardhettos and Agra hills. Initially before the fourth century, seating was with natural ground, with the seating replaced with limestone benches by Lykourgos, an Athenian statesman. In the fifth century, the stadium at Delphi was constructed for one of the Panhellenic games. It was built north of the sanctuary and west of the theater. The northern side of the stadium was built on the side of Mount Parnassus, while the southern side had an artificial structure. The eastern side was the entrance, while the western edge had the curved sling. Later additions included a monumental entrance constructed during the Roman period. This is one of the best stadiums surviving in the Greek world. The stadium at Epidaurus lay outside the sanctuary, in a natural dip before the theater. The fifth-century edifice took a rectangular form similar to many of the early stadiums. The first five seats were excavated into natural rock. Stone seats were then added, which could be accessed by stairs. The athletes participating in the sports or games arrived through a corridor from the sacred sanctuary. The

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stadium’s length was 600 feet and its width was 75 feet. The lengthwise distance, 600 feet , was divided into separate 100-foot sections for shorter races. Perhaps the most famous stadium was at Olympia. It was rectangular, attesting to its early construction. The stadium was on the south side of a hill, while the other three sides were made of artificial hills. The Olympic Games were held every four years. The judges sat on the south side opposite the natural hill in the middle of the stadium. It could initially hold 20,000 viewers and was later expanded to hold 45,000 people. The stadium became an important structure not only for athletic competition, but as a symbol of a city’s wealth and power. See also: Athletes; Games; Horse Racing; Olympia; Olympic Games; Panhellenic Games; Polis

Further Reading

Perrottet, Tony. 2004. The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games. New York: Random House. Rutland, Jonathan, Adrian Sington, and Bill Stallion. 1986. An Ancient Greek Town. Rev. ed. London: Kingfisher Books. For more on the ancient stadium at Olympia, see “Olympia,” Olympia Greece Online City Guide, http://www.olympia-greece.org/stadium1.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Syracuse The large island of Sicily became a magnet for Greek overseas expansion. Known since Mycenaean times for trading sites established and recounted in Homer’s Odyssey, Sicily was explored and exploited by the Corinthians as they began to establish colonies in the eighth century. The largest island in the Mediterranean, Sicily measures about 170 miles on its northern and southern coasts and its eastern coast about 110 miles and is separated from the mainland by the narrow Straits of Messenia to the east. Due to its triangular shape, it was originally known as Thrinacia, from the Greek word for trident. The inhabitants in the east were native Sicels, who gave the island its name. Syracuse was the second colony established on the island (after Naxos in 733), on a former Mycenaean trading post, which had been inhabited continuously since the Paleolithic period. The colonists were from Tenea, near Corinth, and were led by Archias, who had fled after committing murder (attempted to kidnap the son of Melissus, Actaeon, whom he fell in love with, but during the attempt, Actaeon was killed and his father, who could not get justice, killed himself bringing a famine on Corinth forcing Archias to go into exile). The colonization of ­Syracuse took place the same year that Corcyra was colonized by the Corinthians, and it is clear that Corinth was making a play to expand its power in the west and link its trading system with a series of colonies. Unlike other mother cities, Corinth attempted to control its daughters, although with Corcyra this failed, and relations were hostile between them as a result. At Syracuse, the relations, although not endearing, were not hostile. In the early period after its foundation in 733 until probably 600, ­Syracuse depended on Corinth for its supplies and goods, as shown by finds of only Corinthian pottery.

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The original Corinthian settlement was on the island of Ortygia, just off the coast of Syracuse. The island’s location near the coast provided the surrounding region, the future Syracuse, with two fine harbors. The larger of them, the Great Harbor, gave the region the best anchorage. Ortygia was supplied with fresh water from a spring on the island. By the end of the eighth century, the population had increased such that it was necessary to begin colonizing the mainland. This move necessitated the expulsion of the local Sicels, who were driven into the interior mountains. On the mainland, the major districts of Syracuse included Achradina, near the harbor and the commercial center; Neapolis to the northwest, a residential center; the heights of Epipolae, which offered defensive capabilities; and Tyche to the northeast, also a residential region. Two miles southwest of the Achradina was Olympieum, dedicated to Zeus, which was beyond the marshes on a broad plain with plenty of water supplied from the River Anapus, which provided grain for the city. This region provided wealth for the landowners (gamoroi), who composed the 600-strong aristocratic assembly. The rise of Syracuse allowed the wealthy to push farther into the interior, seizing Sicel land; making some helots into kyllyrioi, who paid taxes or tribute; and establishing colonies of their own, especially in the interior on strategic mountaintops for defensive purposes. The Sicels, although more numerous, were now confined to the interior and were often seized and sold as slaves, enriching Syracuse even more. Syracuse maintained control over many of its own colonies, especially the nearby ones (an unusual occurrence in the Greek world). The city soon dominated the southeastern part of the island. Syracuse abandoned the use of Corinthian coinage and began to mint its own silver coins. By the end of the sixth century, the city of Syracuse was perhaps the greatest in the Greek world. In the early fifth century, however, the nearby Gela, under the tyrant Hippocrates, successfully defeated Syracuse at the Battle of the River Helorus, and although Corinth and Corcyra prevented it from seizing Syracuse, Gela controlled the region. Due to this disaster, the aristocratic government was overthrown and a democracy was established. Part of Syracuse’s problem was that the original aristocrats who held the choice lands grew in wealth and status, while the later arrivals and the poor had to earn their living on the poor hillsides. In addition to the multiethnic composition of the city, with various Greek populations and local Sicels, the city suffered from class distinctions and struggles. This would lead to countless civil conflicts, which hampered the city during the next few centuries; it never became great again, even with its improved position and wealth. In 485, the ruler of Gela, Gelo, took over the city and transplanted many of the inhabitants of Gela and the surrounding cities there, creating a more multiethnic population and building the residential quarters of Tyche and Neapolis. Gelo also began a series of public works, which not only provided employment but enriched the cultural heritage of the city. The most famous construction was the theater. The great playwright from Athens, Aeschylus, wrote many of his tragedies in Syracuse. The continual growth of power by Gelo and Syracuse brought Carthage, which controlled parts of western Sicily, into conflict with them. The Carthaginian forces were defeated at the Battle of Himera by Gelo in 480, supposedly on the same day as

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the Battle of Salamis. The story in Herodotus has Carthage attacking Syracuse at the time of Xerxes’s invasion of Greece as a concerted plan to take over the entire Greek world. This idea was probably a later explanation of how the western Greeks successfully defeated the eastern powers (Carthage had been founded by Phoenicia). Gelo strengthened the city walls, and the population continued to prosper. In 478, Gelo died, and power passed to Hiero, his brother, who ruled for ten years. Hiero increased Syracusan power and defeated the Etruscans and Carthaginians at the Battle of Cumae in 474. This prevented the Etruscans from taking control of the Greek cities in Campania, around the Bay of Naples. Hiero died in 467 and was succeeded by his brother Thrasybulus, and the tyranny in Syracuse ended shortly thereafter. In 466, after Hiero’s brother, Thrasybulus, was overthrown, Syracuse became democratic again. The city continued to grow, and during the late fifth century, it became part of Athens’s desired plan to seize both the city and island of Syracuse. This led to the Athenian Sicilian Expedition in 415–413, where the Athenians arrived with over 130 triremes and nearly 6,000 soldiers. The Athenians attacked Syracuse and although defeating the Syracusan navy they could not take the city. The Spartans sent a general, Gylippus, who organized the Syracusans and defeated the Athenian ground forces, preventing another attempt by Athens to take Syracuse. An Athenian relief force with 75 ships and 5,000 soldiers arrived, but it was ineffective, especially since many of the Athenians camping near the marshes had become ill. The Athenians now planned to leave when more reinforcements arrived from Sparta. Before they could leave, however, a lunar eclipse occurred on August 28, 413, which frightened the Athenians. They waited another month to leave. Syracuse took advantage of the chaos and attacked the Athenian fleet in the Great Harbor, scoring a victory. With the Athenians trapped inside the harbor, their general, Nicias, ordered the camp abandoned on September 13, with a plan to flee overland. The Syracusans attacked them and during the night, the soldiers became separated and disorganized. The Athenians were completely defeated, and most were killed. With this defeat, Nicias surrendered his force of 7,000 men, most of whom were sent to the mines, where they died. A few escaped and brought home news of the disaster to Athens. After this war, Syracuse found itself fighting with Carthage again, and it prevailed. During this time, an elected military commander, Dionysius, seized power in 406 and became tyrant. Dionysius the Elder increased his power by using mercenaries. From 397 to 392, he fought a war with Carthage but failed to drive it out of Sicily. He built a series of strong walls around Syracuse and enlarged its power. He died in 367 and was succeeded by his son, Dionysius the Younger. The young tyrant was advised by his uncle, Dion, who attempted to control the young man but failed and was sent into exile. Dion returned in 357 and defeated Dionysius the Younger who fled. Dion ruled till 354 when he assassinated on orders of Dionysius the Younger. Dionysius returned in 346 to Syracuse and during the political chaos reestablished himself until he ultimately was overthrown by Timoleon of Corinth in 344 and exiled to Corinth, where he died the next year. Timoleon attempted to stabilize the situation and defeated the Carthaginians in 339, but with his death, a

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Lunar Eclipse Spells Disaster for Athens at Syracuse The ancients always had a fascination about and fear of astrological events. Since most people could not determine when such an event would take place, they would usually see it as an omen, normally negative. Thucydides in his work The Peloponnesian War describes a lunar eclipse that took place during the Sicilian Expedition, which forced the Athenians to delay their escape, giving the Syracusians time to consolidate their position and destroy them as shown in the following excerpt. As soon as they were come, the Syracusians again presently prepared to set upon the Athenians, both by sea and land. The Athenian generals seeing them have another army, and their own not bettering, but every day growing worse than other, but especially as being pressed to it by the sickness of the soldiers, repented now that they removed not before: and Nicias being now no longer against it as he was, but desirous only that it might not be concluded openly, gave order unto all as secretly as was possible to put forth of the harbour, and to be ready when the sign should be given. But when they were about it, and everything was ready, the moon happened to be eclipsed: for it was full moon. And not only the greatest part of the Athenians called upon the generals to stay, but Nicias also (for he was addicted to superstition and observations of that kind somewhat too much) said that it should come no more into debate whether they should go or not, till the three times nine days were past, which the soothsayers appoint in that behalf. And the Athenians, though upon going, stayed still for this reason. Source: Hobbes, Thomas, William Molesworth, Thucydides, and Homer. 1843. The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury. London: J. Bohn, Volume 9, pp. 279–280.

series of internal struggles in Syracuse were waged for the next generation, leading the tyrant Agathocles to seize power in 317. The fortunes of Syracuse were constantly hindered by its civil strife. The internecine wars between the aristocrats and the general population were never resolved, leading to the rise of tyrants, who in turn could never create a stable government. With all its seesawing power struggles, the city never regained the power and glory it had enjoyed during the sixth century. See also: Akragas; Carthage; Gela; Heraclea Minoa; Himera; Magna Graecia; Sicilian Expedition; Sparta; Tyrants

Further Reading

Cartledge, P. 2009. Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Evans, Richard J. 2016. Ancient Syracuse: From Foundation to Fourth Century Collapse. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company. Kagan, Donald. 1991. The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Robinson, E. W. 1997. The First Democracies: Early Popular Government Outside Athens. Stuttgart: F. Steiner. Sanders, L. J. 1987. Dionysius I of Syracuse and Greek Tyranny. New York: Croom Helm (in association with Methuen). For a general history of Syracuse, see “History of Syracuse (1),” Livius.org, 2008, https:// www.livius.org/articles/place/syracuse/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

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T Taxation For the Greeks, the idea of taxation rested on property or wealth that could readily be seen, usually meaning either land or produce. It is better, however, to think of taxation as public revenue, or what the state had access to and could spend. The best-known tax system is that of Athens, given that it was the largest and richest state in the Greek world. The revenue coming into Athens during the fifth century was tribute or external revenue (taxation) and internal revenue. It appears that during the time of the Peisistratids in the sixth century, there was a 5 percent tax on agricultural income, although this did not survive their rule and the tax was abandoned. The Athenians taxed prostitutes, silver (presumably mining), and foreigners. It is hard to determine who paid taxes in Athens since there are few records. It is probable that the wealthiest 2,000 men were liable for most of the direct taxes, which would probably account for at least 50 percent of the total wealth in Athens. At the start of the Peloponnesian War, the historian Thucydides stated that Athens received 600 talents a year from external sources (i.e., tribute). This account is augmented by the historian philosopher Xenophon, who stated that the Athenian revenue for the same period from both internal and external sources was 1,000 talents a year. This would indicate that the Athenians collected 400 talents a year from their internal or domestic receipts. The magnitude of these figures is further correlated with the playwright Aristophanes, who in 422 said that the revenue Athens received from home and abroad was 2,000 talents, which occurred due to a reevaluation of foreign tribute and a special tax on the wealthy that produced another 200 talents a year. Although all of these figures are rounded off, it is probable that the magnitude of each author was correct, establishing that Athens during peacetime took in 1,000 talents and during the early period of the war took in an extra 1,000 talents a year. The majority of Athens’s external revenue or tribute went to servicing the fleet. A total of 600 talents would have been required to keep 100 triremes or warships in service for six months. The external revenue came in the form of tribute from the allied states. The tribute became part of the contribution originally made to the Delian League to fight against Persia. When the treasury was moved from Delos to Athens in 454, the tribute was calculated not only for the total contribution of the league, but for each city-state separately. The surviving lists record the aparchai, meaning one-sixtieth, given to Athena from the tribute of the city-states. Most likely, this was the amount originally given to Apollo at Delos, and then to Athena when the treasury was transferred. The lists were carved on stone in Athens.

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The records seem to show that tribute was collected each year, and for 453–439, the amounts were inscribed on a single slab of marble, while for the next eight years (438–431) on another block, and then for each year afterward on a separate block. There appears to be no record for the year 448, when peace between Persia and the Delian League occurred, and it may have been this year that the tribute was used exclusively by Athens. This tribute was changed in 413 to a 5 percent duty on all goods transported by sea; presumably, it was to benefit Athens and probably represents an even larger amount than the tribute. It seems that the tribute was reintroduced in 410. The tribute lists tended to record the neighboring states together, so by 442, there were five regional areas: Ionian, Hellespontine, Thracian, Carian, and the Islands; in 437, the interior of Caria was abandoned, probably due to Persian conquest, and Caria was combined with Ionia. The amounts varied greatly, with Aegina contributing 300 drachmas, the yearly wages for one person, to Thasos at 30 talents (a talent equaled 6,000 drachmae) per year. The levels were reassessed every four years, with the amounts remaining consistent rising in a constant fashion until 430 and in 428 and 425, when the amounts were increased due to the Peloponnesian War. In addition to the aparchai, there are fragments of the assessment lists of 425, 422, and 410, which give valuable information on the total amount given by each state. From the aparchai and later assessment lists, it is possible to perceive general trends. The first assessment in 478 amounted to 460 talents. The states could provide ships or money, but ultimately most of them commuted the amount as money; therefore, by 431, only Chios and Lesbos provided ships. In 450, the tribute was just under 432 talents. Although these figures are below Thucydides’s 600 talents, it may be that he had included the ships in his calculations. The internal revenue included the revenue from the mines of Laurium. Although again its round number of 100 talents is somewhat suspect, one source claimed that that amount of revenue was the return in the 480s. This was probably the largest single contribution for the state. It was known that the city rented slaves from private owners who worked in the mines. It is probably not incorrect to suggest that a quarter of Athens’s domestic income came from the mines since when the Spartans captured them in the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians had to dip into their reserves. The other large contributor to the state were the imposts collected on trade in the agora and port of Piraeus. These market and harbor dues were normally paid by the merchants bringing goods to Athens to sell. These dues were rents calculated based on a percentage of the value of the goods. By 422, when the war was dragging on, Athens imposed a 1 percent excise tax on duties, fines, market and harbor dues, public sales, mine leases, and public contracts. Even this 1 percent produced a large amount of revenue for the city. At the end of the fifth century, there were references to a 2 percent import/export tax. This implies that a regular tax on trade existed in Athens. The Athenians also levied a 10 percent transit tax for the Bosporos dating to the end of the Peloponnesian War. Using their colony of Chrysopolis near Byzantion, the Athenians fortified and garrisoned it, levying a tax on ships leaving the Black Sea. There was also a tax imposed on grain in this

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region of 8.5 percent, referred to as the one-twelfth, and this could have been a tax in kind of the grain ships coming from southern Russia. Since no type of income tax existed at this time, the state had to rely on taxes on produce (tithes) and property taxes, as well as the previously mentioned indirect taxes. Since the ancients did not use any type of double-entry bookkeeping, this system mainly equated income and capital. There was no system to produce an annual income tax or tax leases and rents. In the Athenian system, money was regularly deposited in temples to be accumulated, so by the beginning of the war, the city had a reserve of 6,000 talents. These types of taxes were not the only way for a city-state to collect funds. Another was the system of liturgies, which meant that wealthy Athenians were required to provide some type of service to the city. In a sense, they were taxes on the wealthy. The individual could do a choregia, where a wealthy man underwrote the cost of putting on the production of a chorus (series of dramas, comedies, and musical entertainment) at one of the major festivals. There may have been nearly 100 annual liturgies for these festivals. There was the gymnasiarchia, who paid for the festival torch-races and probably also the general running of a gymnasium. The Panathenaic Games were also in part supported by the wealthy. Another type of liturgy was the construction of monuments or buildings. For example, the Stoa Poikile (Painted Porch) of Peisianax was funded by an individual. If an individual was selected to undertake a liturgy and he felt that someone who was wealthier had been bypassed and could pay instead, he could challenge the other individual to an exchange of property, or antidosis. This allowed a check on the wealthy since if someone did not undertake a liturgy and someone else had, the former would either lose property in the antidosis or have to undertake the liturgy to save his wealth. The most important liturgy was the trierarchy. The trierarch had to pay for the cost of outfitting a warship (excluding the rowers’ pay) for a year. This was an expensive undertaking, even when two men shared the expenses. The system was modified in the 350s so that 1,200 of the wealthiest Athenians were grouped into twenty symmoriai (partnerships), where each contributed the same amount. This liturgy was the most important for the Athenians since it allowed the city to expand its empire in the fifth century. In addition, there were special levies or eisphorai, imposed during times of hardship. Thucydides indicated that this amounted to 200 talents in 428, when the Athenians were besieging Mytilene. In the fourth century, it appears that a 1 percent tax would yield 60 talents, indicating a total valuation of property at 6,000 talents. It is not clear how the value was determined, but it might have been based on a type of census declaration or on the city’s general level of wealth. Most foreigners did not have to worry about paying these extra levies or liturgies. One foreign group that did have to pay them were the metics, or resident aliens. These were individuals who were not transient visitors but rather foreigners who wished to live in Athens permanently and enjoy some of a citizen’s rights. In these instances, the metic would be liable to pay all the liturgies except for the trierarchy. The idea of liturgies, at least initially, was that the wealthy would make a gift to the city. Undoubtedly, the wealthy also realized that they would receive benefits

538 Temples

from these gifts, including honor, prestige, and notoriety. This might help someone win a court case or be elected, or even affect the type of liturgy a person received from the general assembly. There also appears to have been taxes paid at the local level in Athens, the demes. There were also taxes for religious purposes, imposed apparently to fund the state cults just before the war with Sparta, and such taxes may be seen as a way to receive help from the gods. The system of taxation or state revenue existed in other Greek cities as well, but they are less well known. In Sparta, wealth mainly existed in the form of land and farm produce, while Corinth’s taxation probably mirrored Athens due to their trade. Other cities clearly had import/export taxes, as well as taxes on produce and imposts for visitors and professions such as prostitutes. These taxes allowed the city to construct public works, pay its military forces, and when necessary bribe other cities or leaders. The taxes allowed the running of the state, but since each state was small and not coordinated with others, the Greek world could not compete with Macedon and Persia in terms of financial power. See also: Athenian Empire; Delian League; Persia; Tribute

Further Reading

Meritt, Benjamin Dean, Malcolm Francis McGregor, and Henry Theodore Wade-Gery. 1939. The Athenian Tribute Lists. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Rutishauser, Brian. 2012. Athens and the Cyclades: Economic Strategies 540–314 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Thomsen, Rudi. 1964. Eisphora: A Study of Direct Taxation in Ancient Athens. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.

Temples Greek temples were the earthly home and a sacred area for the gods and goddesses. With the temple normally facing east, the rising sun often would illuminate it as the main source of light, supplemented by the occasional oil lamp. Some temples such as the Parthenon at Athens had marble tiles for the roof, potentially allowing some diffusion and reflection of the existing light. Cult statues were made of a variety of materials; at first, they were probably wood or terra-cotta, and later statues were marble. Often, the statue was covered with clothes and other accoutrements made of ivory and gold. The most famous statues were Phidias’s Athena at Athens and Zeus at Olympia. Typically, the statue was life size, but occasionally it could be larger, such as at Athens and Olympia. The temples housed the cult statue of a god that gave the earthly, physical representation of that god. Since gods could move throughout the world, their representation in temples allowed them to be present in a particular place. The temple was part of a complex system or sanctuary for the worship of a god. The entire complex was usually enclosed by a wall or fence called a peribolos. This wall enclosed the temenos, which the city officially designated as being owned by or otherwise belonging to the god. The temenos could also be part of a sacred grove, which would not have a peribolos in the same form and perhaps only had boundary stones or marker instead of a wall or fence.

Temples 539

Temple of Hephaestus in an ancient agora in Athens. (Timpatimpa1/Dreamstime.com)

A Greek temple had a cella or naos, a room where the cult statue was kept. This was the most important room in the temple. Often goods were placed in the naos for the god. The naos would have columns on either side of the walls that created three corridors, with the central one axially moving from the front door to the cult statue. In many later temples, there was another room off the naos, the adyton, a restricted area where the cult statue was kept. In this case, the naos would be used to house votive goods. This room would be farthest from the main entry and accessible only from the naos. These rooms were accessible only to the priests, priestesses, and oracles, not the general public. In front of the naos, toward the main entry was the pronaos, where the walls of the naos were extended on either side. It was the inner room of a portico between the naos and the entry colonnade, usually with two columns between the walls. It could often be as long as the naos and could be open such that the walls were replaced with columns. Sometimes there was a door on the far side of the pronaos that could seal off the naos. Many of the Greek temples had a similar room in the rear, an opisthodomos (back porch), which had no connection to the adyton or naos and was present only for aesthetic reasons, to give proportion. Often this room, which had a door between the two columns, could be closed off to make it secure, such as in the Parthenon, where it was used as a treasury. Greek temples are known for their styles often being designed with mathematic proportions. They came in a variety of shapes and styles. There were round temples, a tholos, and rectangular structures of varying sizes. The simplest temple had four walls, creating a naos or cella. This was then augmented by antae (pillars) on either side of a doorway. The antae often were elongated from the side walls of the cella, creating a pronaos. If the temple also had an opisthodomos, it would be called

540 Temples

a double anta temple. The entire system of the temple, with the naos, adyton, pronaos, and opisthodomos, would then be surrounded by columns on all four sides, forming an entity called the peristasis; if there were two rows of columns, it was called a dipteros. These columns were usually in a single row around the perimeter of the structure, producing a porch or portico. If there was not a set of columns around the temple but only in the front, it was called a prostyle; when the same also occurred in the rear of the temple, it was called amphiprostyle. A further delineation was the number of columns in the front and/or back. Two columns were called distyle, four as tetrastyle, six as hexastyle, eight as octastyle, and ten as decastyle. Most of the temples had an even number of columns, although some with odd numbers exist, such as the one dedicated to Hera at Paestum. The number of columns was often determined by a formula where the number of side columns was one more than twice the number on the front, so four columns in the front had nine columns on each side. Temples could reach a height of 60 feet with some large temples measuring over 100 feet wide by 300 feet long. To prevent the optical illusion that the center was sagging, it was common to raise the center column by a few inches or have the columns swell out a bit. Temples were usually elevated from the ground level through the creation of an underground foundation (stereobate); the upper level of the foundation layer was the euthynteria, which protruded from the ground and allowed the temple’s building to be constructed (usually of local stone). On top of this was the crepidoma, an elevated platform of three levels, each decreasing in size so they resembled steps. On the top was the stylobate, a platform where the columns were placed. The columns placed on this level tapered toward the top. Each column with made from separate drums placed on top of each other. The columns had cut grooves or flutings, the Doric with eighteen to twenty and the Ionic with twentyfour. The Doric column stood on the stylobate itself, while the Ionic rested on a base on the stylobate. The top of the column had the capital, which supported the entablature. The Doric order had an entablature with two parts: the architrave, resting between the columns, and the frieze above the architrave, which was sometimes plain and sometimes decorated. The frieze often contained representations of battle scenes in a continuous form around the temple. There were triglyphs, or channeled tablets of the frieze. Between these triglyphs was the metope, an architectural sculpture that was usually self-contained, unlike the frieze. The metope and triglyph should be viewed as a single unit. The frontal decorative portion, the triangle gable on the lintel, became an important component for the decoration of the temple. On the roof were an acroterion on the corner and ridges that could be statues or simple architectural forms. The friezes and metopes, as well as columns and other parts, were painted in various colors, usually blue, red, and white. Temples were probably open to city residents, with some restrictions based upon the particular cult. For example, virgins might have been accepted into one temple and married women into another. Slaves were probably allowed at certain times, while elected officials probably had more regular access and priests had

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almost complete freedom to enter. In antiquity, some temples had prostitutes in their service, such as the one for Aphrodite at Corinth. However, most temples probably did not offer such services. Some of the famous and notable Doric temples included the Parthenon in Athens, built under Pericles’ legislation to glorify the city. It was laid out in eight columns by seventeen columns, again in traditional proportions, and was considered a pure peripteros. Its pronaos had six columns at the entryway. It also had a shortened antae wall for the pronaos. The Temple of Hera, or Heraion, at Olympia, the oldest temple, was once also associated with Zeus. The Doric temple was built in 590. It had six columns in front and rear, and sixteen on each side that created a narrower view. It was constructed of wood initially, and only later made of stone. The temple to Zeus at Olympia was built in 460 being six by thirteen columns. This temple is known for its canonical proportions. Other well-preserved temples are located at Paestum in Italy and Agrigento in Sicily. A number of famous Ionic temples existed at Ephesus, including the Artemision, which was a marble dipteros that was 151 feet wide and 377 feet long, the largest temple in antiquity. Another Ionic temple was at Didyma, dedicated to Apollo; it also was a dipteros, and its construction was begun in 540 and stopped in 500, only to be restarted in 331. Most of the Classical temples were constructed and paid for by cities or by a ruler such as the tyrant Pisistratus. The financial strain on cities that wanted to build temples could be immense; usually the projects were paid for by taxes, special levies, or gifts. In Athens, the construction of the Parthenon and its financing were approved through the public vote of the assembly, and the funds came from the subject’s tribute. Architects were asked to submit plans, and a committee created by the assembly selected the winner. The supervision of the actual building and the awarding of contracts for various aspects of the building were then the responsibility of another committee, whose members would make sure that the construction of the various elements met the necessary standards and that the workers were paid. Since many of the contractors were small shops, each one was responsible for only part of the construction. The workers were paid by the day. The temples were central parts of the community. They allowed the celebration of cults to protect a city. Since religion was a communal affair for the safety of the city and not for the individual’s salvation, temples were crucial for both the public and the city. The actual sacrifice of goods, slaughtered animals, or grain/vegetables, burnt offerings, was done outside the temple on an altar in front of the temple. The priests and priestesses would offer burnt offerings to the god or goddess, and the people would then partake in a sacred meal. The celebrations of the temple allowed not only the protection of the city, but the glorification of the city. The great festival to Athena, the Panathenaia, allowed the glorification of Athens, especially during the time of Pericles. The temple became the central point of the celebration, when subject states brought their tribute to Athens. The very act was partly designed to humiliate the subjects to show that they were dependent not only upon the goddess Athena, but on her favored city, Athens.

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Gods and Goddesses in Greece Gods and goddesses in Greece played a variety of roles and came from different periods and regions. Newer additions included the Olympian Gods, Zeus and his brothers and sisters, which superseded the earlier indigenous deities seen as the primordial gods, especially nature, and the Titans. The following is a list of the Greek gods with their Roman counterparts and roles and/or attributes. Greek Name

Roman Name

Role and Attribute

Aphrodite

Venus

Goddess of Love

Apollo

Apollo

God of Music and Medicine

Ares

Mars

God of War

Artemis

Diana

Goddess or Hunt

Asclepius

Vejovis

God of Healing

Athena

Minerva

Goddess of Wisdom

Atlas

Atlas

Titan who carried the Earth

Chaos

N/A

First deity/primordial god

Cronus

Saturn

Titan, son of Uranus and Gaia

Demeter

Ceres

Goddess of Harvest

Dionysus

Bacchus

God of Wine

Eos

Aurora

Goddess of Dawn

Eros

Cupid

God of Love

Gaia

Terra

Pre-Titan Goddess of Earth

Hades

Pluto

God of the Underworld

Helios

Sol

God of the Sun

Hephaestus

Vulcan

God of Forge

Hera

Juno

Goddess of Marriage

Heracles

Hercules

Hero, son of Zeus

Hermes

Mercury

God of Messengers

Hypnos

Somnus

God of Sleep

Nereus

N/A

Titan-God of Sea before Poseidon

Nike

Victoria

Goddess of Victory

Oceanus

Oceanus

Titan-God of Oceans and Waters

Pan

Faunus

God of Shepherds

Persephone

Proserpine

Goddess of the Underworld

Poseidon

Neptune

God of Sea

Rhea

Ops

Titan, Wife of Cronus

Selene

Luna

Goddess of the Moon

Tartarus

Tartarus

Primordial below Hades from Chaos

Uranus

Uranus

Son/wife of Gaia; father of the Titans

Zeus

Jupiter

King of the Gods

Thasos 543 See also: Architecture; Mystery Religion; Olympic Religion; Parthenon; Polis; Religion; Sex

Further Reading

Broad, William J. 2006. The Oracle: The Lost Secrets and Hidden Message of Ancient Delphi. New York: Penguin Press. Jenkins, Ian. 2006. Greek Architecture and Its Sculpture. London: British Museum. Scully, Vincent. 2013. The Earth, the Temple, and the Gods: Greek Sacred Architecture. Revised ed. San Antonio: Trinity University Press. Spawforth, Antony. 2006. The Complete Greek Temples. London: Thames & Hudson. For a schematic plan and pictures of temples, see “Ancient Greek Temples,” University of Chicago, https://web.archive.org/web/20071119134731/http://home.uchicago.edu /~bdcline/AAM/html/Temples.html (accessed May 18, 2021). For a general overview of this topic, see “Introduction to Greek Architecture,” Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations /greek-art/beginners-guide-greece/a/introduction-to-greek-architecture (accessed May 18, 2021).

Thasos Thasos, an island off the coast of Thrace in northern Greece, became an important polis and member of the Athenian League. A mountainous island sixteen miles in diameter, was five miles offshore, opposite the River Nestus, just east of Chalcidice. Its original inhabitants came from the Thracian region during the Neolithic period, and by the late Bronze Age, it had not only become an important Thracian village but soon attracted the attention of the Phoenicians, who mined the nearby shore mountains, especially Mount Pangaeum, for gold. The Phoenicians established a temple to their god Melqart, which many Greeks equated with Heracles. A later Greek temple with five rooms was the chief temple, and it was situated in the lower city, near the harbor. The island, although mountainous, had a good supply of water and rich valleys. The original Thracian tribe, the Sintes, were defeated and probably assimilated by colonists from the island of Paros under Telesicles, an aristocrat, in about 650. Joining him as a colonist or in a second wave that closely followed was the poet Archilochus. This conquest of the island took only about twenty years, and within a short time, they also established colonies on the shoreland. They appear to have had friendly relations with the native Thracians and soon dominated the gold and silver mines on the mainland. Although gold mines probably did not exist on the island of Thasos, it did have sufficient silver mines to allow it to become prosperous and mint its own coins, which showed a satyr carrying off a nymph. During the sixth century, the island began to expand economically by exporting timber to other city-states for the construction of their ships. In addition, Thasos became known for its own brand of wine, which was exported and widely sought after. By 500, their exploitation of the mines both on the mainland and the island made it the most important and powerful Greek city-state and colony in the north. All of these factors allowed Thasos to build a powerful fleet and control the region. During the Ionian revolt, after the fall of Miletus, Histiaeus, the Ionian leader, attacked the city. The island, warned of his intent, built a strong navy and

544 Thasos

fortified the city. The strength of the island and city probably prompted the Persian king Darius to seize them. In 491, the island was forced to submit to the Persians in their first attempt to attack Greece before Marathon. During this time, the forts protecting their city and harbor were destroyed, although the island probably regained its freedom. During the fifth century, the annual revenue of the island and the surrounding region amounted to over 200 talents, an immense amount that made it highly attractive. The island’s capital, also named Thasos, had two harbors. It is probable that the city was taken by Darius’s son, Xerxes, in his subsequent invasion of Greece in 480. With the Persian defeat, the island joined the new Delian League and sent a large fleet. Within a short time, the Athenians demanded that the mines be turned over to them, and Thasos revolted, probably in 465. The Athenians defeated Thasos’ fleet and began to lay siege to the city for two years. In 463, they city fell, and the Athenians ordered the destruction of its fortifications, surrender of its fleet, and to give up control over the mainland regions, especially the mines. In addition, it was required to pay an indemnity and annual payments for over 20 talents a year. The historian Thucydides, who described the rebellion, noted that this was one of the events that showed the change of Athens from the democratic Delian League to the Athenian Empire. It is probable that the Athenians realized the riches that they could obtain by reducing Thasos, so they were probably the aggressor, using the pretext of helping protect the smaller states of the region. The Athenians had sent a large group of colonists to Amphipolis, which would have allowed them to control the region. During the siege, the colony was destroyed by the Thracians and gave hope to Thasos. In addition, Sparta was supposed to attack Athens, but before it could, an earthquake and subsequent helot rebellion prevented it. Thasos remained a tribute-paying member of the Athenian Empire, and when the oligarchic revolution broke out in Athens in 411, the Thasians likewise rebelled and admitted the Spartans. The pro-Spartan party was ousted in 407, and the Athenians once again controlled the island until 405, when after the Battle of Aegospotami, the victorious Spartans took the city under General Lysander. After the fall of Athens, the island once again became important and was controlled by the Athenians in the Second Athenian League, when they faced Philip of Macedon. It appears to have been independent until about 340. The island was the subject of one of the disputes between Philip and Athens, again over its rich gold and silver mines. See also: Athenian Empire; Delian League; Macedon; Scythians

Further Reading

Errington, R. M., and Catherine Errington. 1993. A History of Macedonia. New York: Barnes & Noble. Hammond, N. G. L. 1989. The Macedonian State: Origins, Institutions, and History. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. Meiggs, Russell. 1972. The Athenian Empire. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. To read a fascinating tale of an athlete, Theagenes of Thasos, see “Athlete’s Story,” ­Perseus Project at Tufts University, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/theag .html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Theater 545

Theater Plays in the areas of tragedy and comedy (satire) were produced in structures that ultimately became called theaters. The Greeks performed their plays outdoors, originally in open spaces. The early plays were simple choral presentations that were probably related to local festivals celebrating their patron god or goddess or relating the deeds of great heroes. Ultimately, a theater would be built into a hillside, where viewers could see the performers, and it eventually developed into a standard structure with common attributes. The Greek theater had a variety of different parts. The Greek theatron, from which the theater took its name, meaning “viewing area,” was where the public would sit and watch the performance. After being sited on a hillside, the viewing area would be made of wooden boards, with some participants sitting on cushions for extra comfort. By the fourth century, permanent marble seats were constructed. The size of the viewing area depended on the population of the city and the size of the hill. The orchestra, originally called the “dancing space,” was a circular space originally allowing the participants to dance, sing, and perform. Like the early theatron, the orchestra was merely hard-packed clay or dirt, which was later paved with marble or stone. Since the theater was originally part of a religious festival, the center of the orchestra contained an altar. While the size of the orchestra varied, the diameter of the orchestra at Athens for the theater of Dionysus was sixty feet in diameter. Running in front of the theatron and orchestra were passageways from both sides, where the chorus and actors entered and exited. Called paradoi, these passageways were also used by viewers as they entered and exited the theatron. The

View of the ancient Greek theater of Taormina, with Mount Etna volcano in the background. (Michelangelo Oprandi/Dreamstime.com)

546 Thebes

actors would perform on the far side of the orchestra, away from the theatron, on a stage raised a couple of feet above the orchestra. Measuring about ten feet deep and twenty-five feet wide, the stage allowed the actors to perform and interact with the chorus. Behind the stage was the skene, a building whose name means “tent,” which could be decorated with scenery that suited the play. The structure had at least one set of doors by which actors could enter and exit the stage. There was access to the top of the skene for actors to perch on or by which actors could be raised and lowered if needed via a machine or crane. This gave rise to the phrase deus ex machina, where a play’s seemingly inescapable dilemma is resolved by an unlikely or unbelievable event—namely, a god coming down and saving the day Several famous theaters still exist. In Athens, there is the theater of Dionysus, with a sanctuary with two temples celebrated the cult of this god. The fifth-century theater was small, with wooden and stone seats and a small, semicircular orchestra with a stage and skene. The theater is located on the southwest side of the Acropolis. The theater at Epidaurus also is well preserved with the theatron, skene, and orchestra. There were fifty-five rows of seats divided by thirteen staircases, with a diazoma separating the twenty-one steep upper rows and thirty-four lower rows. The front row had seats with back supports. Facing the theatron was a one-story stage resting on fourteen pillars, with painted wooden panels between the pillars except for the two middle pillars, which were open. It was designed and constructed in the fourth century. The lower level could seat about 6,200 people, and the upper about 8,000. It had excellent acoustics and is the best-preserved theater, with modern performances still being put on there. At Eretria was an early theater, dated to either the fifth century or late fourth century, made of wood. It had a circular orchestra, and the theatron had eleven wedges and could hold about 6,000 spectators. Many of the later theaters were constructed during the postClassical period. Theaters allowed the public to be both entertained and educated by the shows performed there. See also: Architecture; Athens; Comedy; Tragedy

Further Reading

Brooke, Iris. 1962. Costume in Greek Classic Drama. London: Methuen. Wiles, David. 2000. Greek Theatre Performance: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. For a brief introduction to theater in antiquity, see Hemingway, Colette, “Theater in Ancient Greece,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004), http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/thtr/hd_thtr .html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Thebes The city of Thebes had a rich history, as related in mythology. According to legend, the town was established either by Cadmus from Tyre or Zeus’s son, Amphion. In addition, Heracles was also credited with helping the city in battles against other Greek cities. Perhaps the most famous resident was Oedipus, he of the infamous family tragedy.

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A Sorry Story The legend of Oedipus, like all Greek tragedies, was one of misunderstanding. An oracle said that a son of the Theban king Laius would kill his father, marry his mother, and take over. Fearing this, the king had his newborn son, Oedipus, exposed, but the baby was saved by a shepherd and raised by Polybus, the king of Corinth. When Oedipus discovered from the oracle of Delphi that he was destined to kill his father, he fled Corinth under the mistaken belief that his adopted father was his birth father. On the road, Oedipus met Laius and killed him in a quarrel. When Oedipus arrived at Thebes, the city was reeling from the recent death of its king and was being harassed by the Sphinx. The Sphinx had the head of a woman, body of a lion, and wings of a bird. She would pose a question and if the answer was wrong, would kill and eat the respondent. She guarded the city of Thebes and would ask a riddle of travelers that seems not to have been standardized. The Sphinx asked ­Oedipus the following riddle: Which creature has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and then three-footed, to which Oedipus then answered correctly, man for as a baby it crawls (four-footed), as an adult walks (two-footed), and as an old man uses a cane (three-footed), which then freed the city from the monster. The prophecy then stated that whoever had defeated the Sphinx won the right to ascend to the kingship and marry the widowed queen Jocasta (fulfilling the prophecy in its entirety). Oedipus and Jocasta would have two sons and two daughters. Years later, when a plague befell Thebes because the killer of King Laius was not punished, Oedipus discovered the truth about what had happened. In horror and shame, Oedipus blinded himself and went into exile, later dying in Athens. His mother/wife Jocasta committed suicide, and their sons both died fighting for the throne.

Thebes controlled a rich plain, with its capital on the southern edge of the plain. The acropolis, called the Cadmeia, was located on a peninsula half a mile by a quarter mile wide. The Cadmeia overlooked the town and the gorges of the rivers Dirce and Ismenus. During the Minoan and Mycenaean periods, the palace was a large and important royal structure, probably with the same magnitude as the one at Mycenae. It sat on the important trade route from the north, at Thessaly, to the south, at the Isthmus of Corinth. In addition, the palace received extensive revenue from its control over the rich plain and its agriculture. Before the Trojan War, the palace was destroyed, and Homer does not mention Thebes in his catalog of ships from Boeotia. After the Trojan War, the Boeotians arrived from Thessaly and settled Thebes. The region became a mixture of Greek dialects, including pre-Dorian Arcadian, Thessalian, and Aeolic, as well as Dorian. This would all make sense since Boeotia was at the crossroads of Greece. The city of Thebes began to recover after the Boeotian immigration. It did not have the ability to control the entire region as Athens did in Attica, and by the eighth century, there were at least twelve independent city-states. Thebes took leadership of a federal league the Boeotian League encompassing many of the cities of Boeotia. This league minted a type of federal coinage and banded together for protection against Thessaly in the north and Athens in the south. The city of Thebes was ruled by a small aristocracy originally based on birth, which later gave way to wealth, primarily due to the raising of pigs. This oligarchy controlled the city and was initially on favorable terms with the tyrants of Athens until the two cities went to war over Plataea. During the war, Plataea asked Sparta

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for help, and it suggested that Plataea ask Athens instead. Athens and Plataea defeated the Thebans, and the Plataeans received land from Thebes. Thebes and Athens were now enemies, and Thebes joined an alliance with Sparta. Thebes would submit to Persia during the Persian Wars, and after their victory in the Battle of Plataea in 479, the Athenians advocated that Thebes should be destroyed. Sparta rejected this claim since it would create a power vacuum, and Sparta feared Athens would take advantage. During the rise of the Athenian Empire, the Thebans provided a counterweight on land in central Greece against the Athenians. In 431, the Athenians attacked the city of Plataea, which Thebes now controlled and was the gateway to Boeotia, which began the Peloponnesian War. During that war, Thebes sided with Sparta, although there was tension between them since Sparta wanted to ensure that Thebes remain a second-class power. After Athens was defeated, the Thebans wanted to destroy it, but again Sparta refused. During the next thirty years, Sparta attempted to control the Greek world. The growing resentment of Thebes against Sparta led to the Battle of Leuctra, in which Thebes defeated the Spartan army in 371. The Theban army developed a new series of tactics incorporating the use of cavalry in conjunction with a strong concentrated Theban infantry force, the Sacred Band, which massed the infantry into a strong wedge of 300 hoplites. The Sacred Band spearheaded an attack that gave them more firepower and strength when fighting in a small area. The Theban victory was not universally celebrated, as Athens now realized that its traditional enemy had now become supreme. The Theban victory caused the Spartan league to fragment. Many of the states under Spartan control now expelled the oligarchs who had supported Sparta in favor of democratic forces. The Thebans supported the idea of a Pan-Arcadian league, with Mantinea as the major city. The Theban army under its leader Epaminondas arrived in Arcadia and helped the league. Thebes were then persuaded by the Mantineans not to leave but to march on Sparta instead. With four divisions taking four different roads, the allies advanced to Sellasia, a town to the north of Sparta that had been burned. The army advanced toward Sparta on the bank of the Eurotas River. The river was swollen, and the allied army could not cross the river into Sparta; with the only bridge heavily guarded, the city was saved. The Spartans now received reinforcements from Corinth and a few other cities, forcing Epaminondas to abandon his attack. Instead of returning to Thebes, he led the army west to Messenia, where he ended Spartan control and established an independent Messenia hostile to Sparta. In 369, Epaminondas returned to Thebes, having humiliated Sparta. A few months after his first invasion of the Peloponnese, Epaminondas returned again as the head of another Theban army. The Thebans were successful at breaking through the lines, but Sparta now received support from its old ally, Syracuse, in Sicily, which sent Celtic and Iberian mercenaries. Epaminondas retreated without achieving much. Thebes put garrisons into the Peloponnesian cities as they retreated to make sure that they would remain loyal to it. During the same time, the other great Theban leader, Pelopidas, acted in the north. The major theater of war here was Thessaly. Thebes did not want Thessaly

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to be under a single ruler, as Thessaly had recently been under Jason of Pherae. Pelopidas brought a few cities in the north under Theban protection in 369 to prevent a union. He was also asked to help decide on who should be the ruler of Macedon between two claimants. He forced King Alexander II to abandon his alliance with Athens and turn to Thebes. Pelopidas’s main task was to disrupt Athenian influence and power in the Chalcidian region. He returned the next year and again created an alliance with Macedon and the new regent. The Macedonians cemented this alliance by giving Thebes a number of hostages, one of whom was a young boy named Philip, brother of King Alexander II, who was now able to see firsthand the new strategies of Thebes under Epaminondas and Pelopidas. On his return home, Philip stopped at the court of Alexander of Thessaly, not knowing he had become an ally of Athens—and he was promptly taken prisoner. A Boeotian army marched north to rescue him but was outmaneuvered and had to retreat. Epaminondas, who was only a common hoplite then, rallied the troops; he was elected general and marched again into Thessaly and frightened Alexander into releasing his friend Philip. During this time, many of the Greek states attempted to obtain help from Persia and began to sue for peace with Persia. As the Theban envoy, Pelopidas was able to get favorable terms for Thebes. When he returned to Greece with the Persian king’s letter, all were opposed to the settlement, and Thebes was beset with a series of issues. In 364, Pelopidas moved north to Thessaly for the third time. Here, at the Battle of Cynoscephalae, after an eclipse of the Sun on July 13, 364, that was interpreted as a bad omen for Thebes, Alexander of Thessaly led his army against Pelopidas. As Pelopidas after a hard-fought battle had seized the high ground, he saw his personal enemy, Alexander, fleeing. Pelopidas, ignoring the rule that a general should stay where he is, charged after him into the ­Thessalian lines and was cut down. Although the Thebans had won the battle, the death of Pelopidas was a hard blow. The next year, the Thebans sent another army to avenge his death and forced Thessaly un1der their control. The Thebans then took their revenge against their old enemy, the city of Orchomenus. After a failed attempt by Orchomenus to attack Thebes, the Thebans passed a resolution to destroy the city and enslave its population. The city was destroyed, the male residents were killed, and the rest were enslaved. The Persian letter giving Thebes control of the Greek world was not accepted by the other Greek cities, and soon resentment of Thebes came to a head in the Peloponnese. The Arcadians, who owed their power and existence to Thebes, now moved against it by joining with Sparta, their old enemy into a new alliance. In 362, the Boeotians moved south against their enemies at Mantinea. Epaminondas attempted to seize Sparta in a surprise attack but found the city well protected. He marched back to Mantinea, where he faced the Spartans, Athenians, and Mantineans. The Thebans attacked as they had done at Leuctra and again were victorious. As Epaminondas followed up his victory, he was cut down and mortally wounded. His death showed the fortitude of war and chance. His strategies and tactics revolutionized the way the Greeks had fought, showing that changes in the

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hoplite system were possible. The Theban system of war allowed the city to create a strong confederation from Thessaly to the Peloponnese. With the death of Epaminondas and Pelopidas, the city now atrophied, and Greece was in constant state of flux. During the next twenty years, the Greek cities continually fought among themselves, ignoring the growing power of Macedon. The new leader of the northern kingdom, Philip II, had received an excellent military education in Thebes. The lessons he learned and his continual adaptations allowed Macedon to move against the northern cities. Ultimately, Thebes realized the danger, but too late. In 338, at Chaeronea, Philip and his Macedonian army defeated the Sacred Band and destroyed Theban power. After Philip’s death in 336, Thebes rose in rebellion against Macedon but was defeated by Philip’s son and successor, Alexander the Great. At the second Battle of Chaeronea, Thebes was defeated, and Alexander ordered the city razed. The city ceased to exist from then on. See also: Athens; Chaeronea; Corinthian League; Corinthian War; Delphi; Macedon; Mantinea; Phocis; Sparta; Thessaly

Further Reading

Buckler, John. 1980. The Theban Hegemony, 371–362 BC. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Cartledge, P. 2009. Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cartledge, P. 2020. Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece. New York: Abrams Press. Romm, J. S. 2021. The Sacred Band: Three Hundred Theban Lovers Fighting to Save Greek Freedom. New York: Scribner. For a general overview of Thebes, see Šimon, Borut, “Thebes,” Greekgods.org, https:// www.greek-gods.org/ancient-greece/thebes.php (accessed May 18, 2021). To view remains from Thebes, see the “Tour in Thebes” Archaeological Museum of T­hebes, https://www.mthv.gr/en/beyond-the-museum/tour-in-thebes/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Thermopylae, Battle of The Battle of Thermopylae in 480 became an event celebrated both in antiquity and in modern times when a small force held off an attacking force nearly ten times or more its size. While the battle resulted in the defeat and destruction of a Greek force, it did show the superiority of the Greek infantry over the Persian forces. The prelude to the battle began in 483, when the Persian king Xerxes ordered a force to begin excavating a canal across the region of Mount Athos to allow his fleet to sail down the coast and escape the storms that had destroyed his father Darius’s fleet nearly ten years before. In addition, Xerxes ordered the construction of two pontoon bridges across the Hellespont to allow his army to cross. Both feats were seen as tremendous accomplishments previously unheard of in the Greek world. The army of Xerxes, said by the historian Herodotus to number over a million men,



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probably was more along the lines of 200,000 to 300,000. This army was composed of the numerous tribes and nations across the empire. The Athenians during this time had begun to construct a fleet on a new ship model, the trireme, similar to the Persian ships. In early 480, a force of 10,000 hoplites moved north to Thessaly and planned to block the Tempe Vale, a gorge separating Macedon from Thessaly. When they arrived, the Greeks were informed that there were other routes that the Persians could take that would bypass the Greek army and take them from the rear. The Greek army then returned south and planned a second strategy—to defend the pass at Thermopylae. This policy effectively surrendered northern Greece (particularly Thessaly) to the Persians. Thermopylae was well suited for the defense, with three gates or passes. The plan was to hold the passes and prevent the Persians from gaining Thebes, Athens, and the Peloponnese. The region has changed over the past 2,500 years, but in antiquity, the Gulf of Malia on the northern side came farther inland and the land from the hills (not mountains as some ancient sources say) to the gulf was constricted both naturally and artificially. It appears that the central part of the pass was marshy due to the streams, some of which were purposely diverted, that ran from the springs and hills down to the gulf. The ancients indicated that it was only wide enough for a chariot, and this probably applied to the middle part of the pass, with marshes along the sides. The ancient Phocians who controlled the region in the sixth century had also constructed a wall in this middle part, which allowed the route to be constricted in this area and be more easily defended. While in the southern part of the pass, there were not sheer cliffs but high hills, they were sufficient to prevent cavalry from operating. By the time the Persians began their advance, many of the Greek states had sent messengers to the Oracle of Delphi for guidance. For Sparta, the answer was conflicting—the Spartans were not to advance while the feast of Karneia was underway, but they would earn victory only when a king would perish. This prophecy was horrendous. How could Sparta achieve a victory if a Spartan king died, meaning that the army was probably defeated and destroyed? The Greeks nevertheless learned of the arrival of the Persians in Macedon in July or August. As the army moved south, the amount of supplies could not possibly support all of the Persian forces for some time. This was a benefit for the Greeks. If the Greeks could delay them, or even better hold them off, the Persians might retreat to prevent starvation. The Greeks then sent 7,000 troops to Thermopylae, led by the Spartan king Leonidas, who brought his private bodyguard of 300 men, all of whom supposedly had children so that if they were defeated and wiped out, then their family bloodlines would continue. Accompanying these Spartans were said to be about 1,000 helots and perioeci, as well as about 4,000 other Peloponnesian troops, 1,000 Phocians, 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans, and local Opuntian Locrians, which may have numbered about 1,000. When the Persians arrived, they found that the Greeks had reconstructed part of the wall and were preparing for battle. When Leonidas had arrived, he learned that there was a mountain pass around the main pass. He dispatched the Phocians to hold the top of the path to prevent the rest of the Greek army from being outflanked. With both Greek forces in control of the defensive networks, Xerxes

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waited for four days for the Greeks to surrender or flee. He sent ambassadors suggesting that the Greeks surrender and even make peace, a proposal that was refused. The Persians finally sent a herald with a written message from Xerxes, saying that the Greeks should hand over their arms, to which Leonidas responded, “Come and take them.” At the same time, to prevent the Greek army from being outflanked by sea, the Greek fleet was stationed nearby, at Artemisum. On the fifth day of the standoff, the first day of fighting took place. Xerxes ordered his army to advance, but due to the constriction of the pass, which was probably less than 300 feet wide, the Greek hoplites were able to stand shoulder to shoulder in the traditional phalanx formation, a few lines deep, and were able to rotate fresh troops into the lines throughout the day. Xerxes ordered archers to fire their arrows, but from 300 feet away, they were ineffective against the bronze armor and large wooden shields. He then ordered 10,000 Medes to attack and seize the enemy and take them prisoner. The Greeks in front of the wall defended the frontal attack, and with their rows of men with longer spears than the enemies, they were easily able to hold them at bay. The inferiority of the Persian armor and weapons was exposed. The initial Persian force was dramatically reduced in strength, while only two or three Spartans were killed. Xerxes, enraged, ordered the 10,000 Immortals, his personal bodyguard, to advance. Again, they were defeated, with the Spartans appearing to retreat, and when the Persians advanced freely, the Spartans turned and met the Immortals head on, cutting them down. At the end of the first day, the Greeks clearly showed the superiority of their weapons and tactics. The second day, Xerxes again ordered a frontal assault, thinking that the Greeks had been demoralized, and once again the Greeks were successful against the Persians. Xerxes ordered his men to retreat and, despondent, tried to decide what to do next. It was apparent to him that a frontal assault could not achieve success. At this time, a local Trachinian named Ephialtes agreed to show the Persians the mountain track for a fee. Xerxes ordered his general Hydarnes who commanded the Immortals (an elite infantry unit of 10,000 men who also were the king’s bodyguard) and 20,000 men to move immediately to outflank the Greeks. The path led west over the mountains, and throughout the night the Persians moved up. On the morning of the third day, the Phocians guarding the mountain path heard the Persians advancing and moved farther up the mountain for a better position, leaving the path undefended. The Persians kept moving, avoiding battle, and the Phocians, realizing that they had been outmaneuvered, sent a message to that effect to Leonidas. With the Persians approaching, and realizing his defensive position was compromised, Leonidas held a war council and allowed any Greek contingent to leave. About half of them left, and Leonidas remained with the helots, 700 Thespians, and 400 Thebans. They now attacked the Persians, probably hoping to confuse them into thinking that a relief force had arrived and/or that Hydarnes’s troops had been destroyed. Xerxes ordered a fresh attack with 10,000 men. The Greeks advanced, and in a fierce battle, Leonidas was killed along with two of Darius’s brothers. The Greeks and Persians fought over Leonidas’s battle with the Greeks, recovering his body and retreating behind the wall. Taking refuge on a small hill, Hydarnes’s forces

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arrived and Xerxes’s army moved through the pass. The Thebans surrendered and were taken away and branded with the king’s mark. Not wishing to delay, Xerxes ordered the remnants to be killed by arrows. The Greek fleet, seeing that it was no longer needed and potentially compromised, sailed out of Artemisium to return to Athens. During their stay, the Greek fleet had fought the Persian fleet in an inconclusive battle. Afterward, Xerxes ordered the body of Leonidas to be mutilated and his body parts taken back to Persia (they were given back only forty years later, to be buried in Sparta). Questions abound as to Leonidas’s reason for staying put. One idea was the story that the Spartans never retreated is inaccurate, although this battle increased their mystique of never surrendering. Another explanation was that Leonidas was honoring the prophecy that a king must die in order for Sparta to survive. The more plausible reason, however, was that Leonidas realized that if everyone tried to flee, then the whole Greek army would have been destroyed. By fighting for several hours, the army could flee and thus save over 3000 hoplites, who would be needed in the future. Another quandary was the role of the Thebans. They were said to be hostages, but more likely they were supporters of the Greek cause and not Persian sympathizers, although their surrender may have indicated their collaboration. While the battle was a defeat for the Greeks, allowing the Persians to sack Thespiae, Plataea, and Athens and take Thebes, it did provide crucial time for the Greeks to deploy their army at the Isthmus of Corinth and the navy at Athens. The battle showed the superiority of the Greek infantry over the Persian army, which would have future ramifications. After the Persians left, the dead were collected and buried, and after the war, a stone lion was erected in honor of Leonidas. See also: Hoplite; Persia; Persian Wars; Phocis; Plataea, Battle of; Salamis, Battle of; Sparta; Thessaly

Further Reading

Cawkwell, George. 2006. The Greek Wars: The Failure of Persia. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Green, Peter. 1996. The Greco-Persian Wars. Berkeley: University of California Press. Lazenby, J. F. 1993. The Defence of Greece, 490–479 B.C. Warminster, UK: Aris & Phillips. For the history of the Battle of Thermopylae and Leonidas, see “Leonidas,” History.com Editors, December 2, 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history /leonidas (accessed May 18, 2021). For a discussion on the battle, see “The Battle of Thermopylae,” Travels Through GrecoRoman Antiquity, Villanova University, https://exhibits.library.villanova.edu /ancient-greece/battles/thermopylae (accessed May 18, 2021).

Thessaly Thessaly was rich in history and mythology during the Pre-Classical age. The origins of the Hellenes were associated with Hellen and his sons, who lived in Thessaly and established the four major tribes of the Greek world. Thessaly was

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separated from the western part of Greece, Epirus, by the Pindus mountain range an offshoot of the Dinaric Alps. Thessaly lay to the east of the Pindus range and was separated by Mount Olympus from Macedon in the north and Mount Othrys in the south. The region had rich fertile plains watered by the Peneus River. The Neolithic culture was superseded by the arrival of early Greek-speaking inhabitants who settled not only in Thessaly, but also in Epirus and Macedon. Set during this period was the myth of Jason, son of King Aeson, who traveled to the Black Sea region with the Argonauts. This story probably relates to the colonization and exploration of the Black Sea. Other stories relate to Achilles and his followers, the Myrmidons. The center of Thessaly was at Iolchus, north of the Gulf of Pagasae. There is evidence of Bronze Age remains, and the Homeric poems speak of ships from this site and the nearby Pherae. There appears to have been several kingdoms established in the region, and although there may have been some cooperation and joint planning, it was probably accomplished more through personal interaction and loyalties. During the migration period at the end of the Bronze Age, a new group of Greekspeaking inhabitants, the Thessali (who spoke Aeolic) moved from Epirus across the Pindus to Thessaly. They were said to have been led by the son of Jason and Medea, Thessalus, and settled in the hills above the rich fertile plains. These tribes moved down into the plains probably in the eighth century and eliminated the power of any former kingdoms that still existed. The new residents organized themselves into four cantons, probably associated with tribes known as Thessaliotis, Pelasgiotis, Histiaeotis, and Phthiotis. They subjugated the local inhabitants and made them perioeci, which were called Penestae. These individuals were similar to the helots of Laconia. They were known to rebel repeatedly and always caused stress within the nobility. The two dominant towns were Pharsalus in Phthiotis and Larissa in Pelasgiotis. Pharsalus appears to have been the older of the two, but its influence and power was eclipsed by Larissa, which had a citadel on a mound and controlled the River Peneus region. Larissa was ruled by the Aleuadae. The rich plains provided Thessaly with grain, cattle, and above all horses. Due to its wealth, the region became known for its superb cavalry, the main and dominant military fighting force. The wealthy nobles who controlled the cantons were required to commit forty cavalry and eighty infantry troops for each allotment. This force was used for the federal army and allowed them to man the Thessalian League, a loose confederation associated at the religious site near Pharsalus to Athena. This league began to interact with the region around Thessaly, most notably Euboea in the Lelantine War, which pitted Chalchis against Eretria around 700. The Thessalian cavalry supported Chalchis in winning a battle. This achievement allowed Thessaly to become supreme in northern Greece. It was during this time that the Aleuad prince of Larissa, Eurylochus, became the leader of the Thessalian Leaguewho led the Thessalians as one of the Amphictyonic members in the First Sacred War between Delphi and Cirrha. Eurylochus and his ally Cleisthenes of Sicyon supported Delphi, leading to the destruction of Cirrha in 591. Thessaly now became the dominant member of the Amphictyonic League, controlling the region north of Corinth. During the latter part of the sixth century, Thessaly helped Hippias in Athens against his foes.

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Throughout this time, the canton structure continued, with each region probably operating independent of each other most of the time. This resulted in the region never achieving political cohesion for any period of time. At the same time, Thessaly did not appear to develop the traditional polis structures during the Classical Age. During this period, the Classical Greek hoplite soon became dominant, and although the Thessalian cavalry was still strong, it did not adapt to the hoplite system. The Greek hoplites were soon able to dominate the military situation. In 540, the Theban army defeated the Thessalian forces, reducing their power in northern Greece and showing the superiority of the hoplite infantry. The Thessalian powers now declined and in 492, they allied themselves with Persia. Although Xerxes’s army in 480 invaded the region, the Thessalian forces were not always loyal. During the next century, Thessaly became more of a battleground for the various Greek forces, continually leading to its disruption. The region did not unify, and they were not able to keep the various Greek states out. In the early fourth century, probably around 371 with the Peace of Callias between Sparta and Thebes, Thessaly began to rise in power again through the efforts of Jason of Pherae. He had established his dominance through the use of 6,000 mercenaries, as well as his ability to make alliances in the north and keep the south divided. One of the leading citizens of Pherae, a Polydamas of Pharsalus, informed the Spartans what was happening, but their distraction forced him to help install Jason as Tagus, or leader of the united Thessaly. Jason also made an alliance with Alcetas, prince of the Molossi in Epirus and Macedon. It is clear that Jason desired to take his country from a second-rate to a premier power and to extend his power over Persia. With his first-rate cavalry, he was poised to succeed, and he began to build a navy to challenge not only Athens, but Persia. To achieve his goal, he needed to remove Sparta as the primary state and control the strategic pass at Thermopylae. To accomplish this, he made an alliance with Thebes. When Sparta refused to abide by the Peace of Callias, Thebes moved against it and defeated Sparta at Leuctra in 371. When he heard news of the victory, Jason marched to Thebes with his cavalry and army. He dissuaded the Thebans from further attacking the Spartans, as this would leave Thebes too powerful; instead, he convinced them to make peace, and then he returned north, having achieved his aim of reducing the power of Sparta, further enhanced by his dismantling of the Spartan fort at Thermopylae, but not allowing Thebes to become too powerful. Jason then announced a plan to display his new power at the Pythian festival at Delphi and sent messengers to the Thessalian cities to prepare a great sacrifice and celebration. Before this happened, he was reviewing petitions in Thessaly when seven youths assassinated him. His death meant the end of Thessalian unity and power, and now Thebes became the major power in the north. Jason’s nephew, Alexander, ultimately attempted to take over, but Thessaly was not prepared to submit to another tyrant. The cities of Larissa, Crannon, and others in the north asked Macedon for help in preventing Alexander from gaining control. Macedon obliged and took over these cities. Pelopidas of Thebes marched north and brought the cities under Theban control and protection, ostensibly to revive the power of Alexander but really to ensure Theban dominance. Thessaly

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then reverted to a federal league based upon the four old cantons, each controlled by a polemarch, while the head of the league was an archon elected either for life or at least for an extended period of time. It was a military organization. During his second invasion of Thessaly in 368, Pelopidas was defeated and imprisoned by Alexander, forcing the Thebans in 367 to attack Thessaly to secure his release. Alexander continued to expand his authority, and in 364, Pelopidas led a third campaign into Thessaly to personally punish Alexander for his imprisonment. The two forces met at the Battle of Cynoscephalae, where Pelopidas’ army defeated Alexander and Thessalians but was killed when he irrationally pursued Alexander in an attempt to capture or kill him. The following year, a Theban army marched north to avenge the death of Pelopidas and forced Alexander to give up all his possessions except the city of Pherae and submit to Thebes. With the death of Epaminondas, Alexander again acted in a daring fashion and attempted to regain his lost power. He attacked Athenian interest in the north and even sailed his pirate fleet into the Piraeus, where he attacked and plundered the ships before sailing away. The Athenians and Thessalian federal state agreed to attack Alexander and not make peace without the other’s approval. Alexander was assassinated by his wife’s brothers for his mistreatment of her. It was at this time that Macedon began its rise under Philip II. In 352, Philip had successfully seized Thessaly, and in 346, he was elected archon of Thessaly, sealing its fate and domination by Macedon. See also: Achaea; Barbarians; Epirus; Euboea; Macedon; Thebes; Troy

Further Reading

Lalonde, Gerald V. 2020. Athena Itonia: Geography and Meaning of an Ancient Greek War Goddess. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. Roisman, Joseph, and Ian Worthington. 2010. A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Tragedy Fifth-century Athens became known as the Golden Age of Greece, which produced artistic creations in architecture, art, and literature. In the area of literature, the development of tragedy stands out. The plays produced and performed in this genre were meant to educate as well as entertain the audience at several festivities throughout the year. The plays performed at the Great Dionysiac theater over a course of three days allowed a writer to present works for judgment; the winners were given prizes. Each day witnessed five plays, three tragedies, a satyr, and a comedy. The development of tragedy became the hallmark of the growth of drama. The competitors produced so many plays that from 480 to 380, there were 2,000 new dramas performed in Athens. The general format in the early period featured a chorus, which told the story; soon an actor was added, so the chorus and actor talked with each other to relate the conflict of the story. Tragedies were meant to educate society; although most of the stories dealt with common themes of heroes and mythology, there were some that give historical events. For example, in 493, the tragic poet Phrynichus gave an account of the Fall

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of Miletus in his work Capture of Miletus that showed the capture of the city by the Persians. The Athenians were quite upset by the play, probably due to Athens abandonment of the Ionian Revolt leading to Miletus’ capture, and fined him 1,000 drachmas and prevented any further performance of the play. Some believed that Themistocles had made arrangements to put on the play to whip up anti-Persian sentiment. The only extant play dealing with a nearly contemporary event was Aeschylus’s Persian Women, which dealt with the Persian Wars. During the fifth century, three great writers fomented the evolution of tragedy and created the hallmark of the genre: Terra-cotta statuette of an actor, late 5th–early Aeschylus, Sophocles, and 4th century. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art/ Euripides. Rogers Fund, 1913) The first of these was Aeschylus, born in 525. He lived during the expulsion of Hippias, the birth of democracy, and the fight for freedom against the Persians. He fought at Marathon with his two brothers in 490, and again in 480 in the fleet at Artemisium and Salamis, as well as in the army at Plataea in 479. He produced his first play in 499, and he dominated the field of drama and visited Syracuse in 476 and 470, praised by Hiero I. In 468, he lost first prize to a new playwright named Sophocles, but he won it in 467 with his play Seven Against Thebes. In 458, he won his last prize with the only complete trilogy of Greek plays, the Oresteia Trilogy. In 456, he returned to Sicily and died there in that year. Of the seventy to ninety dramas he wrote, only seven survive. Aeschylus created a second actor, completing the change from a Dionysian chant to an actual play with multiple characters (including the chorus). The stage only handled two actors (or three, including the leader of the chorus). His play Prometheus Bound, in 460 may have been part of a trilogy, Promethia with the second and third play missing. The play is about the struggle of human will against destiny, and rebellious ideas against conservative thoughts. His play criticizes the Olympian gods since their fellow god Prometheus helped mankind by bringing fire to humans and is then punished by Zeus. Prometheus becomes the true hero. In 458, Aeschylus wrote his Oresteia trilogy consisting of Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides, which has been hailed as the finest drama of all time. It is the story of violence across generations, which breeds violence.

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The story has as its prologue the myth of Tantalus, who caused the anger of the gods by stealing the nectar and ambrosia of the gods and giving them to his son, Pelops. Pelops seized the throne of Elis, killed the king, and married his daughter; they had three children, Thyestes, Aerope, and Atreus. The story went on to tell how Thyestes seduced Aerope, and Atreus then cooked and served Thyestes’s children to him as a punishment; Aegisthus, the son of Thyestes by his daughter, vowed vengeance against his uncle and his family. Atreus had two sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus. Agamemnon married ­Clytemnestra, and they had two daughters, Iphigenia and Electra, and a son, Orestes. When Agamemnon sacrificed Iphigenia and sailed to Troy, Aegisthus seduced Clytemnestra and they plotted Agamemnon’s fall. This event marks the beginning of Aeschylus’s play, Agamemnon which shows the vengeance of ­Clytemnestra over Agamemnon and his slave Cassandra as he returns to M ­ ycenae. As Agamemnon relates the ravages of war, he remains unaware of what his own fate will be. The play ends with Clytemnestra exiting the palace after the audience hears screams from her killing both Agamemnon and Cassandra with an ax, with blood on her face. In the second play, Libation Bearers, Clytemnestra has sent Orestes away, hoping that he will not remember his father and his murder, but he has been reared in the memory of vengeance. Orestes must avenge his father’s murder. He returns and hears his sister Electra call upon their father’s spirit to arouse in Orestes the desire to avenge his murder. Orestes, in disguise, tells his mother that Orestes is dead, and Clytemnestra and Aegisthus are overjoyed that they will escape vengeance. Orestes soon slays him and kills his mother, committing matricide. The third play, The Eumenides, follows Orestes, who is pursued by the Furies. He finally goes to Athens, where the goddess Athena orders a trial to determine Orestes’ guilt. The judges which includes Athena acquit him and she creates the Council of Areopagus to try these blood guilt crimes, thus appeasing the Furies. The trilogy extols the virtue of the democracy of Athens and was written after Ephialtes in 462 had deprived the Areopagus of its power his assassination in 461 and may have attempted to show the importance of the Areopagus. Written in 458, the Oresteia presents the council as the wisest body in Athens. His trilogy was seen as the greatest piece of Greek literature after the Iliad and the Odyssey, Aeschylus even won prizes for them after his death. He was interested in the overreaching cosmic themes in these plays. In 468, though, a young new playwright, Sophocles, won his first prize at the age of twenty-seven. He was the son of a swordmaker and held numerous offices. He was a friend of Pericles, and his life effectively ran from the Persian Wars through the Peloponnesian War. Of his 113 plays, only 7 are complete. He added the third actor to plays and was interested in character development. He earned eighteen first prizes in the Dionysiac festivals, winning his last when he was eighty-five. His plays are more about the psychology of the actors. In The Thracian Women, the central theme is not the punishment of Heracles or love, but rather the idea of jealousy. In Electra, he explores a daughter’s hatred of her mother Clytemnestra over killing her father Agamemnon, and in Oedipus the King, he wrote of the demand to find out what is behind the events leading to one’s

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fall. In this latter play, the story opens in medias res; a plague had fallen on Thebes due to the murder of the previous king. The current king, Oedipus, wants to find out who the murderer is (not knowing that it is himself). Everyone knew the story how the king and queen, Laius and Jocasta, were told that their son would kill his father and marry his mother; how Oedipus was abandoned and then raised by the king and queen of Corinth, fled when he heard he would kill his father and marry his mother (not realizing he was adopted). Hence, he killed his father on the highway and saved Thebes by solving the riddle of the Sphinx, earning the kingdom and marrying the widowed queen, his mother. When he discovers the truth about these events, Jocasta hangs herself, and Oedipus blinds himself and leaves Thebes. The play Antigone, the third in an unintended trilogy (but the first one actually written), is about the power of divine law over man’s laws. Oedipus’s daughter, Antigone, attempts to obey the laws of the gods by burying one of her two fallen brothers, who had fought for control of Thebes. One brother, Eteocles, died defending Thebes and is buried by the new king, Creon, the brother of Jocasta. But the other, Polynice, is forbidden by Creon to be buried because he fought against him. Antigone disobeys, and Creon orders her to be buried alive; Creon’s son, Haemon, protests the act and goes to die next to Antigone. Creon discovers his son’s body and his own deed realizing he has lost everything due to his hubris (pride). Sophocles died in 406, the same year as the last great tragedy writer, Euripides. Euripides completed the development of Athenian tragedy using emotion. He was born on Salamis, supposedly on the day of the great battle in 480. Both his parents were wealthy nobles. He lived on Salamis in his later years. He originally wanted to be a philosopher, and his plays often illustrate philosophical struggles. He wrote seventy-five plays, of which eighteen survive, from The Daughter of Pelias in 455 to The Bacchae in 406. He was also the first to have a library. Euripides presents great emotion in his works, such as in Hippolytus, where the eponymous youth announces his love for Artemis, and says that he will love no other. Aphrodite in revenge sows into the heart of his stepmother Phaedra love for her stepson, who refuses her advances. Phaedra dies, but she leaves a note saying that Hippolytus has seduced her. Her husband, Theseus, calls upon Poseidon to punish his son, who ultimately dies in a hunting accident when Poseidon causes Hippolytus’ chariot to crash and he is dragged to death. Another play that evokes deep emotion is Medea, where Jason reaches Colchis and Princess Medea falls in love with him and helps him gain the Golden Fleece. He returns to Thessaly, where Medea poisons Peleas the king, who had promised Jason the throne but plotted against him. Jason cannot marry Medea because she is a foreigner, so they live together and have two children. At last, Jason leaves Medea to marry the daughter of Creon, the king of Corinth, and Medea is exiled. Medea then takes her revenge—she sends her rival a poisoned robe, which when she puts it on erupts in fire and burns her, and when her father Creon tries to help his daughter, the flames consume him as well. Medea then kills her own children before Jason’s eyes and flies off with their corpses in a chariot pulled by a dragon.

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Euripides wrote of the various struggles of life and fate in plays about the Trojan War. In Helen, the famous “face that launched a thousand ships” is not taken away to Troy by Paris willingly—that was only an illusion, a sort of lifelike phantom, that fooled all of Greece because instead she was taken to Egypt against her wish and only rescued later by Menelaus when he discovers that the Helen in Troy is not real. In Iphigenia in Aules, the concept of parental love versus divine destiny is explored in a tale of how the young princess refuses Krater (mixing bowl) depicting Medea in her to flee and nobly goes to her chariot, from Euripides’ Medea. (The Cleveland death, knowing that sadness Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund will come to her entire family as 1991.1) a result. Another work, The Trojan Women, which Euripedes wrote in 415, took place after the destruction of Melos and before the attack on Syracuse. Shocked by the treatment of Melos, the playwright promotes the concept of peace. The play has the fate of the women of Troy spelled out in great horror. Hecuba, wife and widow of King Priam, will be given to Odysseus while her daughter Cassandra will be given to Agamemnon as a concubine. Cassandra who can see the future but no one believes her is glad at the prospect since she sees that Agamemnon (and herself) will be killed by Clytemnestra. Hecuba’s youngest daughter Polyxena has been sacrificed at the tomb of Achilles, while Hecuba’s daughter-in-law Andromache will become Achilles’ son Neoptolemus concubine. The Greeks order Andromache and her dead husband Hector’s son Astyanax killed by being thrown off the walls of Troy. Although Helen is supposed to suffer greatly from her husband Menelaus, everyone knows she will live. In the earlier play Hecuba, written in 424, the queen of Troy, who has seen her daughter Polyxena sacrificed, enters with Andromache and Cassandra. Andromache, the widow of Hector, has her son ripped from her arms to die by being hurled from the walls. Menelaus arrives to kill his wife, Helen, and Hecuba is pleased, only to see that Helen can wrap Menelaus around her finger again and survives. Euripides wrote on a variety of subjects, and he even advocated against slavery, since during the Peloponnesian War most of the slaves existed due to the accidental or incidental taking of Greek prisoners. Slaves play important roles in his works. Euripides was apparently a gloomy individual. His views made him many enemies in Athens. He attempted to push boundaries, which upset a good number of people. He was attacked like Socrates for corrupting the values of citizens. In 410,

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he was indicted on charges of impiety. In 408, he left Athens and went to the Macedonian kingdom at age seventy-two. There, he wrote Iphigenia in Aules and The Bacchae before his death in 406. His son produced these two plays at the Dionysiac and won first prize at the festival. The end of the Golden Age corresponded with the deaths of Sophocles and Euripides. Their plays sought to teach Athenians the lessons of life. Unfortunately for Athens, learning these lessons did not do enough to keep it safe. See also: Athens; Comedy; Literature; Theater

Further Reading

Rabinowitz, Nancy Sorkin. 2008. Greek Tragedy. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. Garvie, A. F. 2016. The Plays of Aeschylus. 2nd ed. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Garvie, A. F. 2005. The Plays of Sophocles. Bristol, UK: Bristol Classical. Morwood, James. 2002. The Plays of Euripides. London: Bristol Classical Press. For a discussion on Greek stagecraft, see “Introduction to Greek Stagecraft,” Didaskalia, the Journal for Ancient Performance, https://www.didaskalia.net/studyarea /greekstagecraft.html (accessed May 18, 2021). For information on theater in ancient Greece, see Hemingway, Colette, “Theater in Ancient Greece,” in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004), https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/thtr/hd _thtr.htm (accessed May 18, 2021).

Tribes For the Greeks, the term tribe can refer to both large ethnic groups and the local family clans in the cities. The ethnic groups traced their ancestors to the ­Pre-Bronze Age. Residents of Greek cities claimed descent from various tribes before and during the Classical Age. The Greeks traditionally were divided into four tribes: the Achaeans, Ionians, Aeolic, and Dorians. In mythology, the originator of the Greeks was Hellen. He was the father of three sons, who established the major tribes—Dorus, who founded the Dorians; Aeolus, who founded the Aeolians, and Xanthus, who through his sons Achaeus and Ion founded the Achaeans and Ionians, respectively. The original inhabitants of Greece were displaced during the Bronze Age with the Mycenaeans or Achaeans, probably around 1900. In the works of Homer, the Greeks were called Achaeans, which also meant the Mycenaean city-state in the Peloponnese. The Achaeans were also known as the Argives and Danaans in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Their primary area of control was eastern, central east, and southern Greece, the normal routes from the Macedon. When the Dorians arrived around 1200, they forced the Achaeans out of their homeland, and they were dissipated throughout the region or assimilated into Dorian society. Ultimately, in the historical period, their main area of control was in the area of Achaea in the northern Peloponnese, on the southern shore of the Gulf of Corinth. The second tribe was the Ionians, who were established mainly in Attica and were not conquered by the Dorians. They created one of the three Greek dialects that became prominent after the Mycenaean Age, Ionian, Dorian, and

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Aeolic. The name Ionian was seen on Linear B tablets before the Dorian invasion. That dialect formed the basis of the later Classical Greek and koine (everyday) Greek of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Numerous tribes populating many of the Greek cities of Attica and Euboea claimed descent from the Ionians. In addition, the Ionians led the colonization movement to west-central Asia Minor in the ninth and eighth centuries. These cities became the home of the Ionian Greeks. The third tribe was the Aeolians, and known for their dialect of Aeolic. The tribe originated in Thessaly and included the Boeotian tribes who had been driven out of their homeland Thessaly and who now moved to the region of Boeotia. The various subtribes were spread out among central Greece, including Aetolia in a mountainous region on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth. They were also in Locris, near the east of Aetolia and southwest of Phocis. Corinth, on the southern part of the Isthmus as well as in the west part of Greece at Elis and Messenia, were also Aeolian. The final tribe was the Dorians, who migrated from the western part of Greece in the region of Epirus. They were known for their invasion of Greece around 1200, which ended the Mycenaean civilization. With their arrival in the Peloponnese, they forced the Achaeans into the mountainous region of northern Peloponnese and the Aeolians into the far west of the Peloponnese and the mountainous region of central Greece. The Ionians retreated to Attica and Euboea before embarking upon the great colonization. The Macedonians in the north were also of Dorian stock, and they embarked on the final conquest of Greece at the end of the Classical period. The colonies of Asia Minor were grouped from the north, with the Aeolians in the center with the Ionians, to the south with the Dorians. Through the use of mythology and the descendants of heroes who established the major tribal and linguistic groups in Greece, later Greeks could create their own history, which explained the current ethnic and linguistic division during the Classical period. Tribes also existed at the local level. Each city would have various tribes related to its residents. In early Athens, there were four phylai, which were agglomerations of clans and subclans overseen by the nobility, who controlled the cults and dominated their political life. Cleisthenes would later create ten tribes in his political reorganization. The original four Athenian tribes were Kekropis, Autochthon, Aktaia, and Paralia. The major Ionian cities had as their tribes the Hopletes, Aigikoreis, Geleontes, and Argadeis. The tribes in the Dorian cities were Hylleis, Pamphyloi, and Dymanes. These separations of the major tribes into subcategories allowed local areas to be divided into local political units. These units allowed the political life of the cities to be led by the elites. See also: Athens; Corinth; Deme; Dorian Invasion; Ionian League; Megara; Sparta

Further Reading

Loraux, Nicole. 1994. The Children of Athena: Athenian Ideas About Citizenship and the Division Between the Sexes. 2nd print (with corrections). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Tribute 563 Papazarkadas, Nikolaos. 2011. Sacred and Public Land in Ancient Athens. Oxford: Oxford University Press. For a discussion of the tribes of Cleisthenes, see “The Ten New Tribes,” American School of Classical Studies, http://www.agathe.gr/democracy/the_ten_new_tribes.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

Tribute During antiquity, conquered nations and cities were often required to pay tribute (phoros), a form of taxation. This assessment was used by the conquerors as they saw fit, often for paying soldiers and officials, constructing public and private works, and pursuing diplomatic efforts. Some states imposed the tribute on a per capita basis on all inhabitants or just on men. Often, this tribute was based on what the conquerors believed the region could pay, but sometimes it was merely arbitrary. In Greece, the payment of tribute was rare before the creation of the Delian League. The Spartan or Peloponnesian League did not exact tribute; instead, it required allies to lend help when needed in the form of soldiers. The Athenians and the Delian League probably copied the example of the ­Persian Empire. Under Darius I, the Persians created their empire and realized that the state needed a large army and fleet. Most of the army’s recruits would come from the east, while the western states would pay money, especially those in Asia Minor, which included the Greek city-states conquered by Croesus, the king of Lydia. In addition, these city-states would supply the Persian Empire with the ships, rowers, and provisions needed for the fleet. To pay for the rowers and other elements, Darius changed from Croesus’s coinage to a new system that featured daric (gold) and siglos (silver) coins. These coins became common and popular in the west. The Athenians and their allies created a new league, which promoted the freedom of Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor, as well as the island-states in the Aegean. Since this was a naval league, the cities needed to outfit their ships and pay their rowers regularly. Unlike the outfitting of an army, which normally required only provisions and normal upkeep, maintaining a fleet often involved the extensive repair of ships, as well as the construction of new ships, which was expensive. Like the Persians, who paid their crews, the Delian (Athenian) League did not use slaves. The ships were manned not only by Athenians, but also by their allies. The sailors spent their money both at home and abroad. The first task of the allies when they established the Delian League was to determine the tribute or contribution of each city-state. In its full form, the league was divided into five fiscal units: Thrace in the north, the Hellespont to its east, Ionia to its south, Caria along the southern coast of Asia Minor, and the islands. These areas were not self-contained units with defined barriers; rather, they blended into one another. The original assessment for the tribute was made by Aristides the Just of Athens, at Delos in 478. The total contribution of allies was set at 460 talents, and Athens would contribute ships. In addition, other city-states that provided ships did not contribute money. This amount does not appear to have been exorbitant. The largest amount paid was 30 talents, from Thasos.

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As more cities joined the Delian League, it seems that the individual city amounts tended to go down, suggesting that the total tribute amount remained the same or similar. In addition, as some of the states decided to forego the contribution of ships and military forces in exchange for cash, the individual amounts continued to decline. Originally, the tribute was brought to the league’s treasury at Delos. When only Samos, Lesbos, and Chios remained as contributors of ships, the congress at Delos ceased to hold meetings since foreign policy, often discussed at the congress and based on those who contributed ships, the main military force, was now taken over by Athens. The failure of the league’s 455 expedition to Egypt caused the Athenians to move the treasury and congress to Athens. After the move, the tribute became part of the Athenian treasury and funds. The Athenians put on a marble stele the name of each ally and amount of the tribute paid. The list of cities was not put in any geographical order at first, but around 450, they were engraved on the stele in geographical order. This practice would continue even when there was a reassessment of the tribute in 425. One of the stelae records the first fifteen years of the new system. A second stele contains years sixteen through twenty-three, which would bring the list to 431. With the starting of the Peloponnesian War in 431, the lists of city-states paying tribute were put on separate stelae, with years twenty-eight, twenty-nine, and thirty-four. In addition, the general reassessment of 425 survives. The quota list of all the cities known were about 325, of which about 300 can be identified. Although Aristophanes said that over 1,000 cities paid tribute, the most that could fit on a stele was about 225; no doubt he was exaggerating for the sake of effect, and the total number of cities subject was only about 400. The missing 100 cities either did not pay or had their amounts paid in a collaborative method. The payment and assessments occurred in the spring of each year. The lists show no systematic period of assessment, with amounts changing from year to year if a city petitioned for a reassessment, but if not, they lasted for an indefinite period of time. Often, allies would ask for a change in their assessment during the Panathenaia, when cities were required to submit their tribute to the goddess herself, meaning at Athens. This would be an ideal time for the allies to make their plea. Originally, the amount of tribute was said to be 460 talents. At the time of Pericles, it increased to 600 talents, and the amount was raised to 1,300 per year during the Peloponnesian War raised from all of the cities. Since it varied yearly, the actual amount would need to be calculated. The Athenians used the tribute for their own purposes, including the outfitting of their fleet and the building of temples on the Acropolis, including the Parthenon. See also: Athenian Empire; Delian League; Persia; Samos; Taxation

Further Reading

Figueira, T. J., Sean R. Jensen, and Gregory Bonnin. 2019. Hegemonic Finances: Funding Athenian Domination in the 5th and 4th Centuries BC. Swansea,UK: Classical Press of Wales. Low, P. 2008. The Athenian Empire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Meritt, Benjamin Dean, Malcolm Francis McGregor, and Henry Theodore Wade-Gery. 1939. The Athenian Tribute Lists. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Troy 565 For an example of a tribute inscription, see “Fragmentary Marble Inscription,” Metropolitan Museum of Art, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/252472 (accessed May 18, 2021).

Troy The city of Troy lay on a small hill roughly four miles from the Aegean and Hellespont in Asia Minor, an ideal site for controlling the trade routes to and from the Black Sea from the Aegean, as well as the road going from the interior to the coast. This important and strategic location allowed the city to grow and become wealthy. The broad plains around Troy were fertile and rich, producing grain and providing good pastureland. Troy became synonymous with the struggle of West (Greece) and East (including Persia), and how the Greeks were successful, but only after long struggles. The story of the Trojan War is related in Homer’s Iliad, written about 800, some 500 years after the event. Together with the archaeological remains, a fascinating true tale develops. The Iliad provides examples of Bronze Age history and culture. The great king Agamemnon, a wanax, has control over the other Greeks, but it is not absolute. He can force them to give assistance (in this case, to attack the Trojans), but he could not compel each leader or basileus to do his bidding. The leaders form a council to advise the king, and although he cannot order them to fight, he did use his powers of persuasion to commit them to battle. The second poem supposedly written by Homer, the Odyssey, is more of a traditional folktale, recounting the struggles that the warrior Odysseus endures when returning home from the war. Although the

Ruins of ancient Troy in modern Turkey. (Zoran Stojiljkovic/Dreamstime.com)

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Personal Struggles Homer’s Iliad recounts the various struggles of the great warriors and their flaws. The central character is Achilles from northern Greece, who leads the Myrmidons. The poem opens by telling the events of the tenth year of the war, including Achilles’s wrath. Achilles is upset because his Greek overlord, Agamemnon, has taken Achilles’s slave, Briseis, to replace his own, whom he sacrificed to ensure that the god Apollo favored the Greeks. Achilles refused to fight and sat in his camp brooding. During the fighting, the Trojans, led by Prince Hector, the son of King Priam, successfully storm the Greek camp. Achilles still does not fight, but he does allow his friend, Patroclus, to take his armor and lead the Greeks against the Trojans. Patroclus is successful in his attack, but he goes in front of the Myrmidons and is killed by Hector. This forces Achilles out of his slump; he kills Hector and mutilates his body. The final scene of the Iliad has the bereaved King Priam asking Achilles for his son back so that he can be buried with honor, which Achilles allowed. The poem provides portraits of particular heroes. Hector is seen as the ideal family man and warrior, while Achilles is flawed for not controlling his anger and showing hubris by not treating Hector’s body with respect, a universal Greek custom. Agamemnon is arrogant and prideful, while his brother, Menelaus, whose wife, Helen, had been kidnapped by Paris, another son of Priam (the underlying reason for the war), is portrayed as a brute. (Though it is not stated openly, one wonders if the other Greeks laughed at Menelaus behind his back for being cuckolded.) Helen’s responsibility in the war is clear, but she survives and returns home with Menelaus to live comfortably—they are the only two Greeks who did not suffer due to the war.

poem deals with the period after the war, there are flashback scenes that help explain some of the events. Unlike the Iliad, which concerns itself with war and the interpersonal struggles entwined within it, the Odyssey reads more as an adventure story. The archaeological evidence does not directly correspond with the literary material. The first excavator, the German industrialist Heinrich Schliemann, used his copy of Homer’s Iliad to discover the city of Troy. He began to examine the site and discovered not one city, but rather a whole series of them. At level II, the second city, he discovered a wealth of gold treasure. In Schliemann’s mind, this was the city that Homer portrayed. In reality, it was an earlier city from before 2000. After the second city and before 2000 there was an influx of a new population, which allowed for the city to grow during the next three periods (cities) and shows no change in continuity and Troy VI was the largest city located there. Those who resided in the city mainly comprised the ruling elites, military leaders, merchants, traders, and support personnel. It was a large center measuring 600 feet by 450 feet, with large houses and an open city plan. Near its walls were homes for the workers, but most of the agricultural workers lived outside the city walls. This Troy was destroyed around 1250, but not by war, but rather probably by an earthquake. The city was then rebuilt into Troy VIIa, and it did not show any change in the population or culture. It was more cramped, however, with more housing, indicative of having more residents. This version of Troy also had more storage facilities and strong walls, as if there was an expectation of attack. The destruction of the

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city occurred by fire, and two skeletons were found in the rubble. A second city, Troy VIIb, was built, which shows continuity with the earlier city but with new inhabitants. The city destroyed in Homer’s poem was most likely VIIa, which went out of existence around 1200 at the time of the end of the Mycenaean Age. The first five Bronze Age cities (although it is now known that there were earlier cities before the Bronze Age) had a small citadel, but still massive walls. Troy II was double the size of Troy I and had a well-developed, megaron-style palace. The successive cities continued to expand, increasing the size of the area under control. The walls continued to be an important element, indicating the crucial need for defense. It is probable that Troy was an important economic center on the coast. Troy VI was still larger, with brick streets and elaborate houses. In this layer was Mycenaean pottery, but it was only a small percentage of the remains, most of which came from the east. The city probably then had some contact with the Greeks, but most of the remains show that the city looked to the East. In addition, cremation remains, more of an Anatolian (eastern) phenomenon and not Mycenaean, were discovered nearby. Troy VI had a population of over 10,000 and at some point it perhaps approached 20,000; its location allowed long-distance trade to be developed during the late Bronze Age. Given its earlier connection to trade and its continuous existence, the site was always an important commercial center. As with earlier cities, it should be seen as a transit or middle stage for trade. It allowed material from the north, the Baltic Sea region, and the south along the Amber route and the Ukraine steppes to the Black Sea to be traded, with goods coming overland from the east from the Caucuses and the south to and from Iran and the Persian Gulf. Evidence of the long-distant trade comes from shipwrecks off the coast that reveal goods from both East and West. A large percentage of Bronze Age shipwrecks come from the coast of Turkey. After the destruction of Troy VIIa and its rebuilding with VIIb, which was destroyed around 1100, pottery evidence shows the indigenous population retreating into the highlands, while the city proper was occupied by new inhabitants who brought in iron; they abandoned the city in 950. The Geometric period, better represented with sources, now comes into view; Troy VIII and IX belong to this era. After two centuries in 750, new colonists arrived. Troy VIII lasted until the Roman period (Troy IX). The inhabitants erected a temple to Athena Illas and appeared to have been from the Attic-Ionian group, not the Aeolic peoples from nearby northern Turkey. The Homeric Iliad records some basis of the Greeks, called Achaeans, in politics and culture. Most important was a catalog detailing the number of ships from each region. The importance of this listing was that many of the sites continued to exist while others have disappeared or were diminished. This catalog has been used to correlate later cities with earlier records in the Iliad and the Odyssey. Other stories in these Homeric poems concerned Troy, including what happened to the various Greek leaders. Achilles is killed before the fall of Troy, and Odysseus meets him in the Underworld. Agamemnon returns home to Mycenae and he is murdered by his wife for killing their daughter in order to ensure the safety of

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the trip in the beginning of the Trojan War. Nestor, the king of Pylos, successfully returned home. The city of Troy became the symbol of East versus West. During the Persian Wars, the Trojan War was continually viewed as demonstrating the superiority of the Greeks over the East, with Troy being the symbol for Persia. This view is more direct since Xerxes is said to have sacrificed 1,000 cattle at the temple of Athena Illas for his upcoming invasion of Greece. After Xerxes was repelled, the islandcity of Mytilene took over the region, controlling Troy until it was defeated for rebelling against Athens in 427. The region returned to Persian control in 410 after the defeat of Athens. The Spartans expelled the Persians in 399, and the region was constantly changing until about 359, when it was again free of outside control. In 334, Alexander the Great crossed into the region and was sacrificed at the tombs of Patroclus and Achilles. Troy, then, not only had economic control over the region in the Bronze Age, but also became a city of mystical and symbolic meaning for both the Greeks and the East. The end of the Bronze Age city should probably be seen as part of the disruption that was going on during the thirteenth and twelfth centuries. It was during this period that the Hittites and the New Kingdom of Egypt endured attacks. At the same time, the Greeks witnessed the beginning of migration into the peninsula. It is most likely that the destruction of Troy VIIb corresponded to this migration. The city of Troy would be forever etched into history through Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. See also: Bronze Age; Homeric Age; Monarchy; Mycenae; Pylos; Sparta; Thessaly

Further Reading

Blegen, Carl W. 1963. Troy and the Trojans. London: Thames and Hudson. Thomas, Carol G., and Craig Conant. 2007. The Trojan War. Norman: University of ­Oklahoma Press. For an interactive map, see “Uncovering Troy,” Archaeological Institute of America, https://www.archaeology.org/travel/interactivemap-troy/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

Tyrants As Greece experienced population growth in the eighth century and the city-states began to grow and develop, political discontent emerged. The old system of monarchies had already disappeared, and most cities were controlled by aristocratic leaders who ran the city, creating an oligarchy. These nobles would continually vie for power, and in the process, feuds arose, which often led to political chaos or even violence. Some cities developed into democracies that spread power among the population, while others vacillated between oligarchy and democracy. Most cities, however, continued as oligarchies or tyrannies, an intermediate form of government evolving toward democracies. The tyrant was usually a member of the local aristocracy who used political discontent in the community to promote himself by convincing a group of residents to back him in his struggles with other nobles. Often, this support took the form of armed guards or soldiers who backed him against the other aristocrats and/or the rest of the population. These tyrants

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did not necessarily have the best interest of the masses that they courted and officially supported, but they did convince them that they were better for them than the aristocrats would be. They in essence were monarchs, but not in the old style of being chosen by the gods and ruling due to a kind of heroic legend, although some did try to portray themselves as such. The word tyrant comes from the Greek tyrannis and meant someone who came to power without constitutional rights (including hereditary monarchy) and in fact may come from Lydia in Asia Minor, where it was first used to describe Gyges, who overthrew his king and ruled in his place. The word in fact was neutral, with no moral connotations. It described someone who came to power outside the traditional legal system and ruled arbitrarily, without any checks, similar to some of the early monarchs. As time progressed, the term tyrant took on negative connotations due to the actions of certain rulers such as Cypselus and Periander of Corinth. Their power was based on armed support and therefore lacked any form of legitimacy or history. While some called the period immediately after the Dark Ages the Age of Tyrants, this is a misnomer—tyrants existed throughout Greek history. Nevertheless, early tyrants who ruled during this period provide examples of how Greek cities responded and reacted to tyranny. The cities of Ionia seem to have developed the first tyrannies. At Ephesus, a tyrant Melas married the daughter of the Lydian monarch Alyattes to secure a peace agreement, and at Miletus, Thrasybulus ruled around 610. He promoted the growth of Miletus in the Black Sea while thwarting attacks by Lydia at home. The tyrannies of Greece were more famous; they set the standard for the Greek world and how they were viewed. In particular, four cities, Corinth, Sicyon, Megara, and Athens provide good examples. Corinth was a wealthy city, ideally located to control trade both north and south by land, as well as east and west by sea through the isthmus, in all directions. The Bacchiads, the oligarchs who had ruled the city, had made commercial inroads into the west with colonies at Corcyra and Syracuse. The oligarchs were a closeknit group, and one of its members Amphion had a lame daughter named Labda, who was married to Eetion, a man of the people meaning he was not from the Bacchiads, the ruling party; they had a son named Cypselus, who was prophesized to overthrow the Bacchiads. The story went that he escaped death when his mother hid him in a chest. Upon seizing power, Cypselus exiled the Bacchiads and seized their property, which endeared him to the people. He even ultimately dismissed his bodyguard. Cypselus then promoted Corinthian prosperity by establishing colonies on the Adriatic coast of Northwest Greece. The prosperity of Corinth was such that he built a treasury at Delphi, which had supported his rule, as well as a great gilded statue to Zeus at Olympia. After ruling thirty years, his power passed to his eldest son, Periander, who continued to expand Corinthian commercial ties in the northeastern part of the Aegean near the Hellespont (noticeably at Potidaea). He also, along with Corcyra, established the colony of Epidamnus. He supported Thrasybulus, the tyrant at Miletus, abandoning the traditional ties that Corinth had with Samos, Miletus’s foe, probably because of Miletus’s growth in the Black Sea region. Periander had attempted to dig a canal across the Isthmus of Corinth, but could not due to the

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geology. Instead, he created two parallel grooves or diolkos (meaning “dragway”), almost like railroad tracks, to fit a cart on which to carry boats with their cargo across the Isthmus. Periander ruled Corinth with strict laws and rules forbidding wealth and luxury. He married Melissa, the daughter of Procles, the tyrant of nearby Epidaurus. Periander supposedly killed her, and Procles attempted to stir up trouble by inciting Lycophron, the son of Periander and Melissa to kill him. Periander instead attacked and captured Procles and banished Lycophron to Corcyra. When he attempted to reconcile with Lycophron, even suggesting that they trade places to rule each other’s cities, Lycrophron refused, but the Corcryans, fearful of having Periander as their leader, killed Lycrophron instead. Periander took revenge on Corcyra by having 300 sons of its leading citizens sent to the tyrant Alyattes of Lydia to become eunuchs. When he died, his nephew, Psammetichus, became ruler for a few years before he was assassinated. The tyranny at Corinth proved to be a brilliant system but oppressive, especially under Periander. The second example was Sicyon, where the Orthagorid tyranny ruled at the same time as the Cypselids. The tyranny at Sicyon was beneficial and not oppressive, similar to Corinth. Here, the family is supposed to have ruled for a hundred years, and Orthagoras and his two successors were known for their moderation. One of Orthagoras’s grandsons was Cleisthenes, who became known for making Sicyon prosperous and extending its power. Unlike other cities, Sicyon did not establish many colonies and was known for its large and fertile plain. Cleisthenes was forced to deal with some of the civil discord between the large pre-Dorian population, in one of the tribes, and Dorian invaders, segmented in the remaining three tribes. While their new names ascribed in Herodotus were probably fictitious (Swine-men, Ass-men, and Pig-men for the Dorian tribes, due to the original non-Dorian Goat-men), the story does show civil discord where Cleisthenes seems to have favored the non-Dorian tribe. Cleisthenes championed the Delphic oracle in the Sacred War at the beginning of the sixth century. The temple of Delphi was

A Tyrant Resigns A curious example of a tyrant, Pittacus ruled at Mytilene on Lesbos. Mytilene had grown in prosperity and was ruled by the Penthilids, nobles who had grown wealthy in part by oppressing the people. Tyrants had already risen and fallen in the city with some regularity and were known to be brutal; for example, the poet Alcaeus, a noble, had written a poem commemorating the death of the tyrant Myrsilus. Pittacus, a nonnoble, now plotted against Alcaeus, and after the tyrant Myrsilus’s death, he was elected aesymnetes, meaning one who gives a just portion or a judge, a position between magistrate and tyrant. Pittacus would have unlimited power, like a tyrant, but for the first ten years, he acted more like a magistrate. The position was created so that Mytilene could heal from its constant civil violence. He banished nobles opposed to him, including Alcaeus and Sappho, but he also gave the city new and fair laws. More important, at the end of ten years, he relinquished his command, even though he commanded the army and could have seized power. After his death, he was even enrolled as one of the Seven Wise Men, a designation created for the great lawgivers of Greece. Exiles returned, including Alcaeus, and the city flourished.

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in the territory of the Phocian town of Crisa, which levied dues and tolls to visitors. The temple desired its own control and asked the Amphictiones, the inhabitants of Anthela or Pylae near Thermopylae, for help against Crisa. The Amphictiones agreed and declared a holy war against Crisa, and Cleisthenes led an army across the Gulf of Corinth from Sicyon against them as well. Crisa was destroyed and its territory given to Delphi. Cleisthenes became renowned for winning the chariot race in the first newly established Pythian Games, and then again six years later at the Olympic Games. He made plans to marry off his daughter, Agariste, and the two main suitors were Hippocleides and Megacles of Athens. While Hippocleides, grandson of the tyrant Cyrpselus, had the upper hand, until he lost it when he engaged in a drunken public dance making a fool of himself, to Cleisthenes’s annoyance, and Agariste was given to Megacles instead. Their child was Cleisthenes, founder of Athenian democracy, and a second son, Hippocrates, who was the grandfather of Pericles. With the death of Cleisthenes of Sicyon, that tyranny was ended by the Spartans. The tyranny of Megara was short-lived. The city, sited near Corinth, did not have enough territory to handle its growing population, leading it to colonize in the Euxine. With social discontent, the Dorian nobility controlled the pre-Dorian peasantry, causing hardship. Theagenes, probably an ambitious nobleman in Megara, used this opportunity to seize power and became a champion of the poor against his fellow nobles. He supposedly killed all of the nobles’ cattle and instituted a great feast for the poor. He attempted to do away with the privileges of the Dorians and constructed an aqueduct to supply the city with fresh water. The nobles succeeded in driving Theagenes out, and without a successor, that tyranny vanished. His reign did not survive into a second generation, so it was too short to make the necessary changes needed for society. The fourth city ruled by a tyrant was Athens, where Pisistratus, after two previous attempts (in 560 and 550), seized power in 540, reigning until 527. Pisistratus did not impose a new constitution on Athens; rather, he allowed the traditional magistrates to function, just making sure that his people stayed in power. The old forms of the Assembly continued, and the constitution of Solon allowed for future training in democracy. He rose to power due to the failure of Solon’s reforms, in particular due to the divide between the aristocracy and the poor, whom he championed. He maintained tight control on the person who held the archonship, usually a member of his family; he employed mercenaries who were loyal to him; and he kept children of the nobles as hostages to ensure their acquiescence. He seized the estates of his enemies, most notably the Alcmaeonids who had left Athens, and he gave these lands to the poor. His long rule ended the old internecine tribal wars, and Athens became prosperous. Colonies were sent out, and in the Thracian region, Miltiades, the leader of some of the nobles from the plain, became a tyrant at Chersonese until he was driven out by the Persians. Pisistratus also established Athens’s claim to be a religious leader of the Greeks, and he purified Delos by removing all of the tombs within sight of the Temple of Apollo and placed it under Athenian protection. He also enhanced the Panathenaic Festival at home, creating new temples and celebrations. He enhanced the water supply of Athens by building an aqueduct. His reign was beneficial and for the

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most part not oppressive. After his death in 527, his sons Hippias and Hipparchus took over. They attempted a reconciliation with the nobles; for example, Cleisthenes of the Alcmaeonid became archon, followed by Miltiades. This reconciliation did not last long, however, as Cleisthenes and Miltiades were soon exiled because of their influence amongst the nobles as a threat to the tyrants. In 514, Hipparchus was murdered, and his brother Hippias became more oppressive, seeing conspiracies everywhere. He purged the region of his enemies, who either were cut down or fled Athens. He supposedly had Munychia fortified so that he could flee at any time if necessary. The Alcmaeonids began to bribe the Oracle of Delphi to convince the Spartans to intervene. In 510, the Spartan king Cleomenes arrived and forced Hippias to surrender and leave Athens to Sigeum, and ultimately Persia. The tyrannies of Greece all show some similarities. In the first generation, power usually was achieved by social discontent, which led nobles to usurp power and become leaders. Their rule was usually beneficial and not oppressive. In some places, like Megara and the Ionian cities, the tyrannies did not last long. Some cities saw the handover of power to a successor such that rule continued without oppression, as at Sicyon. Most cities, however, had the second or third generation become oppressive, such as at Corinth and Athens, which gave tyrant the negative connotation that it has today. See also: Athens; Corinth; Democracy; Ionian League; Megara; Oligarchy; Persia; Samos; Sardis and Lydia; Syracuse

Further Reading

Andrewes, Antony. 1963. The Greek Tyrants. New York: Harper & Row. Smith, J. A. 1989. Athens Under the Tyrants. Bristol: Bristol Classical Press. Teegarden, David Arlo. 2014. Death to Tyrants!: Ancient Greek Democracy and the Struggle Against Tyranny. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. For a general discussion of tyranny, see “Tyrant,” Livius.org, https://www.livius.org /articles/concept/tyrant/ (accessed May 18, 2021). To learn more about the rule of Pisistratus, see “Tyranny,” American School of Classical Studies http://www.agathe.gr/democracy/tyranny.html (accessed May 18, 2021).

W Weapons Since the Greek soldiers fought as a community of warriors instead of independent combatants, the type of armor and weapons used reflected that situation since they were standardized so as to fight in phalanx. The Greeks fought in a phalanx, in which the main force tried to shove the enemy off the field by having deep lines that shoved the front two or three lines forward into the enemy. It was crucial to have the best men in the front lines since they were often the only ones to engage the enemy. To accomplish this task, the army needed its men to be massed into a formation to provide force with the back lines pushing the front. Composed of lines eight to ten deep, the phalanx achieved the amount of force needed to push the front lines forward. The weapons used were both offensive and defensive. The most important of these were the spear and shield. The dory (spear) was the chief weapon of the hoplites, or heavy infantry. It was not thrown at the enemy, although it could have been; rather, it was deployed so that the front lines presented the spears horizontally while the back lines had their spears vertically, often compared to a mass of needles or as a hedgehog. The first three rows of the phalanx would extend their spears beyond the front line to meet the enemy, while the remaining lines held their spears vertically and either supported their comrades when the enemy rushed or pushed their comrades forward in an attack. The dory was between six-and-ahalf feet to ten feet long, was made of cornel or ash wood, had a diameter of two inches, and weighed about three pounds. One end, the main Corinthian helmet. (iStockPhoto.com/KeithBinns)

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offensive part, was an iron flat blade shaped like a leaf, while the other end had a counterbalance weight, a spike called a sauroter (meaning “lizard killer”), which could be used as an offensive weapon if the main spearhead was broken, the soldier would then turn it around and use it as a spear head, or to finish off the enemy as they lay wounded on the ground and stabbing them, with the phalanx marching over them. Since the dory was heavy, the sauroter could also be used to hold the spear in place as it rested on the ground. The dory allowed the phalanx to hold the enemy at bay, as seen during the Persian Wars, when the Persian soldiers were only armed with shorter spears and wicker shields, which could not hold up against the Greek spears. Due to the spear’s length, multiple lines could engage the enemy all at once. The shield, called hoplon or aspis, was made of wood covered with bronze (though more inexpensive shields had bronze only on the rim), which protected the left side of the soldier’s body and extended over to the right half of his colleague on his left. This made the left side of the phalanx stronger since this side was completely protected, while the soldiers on the far right of the phalanx were exposed. Hence an army placed its best soldiers on this side. The shield was at least three feet in diameter, was round, and weighed about fifteen pounds. It was convex, which allowed it to be used as a flotation device if needed, and it could be used to haul supplies as well. The shield had a grip, known as the Argive grip, at the edge of the right side and a strap that the forearm passed through to allow it to be held in place without moving. This style allowed the soldiers to have more mobility since the shield was held in place by the arm and not unyielding so it would not flap around or easily come off. Resting on the shoulder, the shield covered the soldier’s body to the knees. In addition, the shield allowed the members of the phalanx to push their comrades forward in battle. The other type of force was the peltastes, or auxiliaries. They did not normally commit to a formation like the hoplites, but were rather used as support, reconnaissance, and harriers. They carried javelins, which they used to harass the enemy or continually attack retreating soldiers from a safe distance. The javelin was about four feet long and had a bronze head. The peltast wore little armor and probably did not carry swords. The hoplites may have also had javelins to throw in addition to their dory. A hoplite’s secondary weapon was the short sword or xiphos, made of bronze or iron. It had a double-edged blade about two feet long, although the Spartans had an even shorter blade of about one foot, which they used during the Persian Wars. It could be used either to thrust or cut. The Homeric period witnessed the use of bronze blades, while during the Classical Age, they were made of iron. Bronze was usually casted to make the xiphos, while iron was forged. Cavalry forces used the kopis, a longer, heavier, and curved sword designed to cut, which was probably used to chop at or strike down the enemy. The single-edged blade was about two feet long and could be held with one hand. With its curved design, it was well suited for striking rather than thrusting. Another type of weapon was the sling, where lead and stone pellets or bolts could be thrown by hand. These were also often used by the peltast. Although the bow or toxa was sometimes used, it was not a common weapon.

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The hoplites were also outfitted with armor for protection. They wore bronze grieves to protect their lower legs, which the shield did not cover. They also wore helmets, the most popular being the Corinthian helmet, developed about 600 and named after the city of its origin. It was made of bronze, with later versions covering the neck, with slits for the eyes and mouth. This type gave way to the more open style, such as the Chalcidian helmet, also made of bronze. This type of helmet had a nose and cheek guards but did not cover the full face, allowing better sight and hearing. Another type of helmet, favored by the Spartans, was the pileus, which was simply a metal cap. It was similar to the Boeotian helmet worn by cavalry forces. Soldiers also wore armor, but it was sometimes nothing more than a linen breastplate such as the linothorax, which was a cheaper and lighter version of the bronze breastplate but still gave some protection to the torso. Greek armor and weapons were mainly developed to give the heavy infantry or hoplite forces protection and to enhance the offensive capabilities of the massed infantry formation of the phalanx. The main weaponry were the spear and shield with other weapons such as swords, slings, bows and knives being subsidiary. These two pieces of equipment were the key to the success of the Greek soldiers against their most important foreign enemy, the Persians. See also: Army; Defenses; Hoplite; Phalanx

Further Reading

Hanson, Victor Davis. 1991. Hoplites: The Classical Greek Battle Experience. London: Routledge. Lendon, J. E. 2006. Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. To view swords from ancient Greece, see Brouwers, Josho, “Swords in Ancient Greece,” Ancient World Magazine, November 25, 2015, https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/swords-in-ancient-greece/ (accessed May 18, 2021).

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Index

Note: Page numbers in bold indicate main entries; italics indicate illustrations. Academy, 258 Accounting, 334–335 Aceso, 65 Achaea, 1–4, 429–430 Achaean League, 3, 4 Achaeans, 198, 561 The Acharnians, 141 Achilles: arête, 415; army, 53; basileus, 89; executes Trojan youths, 483; Hephaestus, 403; Iliad, 268, 270, 368; Odyssey, 14, 269, 566; Thessaly, 1; tortoise, 331, 474; Troy, 567 Acis, 404 Acropolis, 4, 4–6, 75, 174 Ada, 111 Adeimantus, 14 Aeacus, 15 Aegae, 6–9, 10 Aegaleus mountain, 82–83 Aegeira, 2 Aegeus, King, 129, 131, 362, 364 Aegina, 9–12 Aegisthus, 376, 558 Aegium, 2 Aegle, 65 Aegospotami, Battle of, 12–14 Aeneas, 165, 405 Aenete, 169 Aeneus, 169–170 Aeolians, 562 Aeolus, 484 Aerope, 558 Aeropos, 311 Aeschylus, 79, 304, 531, 557 Aeson, King, 554 Aether, 156, 402 Aetolians, 198

Afterlife, 14–18, 15 Agamede, 90 Agamemnon, King: and basileus, 88, 89; battlefield, 53; death of, 266; in Greek tragedy, 558, 560; Iliad, 211, 268, 270, 565; murder of, 567; Odyssey, 566; Peloponnese, 1; sacrifices daughter, 483; in Trojan War, 376, 428; as wanax, 367–368 Agariste, 571 Agathocles, 533 Agesilaus, King, 321 Agesilaus II, 153, 154 Agis, King, 153, 209, 320–321, 437 Agora, 18, 18–20 Agriculture, 20–23 Agrigento, Sicily, 23 Ahmose II, 447 Ahura-Mazda, 444, 445 Akanthos, 118 Akragas, 23–27, 24 Alcaeus of Mytilene, 294, 570 Alcamaeon, 266 Alcibiades: Arginusae, Battle of, 46–47; flees to Sparta, 431; Melos, 344; mini biography, 13; Peloponnesian War, 2, 170, 437, 438, 439; Sicilian Expedition, 150, 508, 509, 511; and Socrates, 298, 299, 520; War Party, 320 Alcinous, King, 269 Alexander, 555–556 Alexander I, 221, 309, 310, 311 Alexander II, King, 549, 550 Alexander of Epirus, 313 Alexander of Macedon, 465 Alexander of Pherae, 162

Alexander the Great: Bottiaeans, 408; Byzantium, 105; cavalry, 56; Chaeronea, Battle of, 116; Chios, 121; Corinthian League, 149–152; expansion of Greek culture, 259; Halicarnassus, 111; Macedon, 32, 313; Marathon, Battle of, 322; mercenaries, 346; Olympian statue, 399; Persian invasion, 123; phalanx, 458–459; Phocis, 461; Rome, 492; Symposium, 237; Thebes, 91, 93; Troy, 568; tutored by Aristotle, 51 Alphabet, 27–30, 29–30, 165, 223, 331 Altis, 399, 400 Alyattes, King of Lydia, 132, 211, 285, 355, 500, 569, 570 Amestris, 480 Amictus, 125 Amorgos, 160 Amphiaraus, 266 Amphinomos, 319 Amphion, 546, 569 Amphipolis, 30–32 Amphitrite, 404 Amun, 169 Amyntas I, King, 309, 310, 311–312, 448 Amyntas III, 117–118, 399 Anabola, 126 Anafi, 160 Anapias, 319 Anaxagoras, 156 Anaxilas, 317 Anaximander, 156, 157, 212, 475–476 Anaximenes, 476 Anchises of Troy, 405 Androclus, 211 Andromache, 268, 560 Andromachus, 319 Andros, 32–34, 160 Anios, 33 Antaeus, 404 Anthemion, 521 Anthesteria, 195, 233 Anthroponomastics, 385 Antigone, 559 Antileon, 227 Antimilos, 159 Antiochus, 438 Antione (Sophocles), 15 Antiparos, 160 Antipater, 152 Antiphemus, 248 Antisthenes, 520

Anytus, 521 Apadana, 443 Aphrodisia, 232 Aphrodite: cosmology, 156; festival, 234; gardens, 247; in Hippolytus, 559; Olympian religion, 403, 404–405, 486; temple, 541 Apollo: festivals, 195, 231, 234; as god, 329, 484, 485, 486; “Hymn of Apollo,” 180; music, 371; offerings to, 159; Olympian religion, 403–404; Olympic Games and festival, 406, 407; omens, 410, 411; Oracle, 181–185; Pythian Games, 419; Sibyl, 164; taxation, 535; temple, 160 Apollo Lyceum, 258 Apollodorus, 65 Apollonius of Perga, 68 Apollonius Rhodius, 295 Aratus, 4 Arcadia, 34–36, 198, 429–430 Arcas, 34 Arcesilaus I, 167 Arcesilaus II the Cruel, 168 Arcesilaus III, 168 Archaic Age, 58–61, 102, 123 Archelaos, 311 Archelaus, King, 426, 427 Archias, 530 Archidamian War, 36–40 Archidamus II, King, 36, 150, 339, 434 Archiloches, 371–372 Archilochos of Paros, 135 Archilochus, 300, 500, 543 Archimedes, 332 Architecture, 40, 40–44, 42 Archon, 45–46, 392 Archon Basileus, 45, 195 Ardys, 500 Ares, 403, 404, 485 Arête, 415 Argeus, 312 Arginusae, Battle of, 46–48 Argolid, 48–49, 428 Argonauts, 169–170, 554 Argos, 48–50, 428–429, 431 Ariabignes, 496 Ariadne, 129, 160, 194, 362, 364, 389 Arion, 404 Aristagoras, 170, 282, 286–287, 356, 389, 452 Aristarchus of Samos, 68

Aristides, 46, 71, 324, 360, 408, 454 Aristides of Athens, 176, 177 Aristides the Just, 413, 563 Aristippus, 520 Aristocracy, 517–519 Aristocrates, 47 Aristodemos, 164 Aristodemus, 351, 524 Aristogoras, 283 Aristomenes, 351 Aristophanes, 23, 79, 139–142, 507, 513, 535, 564 Aristoteles, 167 Aristotelian argument, 51–52 Aristotelian philosophy, 50–53 Aristotle: astronomy, 67, 68; Athenian Constitution, 45, 391; biography, 51; city-state, 470; Earth as center of universe, 157; literature, 308; Lyceum, 258; philosophy, 50–53; slavery, 514, 515; Socratic Method, 520 Armor, 575 Army, 53–57 Arrephoria, 234 Arrhidaios, 311 Art, 57–63, 60, 61, 62, 63 Art and sex, 506–507 Artabazus, 408, 468 Artaphernes, 323, 452, 453, 501–502 Artaphernes II, 502 Artaxerxes, King of Persia, 155, 345, 424, 425, 426, 449, 528 Artaxerxes I, 443, 444 Artaxerxes II, 444, 449 Artaxerxes III, 444, 449 Artaxerxes IV, 449 Artayctes, 380, 411 Artaynte, 480 Artemis: Delos, 180; festivals, 231, 233; Hippolytus, 559; Olympian religion, 402, 403, 484, 485, 486 Artemis Agrotera, 232 Artemisia, 110, 111, 463, 494, 496 Artemisium, 210, 210, 493 Arybbas, 221 Asclepeion, 218 Asclepius, 217–218, 404 Ashurbanipal, 500 Asia Minor, 165, 254 Asklepios and the healing arts, 63–67, 64 Aspasia, 139–140 Asphodel Meadows, 15

Astronomy, 67–70 Astyages, 86, 446 Astyanax, 560 Athena, 15; festivals, 234; Homeric epic, 270; olives, 397; Olympian religion, 403, 485, 486; Olympic Games and festival, 406; Panathenaea, 417–418; Parthenon, 423; statue, 6; temples, 3, 5, 26, 538, 541; tribute, 71 Athena Ergane, 233 Athena Hygiaea, 417 Athena Nike, 417 Athena Parthenos, 422 Athena Polias, 416, 417 Athena Promachos, 422 Athenagoras, 211 Athenian (Attic) calendar, 107–109 Athenian Constitution, 391 Athenian Empire, 70–74, 79 Athenian Plain, 82 Athens, 74, 74–79; Aegospotami, Battle of, 12–14; Archidamian War, 37, 38; Arginusae, Battle of, 46–48; Chaeronea, Battle of, 115–117; Classical Age, 5; Cleruchy, 124; Corcyra, 145–146; Corinthian War, 152–155; court systems, 296–299; Delian League, 176–179; feud with Aegina, 10–12; Marathon, Battle of, 322–325; Megarian Decree, 338–340; Melian Dialogue, 340–343; Melos, 52–53; Mytilene, 382–384; navy, 388; oligarchy, 394; Olynthus, 408–410; Peace of Callias, 424–426; Peloponnesian War, 432–440; Persian Wars, 451–456; Plataea, Battle of, 464–468; Rhodes, 488–489; Salamis, Battle of, 493–496; Sicilian Expedition, 508–511; taxation, 535–538; Thebes, 547–549; Thermopylae, Battle of, 550–553; tyranny, 570–571; walls, defensive, 174–175; wooden walls, 495 Athletes, 79–82, 80 Atlas, 402 Atreus, 558 Attica, 82–84, 186, 253 Baal, 112 Babylon, 445–448, 449 Bacchiad dynasty, 147, 394–395 Bacchis, 146, 394–395 Bacchus, 380 Bagoas, 449

Banking, 204 Barathron, 480 Barbarian, 85–88 Bardiya, 447 Bardylis, 85, 311, 312 Barley, 21–22, 234–235 Barter, 131 Basileus, 88–90, 368–369 Battus I, 167 Battus II, 167 Battus III, 166, 168 Battus IV, 168 Beds, 243 Beehive tomb, 100, 100 Bellona, 170 Benches, 243 Bias of Priene, 282 Birds, 410, 411 Bireme, 386–387 Births as omens, 411 Bisexuality, 506 Black and White style, 59 Black figure painting, 61 Black Sea, 137, 511–513 Black Style/Figure pottery, 60–61 Blason, 212 Boeotia, 90–93, 547–548 Boges, 177 Boreas, 484 Bottiaeans, 408 Boubares, 310 Boule, 93–95, 191 Bouphonia, 234 Boustrophedon, 277–278 Boxing, 245–246 Brasidas, 31, 40, 117, 118–119, 311, 408, 436 Brennas, 491 Briseis, 268 Bronze Age, 58, 95–99, 96, 122–123, 135 Bull (torture device), 25–26 Burials, 99, 99–103, 100, 238–240 Butes the Argonaut, 263 Byzantium, 103–105 Byzas of Megara, 104 Cadmus, 195, 405, 546 Calacte, 317–318 Calamis, 61 Calchas, 411 Calendar, 107, 107–110

Callias, 228, 425–426 Callicrates, 5, 422 Callicratidas, 47 Callimachus, 323, 324 Callisto, 34 Callistratus, 489 Camarina, 318 Cambyses, 286, 304, 444, 447, 462, 501 Camirus, 488 Candaules, King, 285, 499, 500 Capitals, 41–42 Carduchians, 346 Caria, 110–112 Carpatos, 126 Carthage, 25–27, 112–115, 531–532 Caryatids, 6 Cassandra, 376, 403–404, 558, 560 Catalogue of Ships (Homer), 97–98 Catania, 319 Cattle, 23 Caulonia, 316 Cavalry, 450 Cecrops, 5 Central Greece, 252–253 Cephalus, 353 Cephissus River, 82 Ceramics, 412 Cerberus, 15 Cereal crops, 21–22 Cereals, 234–235 Ceryces, 206 Chadwick, John, 302 Chaeronea, Battle of, 115–117, 116 Chairs, 242–243 Chalcidian League, 117–120, 408–409 Chalcis, 226–227, 299–301 Chalkeia, 232–233 Chaon, 220 Chaos, 402 Chariot racing, 272–274, 273 Charisteria, 232 Charon, 14, 15 Charondas, 319 Charybdis, 404 Chersiphron, 210 Chios, 120–122, 396 Chiron, 64, 65 Chiton, 125 Chlamys, 126 Cholcians, 346 Chronology, 122–124

Chryseis, 268 Chrysothemis, 376 Cimmerians, 86, 211, 512 Cimon: Aegina, 11; Alexander, 310; Athenian Empire, 70, 71–72; Delian League, 177–179; Ephialtes, 191, 193; Garden of Epicurus, 247; helots, 262; Naxos, 390; ostracism, 352, 413; Pericles, 38; Salamis, 424–426 Cinctus, 125 Cingulum, 125 Circe, 269 Circle A and B graves, 377–378 Cithaeron, 90 City Dionysia, 233 Class systems, 76–77 Classical Age, 61–63, 102–103, 123 Classical argument, 51–52 Cleander, 113, 249 Clearchus, 345 Cleinias, 13 Cleisthenes: Athenian constitution reform, 45, 46, 83, 94, 258, 353, 470; Athenian democracy, 51, 188–191, 490; Athens council, 77, 78; Athens tribes, 84, 562; Delphic oracle, 570–571; demes, 186–187, 326; ostracism, 413; Phocis, 459 Cleobulina, 110 Cleobulus, 487 Cleomedes, 341 Cleomenes, 11, 49, 185, 263, 527, 572 Cleon: Amphipolis, 31, 408; Archidamian War, 37, 39, 40; Chalcidian League, 117, 119; Mytilene, 383 Cleopatra, 8, 221 Cleruchy, 124–125 Clothing, 125–127, 126, 127 The Clouds (Aristophanes), 23 Clytemnestra, 376, 558, 560 Cnossos, 127–131, 128, 362–366, 363 Cnossos Palace, 128, 128–130 Cocalus, King, 263 Code of Gortyn, 278 Codrus, 75, 211, 354 Coes, 382 Coeus, 402 Coinage, 131–134, 132, 205 Colacus, 497 Colobium, 125 Colonization, 134–138

Columns, 40, 41–43, 42, 539–540 Comas, 211 Comedy, 139–142 Conciliar calendar, 107, 109 Conon, 47, 488 Corcyra, 142–146, 146–148, 214–216, 433–434, 436, 530–531 Corinth, 143–145, 146–149, 214–216, 394–395, 433–434, 439, 530–531, 569–570 Corinthia, 430 Corinthian League, 149–152 Corinthian War, 152–155 Coronis, 64 Cosmology, 155–158 Couch, 243 Council of Areopagus, 191–192 Council of Elders, 191–192 Council of Six Hundred, 330 Courts, 295–299 Crathis, 2 Cratinus, 139 Creation, 402 Cremation, 101–103 Creon, 15, 411, 559 Cresphontes, 350 Crete, 40–41, 95–97, 362–366, 363 Crimes and punishment, 478–480 Critias the Oligarch, 520–521 Crius, 402 Croesus: Artemisium, 210; coinage, 132, 563; conquers Aeolis, 284; Ephesians, 211; happiness, 501; Ionian Revolt, 121, 282, 285, 286, 462; Macedon, 309; Oracle, 185; war with Persians, 283, 446; wealth, 500 Cronus, 92, 156, 402, 485 Cucullus, 126 Cumae, 224–225, 317 Currencies, 9–10 Cyaxares, 86 Cyaxeres, 500 Cyclades, 158–163, 159, 254 Cycladic period, 58, 122 Cyclops, 65 Cylon, 76, 337 Cyme, 163–165 Cynosarges, 258 Cynurians, 198 Cypselus, 143, 147–148, 184, 214, 215, 345, 395, 569

Cyrene, 166–169, 404 Cyrus: Croesus, 185, 211; Herodotus, 304; Ionians, 121, 280, 282, 286; Lysander, 12; Persepolis, 442, 443, 444; Persia, 446–447, 449–450; Sardis and Lydia, 500–501; Xenophon, 307; Zoroastrianism, 445 Cyrus the Younger of Persia, 345, 438, 449 Cyzicus, 169–171 Daedalus, 24, 129, 263 Dance, 370–372 Daphne, 404 Darius I: Byzantium, 104; Cambyses, 447–448; Coes, 382; coinage, 563; Cyclades, 162; Cyzicus, 170; death of, 11; Ephesus, 211–212; Euboea, 227; Herodotus, 304; Ionians, 280, 286, 287; Istrus and Olbia, 289; Macedon, 309, 310; Marathon, Battle of, 56, 322, 323; Persepolis, 442, 443, 444, 445; Persian Wars, 451–453; Phoenicia, 462; Rhodes, 488; Scythians, 502–505; Thasos, 544; Thrace invasion, 355–356; Zoroastrianism, 445 Darius II, 12, 438, 444, 449 Darius III, 444, 449 Dark Ages, 59, 123, 270 Datis, 227, 323, 452, 462 Dawn, 403 Day, 156, 402 Dead, 14–17, 237–240 Death penalty, 479–480 Defenses, 173, 173–176 Deiphontes, 217 Delian League, 176–179; Athens tribute, 535–536, 563–564; Chalcidian League, 118, 119; Chios, 121; Cyclades, 162; Hellenic League, 149 Delos, 70–71, 77, 160, 162, 179–181 Delphi, 181–185, 182, 242, 459–460 Delphus, 183 Demades, 205 Demaratus, 185, 372, 454, 527 Demarch, 187 Deme, 186–188, 189 Demeter: cult of, 206; festivals, 232, 233, 234; mystery religions, 17, 380–381; Olympian religion, 402, 403, 404, 405; Persephone, 207; phallus symbol, 484; temples, 20, 75 Demetrius of Macedon, 489

Demiurge, 156–157 Democracy, 188, 188–193, 394 Democritus, 157, 474 Demonax of Mantinea, 168 Demosthenes, 79, 115–116, 152, 425, 436, 510–511 Demoteles, 497 Deucalion, 221 Diagoras, 227 Dialects, 293–295 Diasia, 233 Dicaearchia, 317 Dido, Queen, 112 Dikon, 80 Dining, 236–237 Diodorus, 263, 264, 339, 374, 425 Diodotus, 383 Dion, 532 Dione, 404, 485 Dionysia, 233 Dionysian Mysteries, 381 Dionysius the Elder, 532 Dionysius the Younger, 532 Dionysus, 193–196, 194; Catania, 319; Cithaeron, 90; Etruscans, 223; festivals, 232, 381; The Frogs, 142; human sacrifice, 380; Messena, 317; Naxos, 389; Olympian religion, 403, 404, 405, 484, 485, 486–487; Pythian Games, 184; temples, 33, 160; vineyards, 83 Dionysus Lenaios, 233 Diplois, 126 Dipolieia, 234 Discus throwing, 246 Divorce, 230–231, 327–328 Dodona, 221 Donoussa, 160 Dorian colonies, 113 Dorian invasion, 1, 197–200 Dorian Spartans, 351 Dorians, 428–429, 440, 441, 523, 562 Doric dialect, 294–295 Doric style of architecture, 26, 40, 41–44, 42 Doric temples, 24, 540–541 Dorieus, Prince, 113, 263–264 Doris, 253 Dory, 573–574 Double-entry system, 334–335 Dowry, 326, 327–328 Draco, 76, 205 Dracon, 478, 479

Dryopians, 198 Ducetius, 318 Dymanes, 199 Early Cycladic culture, 161 Early Helladic period, 95–96 Early Minoan period, 96 Early Protoattic style, 59 Early Protocorinthian period, 59 Earth, 484 East Greek dialect, 294 Ecbatana, 444, 445 Ecclesia, 201–203 Economy, 203–206 Education, 229, 415 Eetion, 569 Egypt, 87 Eileithyia, 403, 485 Einkorn, 235 Elea, 317 Electra, 376, 558 Eleusinian Plain, 82 Eleusis, 206–208 Elis, 36, 208–209, 429, 558 Elysian Mysteries, 380, 381 Elysium, 15 Emmer, 235 Empedocles of Akragas, 475 Entimus, 248 Enyalios, 232 Eos, 402 Epaminondas: Achaea, 3; death of, 556; Leuctra, Battle of, 91, 93; Mantinea, Battles of, 321–322; Messenia, 352; oblique phalanx, 458; Thebes, 548, 549–550 Ephesus, 209–213, 210, 396 Ephialtes, 71–72, 179, 190, 191, 192–193, 517, 552, 558 Ephors, 213–214, 256–257, 262, 524 Ephorus, 440 Epiblema, 126 Epicurus, 247 Epidamnus, 144–145, 214–217 Epidauros, 64 Epidaurus, 217–219, 218, 219 Epione, 65 Epirotes, 85 Epirus, 219–222 Eponymous archon, 45, 46 Eratosthenes, 68 Erebus, 156, 402

Erechtheion, 5–6 Erechtheus, 416 Eretria, 226–227, 299–301, 452 Eriphlye, 266 Eros, 402 Eryx, 263 Eryxo, 168 Eteocles, 559 Etruscan language, 223 Etruscans, 222, 222–225, 491 Euboea, 225–228 Eucleides, 520 Euclid, 332 Eudoxus of Cnidus, 170–171 Eumolpidae, 206 Euphorbus, 452 Eupolis, 139 Euripides, 79, 427, 559–561 Europa, 263 Eurus, 484 Eurydice, 399 Euryleon, 264 Eurylochus, 554 Eurymedon, Battle of, 425–426 Eurysthenes, 523 Eusorus, 169 Euthymenes of Massalia, 330 Euthyphro, 523 Evans, Sir Arthur, 130, 302, 362, 365, 366 Evenus, 404 Exomis, 125 Family, 229–231 Federalism, 92–93 Fertility, 484 Ferula, 168 Festivals, 231–234, 416–418 Figs, 83 Flaminius, 492 Flowers, 248 Folegandros, 160 Food, 234–237, 235 Foot companions, 458 Foot races, 528 Fortified sites, 173, 173–175 Funerals, 237–240, 238 Furniture, 241, 241–244 Gaea, 156, 483, 485 Gaia, 91, 183, 221–222 Galatea, 404 Gamelion, 233

Games, 79–81, 245–247 Gardens, 247–248 Ge, 402, 404 Gela, 248–250, 318 Gelo, 144, 531–532 Gelon, 25, 250, 265, 318, 459 Genesia, 16–17, 240 Genos, 17 Geocentric view of the cosmos, 68 Geography, 250–255, 251 Geometric period, 59, 101–102, 123 Geometry, 331 Gerousia, 114, 255–257, 524 Glaucias, 216 Glaucus, 64 Goats, 23 Gods and goddesses, 401, 401–406, 483–487, 542 Gordius, 499 Gorgias of Leontini, 522 Goths, 491 Government officials, 392–393 Grain, 22 Grapes, 22–23 Graves, 100–103 Great Dionysia, 195–196 Great (King’s) Tomb, 7, 7, 8 Greater Mysteries, 381 Greek alphabet, 27–30, 29–30 Groves, 484 Gulf of Corinth, 250 Gyaros, 159 Gyges, 285, 286, 355, 499–500, 569 Gylippus, 265, 437, 509–511, 532 Gymnasium, 257, 257–259 Gymnopaedia, 231 Habrondas, 512 Hades: afterlife, 14; Asklepios, 65; cosmology, 156; depicted on tomb, 7; Olympian religion, 402, 403, 405, 484; Persephone, 207 Hadrian, 233 Hagnon, 30 Halicarnassus, 110–111 Haloa, 233 Hamilcar I, King, 25, 26, 113, 114, 265, 318 Hamilco, 114 Hannibal, 26 Hannibal Mago, 114, 265 Hanno the Navigator, 114

Happiness, 501 Harpagus, 121, 286, 355, 501 Hatshepsut, 97 Healing arts, 63–66 Hebe, 403, 485 Hecataeus of Miletus, 287, 476, 502 Hecate, 486 Hecatomb, 416 Hecatomnus, 111 Hector, 268, 368, 411, 560, 566 Hecuba, 268, 560 Hegesipyle, 452 Helen of Troy, 268, 367, 376, 428, 485, 523, 560, 566 Helenus, 411 Helicon, 90 Helike, 1–2 Heliocentric view of the cosmos, 68 Helios, 401–402, 483, 487, 489 Helladic period, 122 Hellen, 1, 553 Hellenic League, 149 Hellenica (Xenophon), 306–307 Helmet, 573, 575 Helnus, 220 Helot, 261–262, 518 Hemlock, 480 Hephaestion, 486 Hephaestus, 403, 404, 423, 485 Hephaistos, 233 Hera: Arcadia, 34; Byzantium, 104; Dionysus, 195; festivals, 233; Olympian religion, 402, 403, 405, 485; temples, 3, 497, 540, 541 Heraclea, 315 Heraclea Minoa, 263–264, 318 Heracles: in art, 61; Dorians as descendants of, 197, 199, 523; Ephors, 213; Nemean Games, 420; Olympian religion, 403, 404; Olympic Games and festival, 407; Sophocles, 558; Thebes, 546; wrestling, 246, 263 Heraclitus, 212, 474 Hermaphroditus, 486 Hermes, 403, 405, 407, 486 Hermias of Atarneus, 51 Hermippus, 139 Herms, 507, 508, 509 Herod, 130 Herodotus: Aegina, 9, 10–11; Alexander, 310; animal births, 411; Callias, 425; Caria, 110; Corcyra, 144; Croesus, 283;

Cyrene, 166; Ecbatana, 444; Ephors, 214; Etruscans, 223, 224; as first historian, 304–305; Genesia, 16; Greek alphabet, 28; happiness, 501; Heraclea Minoa, 263; Ionian League, 280, 281; language, 294, 295; Marathon, Battle of, 322; measurements, 333; Midas, 242; Miletus, 354, 356; Mycale, Battle of, 374; oracle of Zeus, 221; oracles, 523; Peloponnese, 198; Persian cruelty, 480; Persian Wars, 453–454, 455; phalanx, 458; Phocaeans, 329; Phoenicians, 461, 462; Plataea, Battle of, 465; Potidaea, 472; “remember the Athenians,” 287; Salamis, Battle of, 493, 494, 495; Scythian and Greek intermarriage, 289; Scythian invasion, 451; Scythians, 502, 504; solar eclipse, 410; Syracuse, 532; Thermopylae, Battle of, 550 Heroism, 16 Herostratus, 210 Herpyllis of Stagira, 51 Hesiod: astronomy, 67; Boeotia, 90, 91–92, 295; Olympian religion, 402, 485; omens, 410; sailing season, 349; slavery, 514 Hestia, 402, 403 Hidrieus, 111 Hiero I, 557 Hiero of Syracuse, 26, 250, 307, 317, 532 Hieron of Syracuse, 319 High Archaic period, 60 Highlands, 82 Hiketeria, 233 Himaera, 318 Himation, 126–127 Himera, 25–26, 264–266 Himilco, 317 Hipparchus of Nicca, 68, 77, 572 Hippias: Aeschylus, 557; Athens, 77, 78; Corinth, 148; Macedon, 309; Marathon, Battle of, 322, 323; metics, 353; Oracle, 184, 185; ostracism, 413, 414; Persian Wars, 451, 452, 453; Thessaly, 554; as tyrant, 572 Hippocleides, 571 Hippocrates, 66, 113, 143, 249–250, 531, 571 Hippocratic Oath, 66 Hippodamus, 427 Hippodrome, 272–274 Hippolces of Cyme, 163

Hippolytus, 559 Histiaeus of Miletus, 286, 355–356, 503, 504, 543 History, 304–308 Homer, 96; Achaea, 1, 561; afterlife, 14, 15; astronomy, 67; athletes, 81; Boeotia, 90; Calchas, 411; Caria, 110; Catalogue of Ships, 97–98; Dodona, 221; “Hymn of Apollo,” 180; Ios, 160; military ships, 357, 359; Olympia religion, 485; Phoenicia, 461; slavery, 514; Thesprotia, 220; Troy, 565–568; Zeus, 242 Homeric epics, 266–270, 267 “Homeric Hymn to Apollo,” 183 Homosexuality, 505–507, 526 Hoplite, 270–272, 456–458, 457, 573–575 Hoplite phalanx, 55–57 Horse racing, 272–274, 273 Horses, 23 House, 275, 275–276 Human sacrifice, 380 Hyacinth, 231, 465 Hydarnes, 460, 552 Hygieia, 65 Hylleis, 199 Hyllus, 197 Hymettus mountain, 82–83 “Hymn of Apollo,” 180 Hyperbolus, 320, 321, 344, 414, 437 Hyperion, 401–402 Hypnos, 14 Ialysus, 487–488 Iambe, 207 Iapetus, 402 Iaso, 65 Icarus, 24 Ictinus, 5 Idomeneus of Crete, 315 Ikkus, 246 Iliad (Homer), 81, 266–270, 461, 514, 565–568 Ilissus, 423 Immortals, 460 Inachus, 104 Indutus, 126 Inhumation, 99–103 Inscriptions and papyri, 277, 277–279 Io, 104 Ionian League, 120, 121, 279–285 Ionian revolt, 285–288 Ionians, 561–562

Ionic dialect, 294 Ionic order, 42–43 Ionic temples, 5, 541 Iphigenia, 376, 483, 558 Iraklia, 160 Iron Age, 123 Is of Helike, 2 Isocrates, 150, 415, 425 Isthmian Games, 420 Istrus and Oibia, 288–290 Jason, 169, 170, 554, 559 Jason and the Argonauts, 221 Jason of Pherae, 252, 312, 549, 555 Javelin throw, 246 Jocasta, 547, 559 Julius Pollux, 31 Jumping competition, 246 Jury, 296–298 Kallidice, 220 Kallipolis, 315 Karneia, 231 Kasmenai, 318 Kea, 158, 161 Kimolos, 159 Kings, 367–369 Kleomachos of Pharsalos, 301 “Know Thyself” (Apollo), 182–183 Koine, 291–292 Koroibos, 407 Kouros, 60 Kritios, 61 Kroton, 315–316 Krypteia, 469 Kyria ekklesia, 201, 202 Kythnos, 158 Labda, 569 Laconia, 429 Laertes, 269 Laius, 547, 559 Lamachus, 508, 509–511 Language, 291, 293–295, 301–303, 302 Lars Porsena, 164 Late Archaic period, 60–61 Late Bronze Age I and II, 58 Late Cycladic culture, 162 Late Geometric style, 59 Late Helladic period, 97 Late Minoan period, 97 Late Protocorinthian period, 59

Laurium mountain, 82–83 Laus, 316–317 Law courts, 295–299 League of Delos, 121 Learchus, 168 Lefkandi, 226 Legumes, 235–236 Lelantine War, 226–227, 299–301 Leleges, 120 Lemnians, 198 Lenaia, 233 Length, 332–334 Leonidas, King, 527; death of, 304, 372; Thermopylae, Battle of, 174, 231, 454, 460, 462, 551, 552–553 Leonidas of Naxos, 400 Leontinoi, 319 Leotychidas, 153, 372, 373 Leotychides, 11 Lesser Mysteries, 380–381 Leto, 180, 231, 402, 403 Leucippus, 64, 474 Libya, 166–167, 168 Lincoln, Abraham, 305 Lindus, 488 Linear B (writing system), 27, 293, 301–303, 302, 365 Linus, 371 Lion Gate, 375, 376–377 Lion of Chaeronea, 116 Literature, 304–308 Liturgies, 537–538 Locri, 316 Locris, 253 Logos, 212 Long Walls, 75, 175 Lunar eclipse, 533 Lycaon, 34 Lyceum, 258–259 Lycophron, 143, 570 Lycurgus, 21, 213, 214, 255, 256, 420 Lydia. See Sardis and Lydia Lydians, 86 Lygdamis, 110, 389 Lykourgos, 529 Lysander: Aegospotami, Battle of, 12, 14; Agesilaus, 153; Arginusae, Battle of, 46, 48; grain supply cut off, 350; Melos, 343, 344; Peloponnesian War, 438–439; Samos, 499; Thasos, 544 Lysias, 353 Lysistrata (Aristophanes), 507

Macedon, 6, 116–117, 309–314 Machaon, 65 Maeander, 484 Magna Graecia, 314, 314–320, 319 Maia, 405 Makronisos, 158 Mantinea, 34–36 Mantinea, Battles of, 320–322 Marathon, Battle of, 162, 322–325, 453 Marble, 204 Mardonius: death of, 373; Persian Wars, 455–456; Plataea, Battle of, 465–468; Salamis, Battle of, 494, 496; Thrace, 309, 322, 452 Marduk, 447 Marpessa, 404 Marriage, 230, 325–328, 505, 507, 526 Marsyas, 371 Masistes, 480 Massalia, 88, 328–330 Mathematics, 330–332 Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, 111 Mausolus, 111, 489 Mazares, 501 Measurements and accounting, 332–335, 333 Medea, 559 Mediterranean region, 252 Medma, 316 Medon, 76 Medusa, 158 Meeting place, 18, 18–20 Megabates, 286 Megabazus, 309, 310, 504 Megacles, 76, 413, 571 Megara, 136, 137, 141, 253, 336–338, 396, 434, 571 Megarian Decree, 338–340 Megaron, 275, 275 Megasthenes of Chalcis, 163 Melanchrus, 382 Melas, 211, 500, 569 Meles, 411 Meletus, 298–299, 521 Melian Dialogue, 340–343 Melian War, 281 Melians, 52–53 Melissa, 217, 570 Melos, 52, 159, 161, 162, 340–343, 343–344 Melqart, 543 Memnon of Rhodes, 384

Menander, 142 Menelaus, 268, 269, 367, 376, 560, 566 Mercenaries, 344–346 Merchant galleys, 348 Merchant ships, 347, 347–350 Mercuries, 509 Messages, 410–412 Messena, 317 Messenia, 261–262, 350–352, 429, 526 Metagenes, 210 Metallurgy, 203–204 Metapontum, 315 Metic, 206, 352–354, 518, 537 Metis, 404, 485 Micythus, 316–317 Midacritus the Phocaean, 330 Midas, 86, 242, 499 Middle Bronze Age, 58 Middle Comedy, 139, 142 Middle Cycladic period, 161 Middle Greece, 252–253 Middle Helladic period, 96 Middle Minoan period, 96–97 Middle Protoattic style, 59 Middle Protocorinthian period, 59 Midland District, 82 Miletus, 354–357, 476, 498 Military, 229–230 Military officials, 391–392 Military ships, 357, 357–360 Miltiades: Marathon, Battle of, 160, 323, 324, 457–458; Persian Wars, 451, 453, 454; Scythians, 504; Thracian Chersonese, 77, 503; as tyrant, 571, 572 Miltiades the Younger, 452–454 Mindarus, 170, 438 Mines of Laurium, 360–361 Mining, 203 Minoan period, 58, 122 Minoans, 361–367, 363 Minos: Cnossos, 367; Heraclea Minoa, 263; as judge of Greek souls, 15; Minoans, 361, 364, 366; Minotaur, 129 Minotaur, 129, 131, 361–362, 364 Minyas, King, 96 Mnemosyne, 402, 403 Mnesicles, 421 Molossians, 220–221 Monarchy, 367–370, 393–394 Months, 108–109 Moon, 109 Morality, 485

Mothones, 262 Mountains, 402 Mounychia, 233 Music and dance, 370, 370–372 Musical instruments, 371 Mutilation, 480 Mycale, Battle of, 372–375 Mycenae, 220, 375, 375–379 Mycenaean civilization, 523 Mycenaean period, 58, 269–270 Mycenaean writing system, 27–30, 29–30 Mykonos, 160, 162 Myron, 61 Myronides, 91 Myrsilus, 382, 570 Mysteries, 206–207, 208 Mystery religions, 17, 379, 379–381 Mythology, 156–158 Mytilene, 381–384 Nabonidus, King, 444, 447 Names, 385–386 Naos, 539–540 Narses, 165 Nausicaa, 269 Navy, 386–389 Naxos, 160, 162, 319, 389–390, 396 Neapolis, 317 Nearchus, 474 Near-Eastern style, 59 Nebuchadnezzar III, 447 Nebuchadnezzar IV, 447 Neleus, 354 Nemean Games, 420 Neodamodeis, 262 Neoptolemus, 220, 560 Nereus, 404 Nesiotes, 61 Nestor, 269, 481, 568 New Bouleuterion, 20 New Comedy, 139, 141–142 New Testament Greek, 291 Nicias: failed ostracism, 414, 437; lunar eclipse, 411; Melos, 344; mines of Laurium, 360–361; Sicilian Expedition, 508–511; slavery, 516; Syracuse, 532, 533 Nicias of Athens, 39 Nicomachus, 51 Night, 156, 402 Nike, 406 Nomos, 17

Northern Greece, 252 North-West Greek dialect, 293–294 “Nothing too much” (Apollo), 182–183 Notus, 484 Oak trees, 484 Obol, 132, 133 Oceanids, 402 Oceanus, 402, 404 Odysseus, 220, 221, 267, 269, 368, 461, 479, 514, 567 Odyssey (Homer), 14, 266–270, 461, 479, 514, 565–568 Oedipus, 90, 485, 515, 546, 547, 559 Oenoe, 160 Officials, 391–393 Ogyges, 1 Oibia, 288–290 Old Bouleuterion, 20 Old Comedy, 139–142 Oligarchy, 393–397, 518 Olives, 21, 22–23, 83, 397–398 Olorus, 452 Olympia, 399–401 Olympian festival, 418–419 Olympian religion, 401, 401–406 Olympians, 485 Olympias, 8, 85, 221, 312, 399 Olympic Games and festival, 80, 81, 399–401, 406–407, 419, 530 Olympieia, 233 Olympus, 371 Olynthus, 119, 408–410 Omens, 410–412 On the Soul (Aristotle), 50 Onesilos, 282 Onomarchos, 460 Opheltes, 420 Opisthodomos, 539–540 Oracle at Delphi, 138, 166–167, 181–185, 283 Oracle of Zeus, 221 Oracles, 523 Orchestra, 545–546 Orchomenus, 91 Orders, 40, 41–44, 42 Orestes, 311, 376, 382, 558 Orestes’s bones, 35 Oroetes, 498, 501 Orontobates, 111 Orthagoras, 396, 570–571 Oschophoria, 195, 232

Ostracism, 412, 412–414 Otanes, 501 Oxyhlos, 197 Paideia, 415–416 Palaces, 127–129, 128 Palla, 126 Pallium, 126 Pan, 170, 484 Panacea, 65 Panathenaea, 416–418 Panhellenic Games, 80, 81, 418, 418–420 Panionia, 280, 281 Pantares, 249 Papyri, 277–279 Parabasis, 139 Paradoxes, 474 Paralia/Seacoast district, 82 Paris, 268, 367, 376, 523, 566 Parmenides, 473–474, 475 Parmenio, 312 Paros, 159–160, 162 Parthenon, 5, 421, 421–424 Pasargadae, 443 Pasiphae, 129 Patras, 2 Patrocles, 514 Patroclus, 268, 483, 566 Pausanias, 39, 104, 153, 219, 311, 467–468, 527–528 Peace of Callias, 424–426 Peace of Nicias, 38–40 Pelasgians, 169 Peleas, 559 Peleponnesian League, 149 Peleus, 16, 404 Pella, 426–428 Pelopidas, 93, 312, 548–549, 550, 555–556 Peloponnese, 1, 198, 428–430 Peloponnesian League, 430–432 Peloponnesian War, 56–57, 432–440 Pelops, 400, 558 Penelope, 220, 242, 267, 269–270 Penteconter, 386 Pentelicus mountain, 82–83 Pentheus, King of Thebes, 195 Peplos, 125 Perdiccas I, 7, 311 Perdiccas II, 31, 408, 472 Periander of Corinth, 60, 143, 147–148, 217, 355, 471, 569–570 Periblema, 126

Peribolos, 538 Pericles, 188; accounting, 335; Amphipolis, 30; Arginusae, Battle of, 47; Athenian Empire, 71–73; boule, 94; citizenship restrictions, 353, 517; Classical Age of Athens, 5; comedies, 139–140; Delian League, 179; democracy, 190, 191, 193; Euboea, 228; funeral oration and democracy, 192; Megarian Decree, 338–340; mini biography, 38; navy, 388; Panathenaea, 417; Parthenon, 421–424; Peloponnesian War, 434, 435, 436; plague, 382; Samos, 498; Sinope, 512–513; Thucydides, 305, 306; tribute, 564 Perillos of Athens, 24, 25 Perioeci, 440–441 Perioeci, 525 Perizoma, 125 Persephone: abduction depiction, 7; Eleusinian Mysteries, 405; fertility rites, 484; festivals, 232, 233; Mystery Religions, 17, 380–381; rape of, 207; temples, 75 Persepolis and other Persian capitals, 442, 442–445 Perses, 91, 92 Perseus, 158 Persia, 5, 445–450, 446; army, 56–57; capitals, 442–445; Corinthian War, 152–155; Delian League, 177–178; Marathon, Battle of, 322–325; Mycale, Battle of, 372–374; navy, 388; Peace of Callias, 424–426; Plataea, Battle of, 465–468; Salamis, Battle of, 493–496; Thermopylae, Battle of, 550–553 Persian Wars, 451–456 Personal names, 385–386 Phaedo, 520 Phaedra, 559 Phalanx, 456–459, 457, 573–575 Phalaris, 24–25, 266, 318 Phaleus, 214 Phanias the Lesbian, 380 Pharnabazus, 153, 439 Pheidias, 43 Pheidon, 9, 48–49, 208–209, 217, 345 Pheretime, 168 Phidias, 5, 6, 62, 421–422, 424, 538 Philagrus, 452 Philip II, King of Macedon: Achaea, 3; Amphipolis, 32; army, 57; Byzantium,

105; cavalry, 56; Chaeronea, Battle of, 33, 115–117; Chalcidian League, 118, 119; coinage, 170; Corinthian League, 149–151, 432; Euboea, 228; League of Corinth, 148; Macedon, 312–313; Macedonian phalanx, 458; mercenaries, 346; Olympian statue, 399; Olynthus, 409–410; Pella, 427; Potidaea, 473; Symposium, 237; Thasos, 544; Thebes, 91, 93, 550; Thessaly, 556; Third Sacred War, 460–461; tomb, 7, 8 Philippides, 323 Philolaus of Corinth, 396 Philosophy, 473–476 Phintias, 250 Phocaea, 328–329 Phocians, 551, 552 Phocis, 313, 329, 459–461 Phoebe, 402 Phoenicia, 87, 461–464 Phoenician alphabet, 28–30, 29–30 Phoxus, 227 Phrygia, 86, 499 Phrynichus, 556–557 Pindar, 25, 418, 523 Pisa, 208–209 Pisistratus: acropolis, 5; Classical temples, 541; Dionysia, 381; Eleusis, 206; Euboea, 227; festivals, 6, 139, 196, 233; Macedon, 309; metics, 353; Mytilene, 382; Oracle, 184; Panathenaea, 416, 417; reign of, 570–571; as tyrant, 77, 188, 205 Pit graves, 100–103 Pittacus, 382, 570 Pityreus, 217 Pixodarus, 111 Pixous, 316–317 Plague, 66, 435–436 Plains, 82 Plants, 248 Plataea, 91, 436, 547–548 Plataea, Battle of, 464–468 Plato: afterlife, 17; Aristotelian philosophy, 51; astronomy, 68; cosmology, 156–157; literature, 307–308; pre-Socratic, 473, 476; Socrates, 140; Socratic Method, 520, 521; Sophists, 522; theory of forms, 415 Plautus, 142 Pleistoanas, King of Sparta, 39 Plutarch: Alcibiades, 431; Delian treasury, 423; Ephors, 214; Gerousia, 255, 256;

human sacrifice, 380; punishment, 479; Solon, 205 Pluto, 485 Plynteria, 234 Podaleirios, 65 Poetics (Aristotle), 51 Poison, 480 Polemarch, 45 Police, 468–469 Polis, 368, 369, 469–471 Politics (Aristotle), 50–51 Polyaigos, 159 Polyarchus, 168 Polybius, 114, 291 Polybus, 547 Polycleitos, 62 Polycrates of Samos, 60, 181, 317, 382, 396, 497–498 Polydamas of Pharsalus, 555 Polydektes, King, 158–159 Polygnotus, 6 Polykleitos the Younger, 218 Polyneices, 411 Polynice, 559 Polyphemus, 269, 404 Polypoetes, 220 Polyxena, 560 Polyzelos, 250 Pompaia, 233 Pontus, 402, 404 Poseidon, 62; Isthmian Games, 420; Minotaur, 129; olive tree, 397; Olympian religion, 402, 403, 404, 485; sixth month, 108; struggle with Athena over ownership of Athens, 423 Poseidon Helikonios, 280, 281 Poseidon-Erechtheus, King, 6 Poseidonia, 317 Potidaea, 408, 409, 433–434, 436, 471–473 Pottery, 60–61, 63 Praxiteles, 62 Pre-Socratic, 473–477 Priam, 1, 268, 367, 403–404, 411, 566 Priests, 483 Procles, 497, 570 Proclus, 523 Prokles, 217 Prometheus, 221, 402, 479, 557 Propylaea, 5, 6, 44 Prostitution, 237 Protagoras, 522 Proteus, 118

Prothesis, 238 Protoattic style, 59 Prytaneis, 201, 477–478 Prytany, 94 Psammeticus I, 345, 355 Ptolemy, 68–69 Punishment, 478–481 Pyanopsia, 195, 232 Pygmalion, 112 Pylos, 481–482 Pyrrhus, 222, 275, 459, 491 Pythagoras, 61, 67, 158, 211, 331, 396, 474 Pythagorean Theorem, 331 Pythia, 181–182 Pythian Games, 419 Pythias, 51 Python, 419 Quarrying, 204 Rape, 507 Red figure painting, 63 Reincarnation, 475 Religion, 483–487 Religions, mystery, 379, 379–381 Remus, 405 Rhadamanthus, 15 Rhea, 92, 156, 402 Rhegion, 316 Rhetoric (Aristotle), 51 Rhodes, 487–490 Rhodos, 487 Rios, 33 Rivers, 14–15 Rome, 490, 490–492 Romulus, 405 Rowers, 359 Running competition, 245 Sabazius, 486 Sacred Way, 82 Sacrifice, 483 Sailing ships, 347–350 Salamis, Battle of, 493–497 Samos, 396, 497–499 Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, 183 Sanctuary of Pythian Apollo, 183 Sandal, 127 Sandauce, 380 Santorini, 162 Sappho, 294, 570 Sardis and Lydia, 499–502

Sargon II of Assyria, 499 Satrapies, 449 Sayattes, 500 Schliemann, Heinrich, 268, 566 Scientific history, 305–306 Scione, 118 Scythian invasion, 451–452 Scythians, 502–505, 503 Second Athenian League, 488, 489 Segesta, 508 Selene, 402 Selinunte, 25–26, 318 Semele, 195, 405 Seriphos, 158–159 Seuthes II, King, 346 Sex, 505–508 Sheep, 23 Shield, 271, 574 Ships, merchant, 347, 347–350 Ships, military, 357, 357–359 Ships, navy, 386–389 Sibyl, 164 Sicilian Expedition, 508–511 Sicily, 87, 437–438 Sicyon, 570–571 Sifnos, 159 Sikinos, 160 Silphium, 168 Silver mines, 360–361 Simonides of Ceos, 307 Sin, 447, 512 Sinope, 511–513 Siris, 315 Sirius, 158 Sitalces, 86 Skira, 234 Skirophorion, 234 Slavery, 261, 513–516, 517 Snake, 484 Social status, 517–519 Socrates: Arginusae, Battle of, 47; Aristophanes, 140; Aristotelian philosophy, 51; Lyceum, 247; preSocratic, 473, 476; Socratic Method, 519–521; trial, 298–299; Xenophon, 307 Socratic Method, 519–521 Solon: agriculture, 21; archons, 46; Athenian citizenship, 352; Athens laws and government, 76–77; boule, 477; democracy, 188, 189, 190; Eleusis, 206; gymnasium, 258; happiness, 501; marriage rules, 326; oligarchy, 394;

olive trees, 398; political and economic reforms, 205; punishment, 478, 479; slavery, 514 Sophists, 521–523 Sophocles, 15, 79, 238, 558–559 Southern Greece, 253–254 Sparta, 523–528, 524, 527; Aegospotami, Battle of, 12–14; Alcibiades, 431; Arcadia, 34–36; Archidamian War, 36–40; Arginusae, Battle of, 46–48; Argos, 49; Corinthian War, 152–155; Elis, 208–209; festivals, 231; helots, 261–262; Macedonians, 409; Megarian Decree, 338–340; Melian Dialogue, 340–343; Messenia, 351–352; Mycale, Battle of, 372–374; navy, 388; Peloponnesian League, 430–432; Peloponnesian War, 432–440; perioeci, 440–441; Persian Wars, 451–456; Plataea, Battle of, 465–468; police, 469; Thermopylae, Battle of, 551–553; Xenophon, 307 Spartacus, 516 Spelt, 235 Spercheas, 484 Sphinx, 547 Stadium, 528–530, 529 Stagira, 118–119 Stenia, 232 Stesichorus, 265–266 Stoa, 19–20 Stoichedon, 278 Stool, 243 Strabo, 2, 10, 163, 217, 219 Strophium, 125 Stylobate, 540 Styx, 14 Suda, 31 Suffetes, 114 Sulla, 259 Sun, 483 Superstition, 484–485, 486 Susa, 444 Sybaris, 2–3 Symposium, 237, 506 Syracuse, 25–26, 224–225, 249–250, 318, 508–510, 530–533 Syros, 159 Tabalus, 501 Tables, 243 Tachara, 443–444

Talaris, 126 Tanit, 112 Tantalus, 558 Taormina, 545 Tarentum, 315 Tarquinius Superbus, 164–165 Tarquinius the Proud, 490 Tartarus, 15, 402 Taxation, 535–538, 563–564 Tegea, 34–36 Teiresias, 269, 411 Telemachus, 25, 269 Telesicles, 543 Telesphoros, 65 Telestes, 147 Teline, 249 Temenos, King of Argos, 217, 309 Temenus, 48 Temple of Asclepius, 27 Temple of Concordia, 26 Temple of Hephaestus, 27, 539 Temple of Heracles, 26–27 Temple of Juno, 26 Temple to Athena, 5 Temple to Castor and Pollux, 27 Temple to Olympian Zeus, 27 Temples, 43, 538–543, 539 Teres I, 85–86 Terillus, 25, 265 Terina, 316 Tethys, 402, 404 Thales of Miletus, 156, 157, 282, 331, 410–411, 475–476 Thales of Miletus Examyas, 110 Thargelia, 234 Thargelion, 234 Thasos, 178, 543–544 Theagenes, 336–337, 396, 571 Theater, 545, 545–546 Theatron, 545–546 Thebes, 546–550; Aegina, 10; Boeotia, 90–91, 93, 253; cavalry, 56; Chaeronea, Battle of, 116–117; Corinthian League, 149, 151; oligarchy, 396; Peloponnese, 430; Plataea, Battle of, 464–467; Rhodes coins, 488; Thessaly, 555–556 Theia, 402 Themis, 402, 403 Themistocles: Aegina, 11; Athenian empire, 71; Athenian fleet, 78; defensive walls in Athens, 75; human sacrifice, 380, 483; Marathon, Battle of, 324;

mines of Laurium, 360; Myus, 283; ostracism, 413, 414; Persian Wars, 454, 455; Salamis, Battle of, 493–494, 496 Theodorus of Samos, 210 Theogamia, 233 Theogony (Hesiod), 91–92 Theophrastus, 69, 395, 486 Theopompus, King, 214, 351, 425 Thera, 162, 166 Thermopylae, Battle of, 550–553 Theron, 25–26, 265 Theron of Agrigento, 318 Theseus, 129, 131, 177, 362, 364, 416, 422–423 Thesmophoria, 232, 233 Thesmothetai, 45 Thesprotians, 220, 221 Thessaly, 1, 252, 459–460, 553–556 Thetis, 402, 403, 404 Thoas, 160 Thrace, 85–86, 451, 452–453 Thrasybulus of Miletus, 345, 355, 532, 569 Thrasydaeus, 25, 26, 318 Throne Room, 130 Thrones, 241, 242 Thucydides: Amphipolis, 30–31; Aristotelian philosophy, 52, 53; Athenians vs. Spartans, 433; Athens and taxation, 535, 537; Delian League, 176; Epirus, 219; Greek calendars, 108; Greek navies, 144; Himera, 264; as historian, 305–306; language, 295; Megarian Decree, 339; Melian Dialogue, 340, 341, 344; Mercuries, 509; Minos, 263, 366; New Testament Greek, 291; ostracism, 413–414; Peloponnesian War, 432–433, 436; Pericles, 192; Phoenicians, 461; plague, 66; political realities of war, 162; Thasos, 544; warship, 387; Zancle, 137 Thucydides of Melesias, 421 Thutmose III, 97 Thyestes, 558 Timesilaus, 513 Timoleon, 26, 250, 532 Timotheus of Miletus, 427 Tinos, 160 Tisamenus, 1 Tisias, 341 Tissaphernes, 345, 346 Titans, 156, 401–402, 402 Tomb of Mausolus, 111

Tombs, 99, 100, 100–102 Tools, 244 Toroni, 118 Tortoise, 331, 474 Torture, 25–26 Trade, 204–205 Tragedy, 556–561, 557, 560 Transport of goods, 204 Trees, 247, 248 Tribes, 83–84, 561–563 Tribute, 563–565 Trireme, 358–359, 386, 387 Triton, 404 Trittyes, 189–190 Trojan War, 376 Trophonius, 90 Troy, 565, 565–568 Tunic, 125–126 Two-banked galley, 358 Tympanon, 480 Tynnondas, 227 Typhon, 183 Tyrants, 285, 519, 568–572 Tyrtaeus, 351 Ulysses, 165 Underworld, 14–17 Uranus, 91–92, 156, 402, 404, 483, 485 Valley of the Temples, 26 Ventris, Michael, 302, 365 Vines, 22–23 Virgil, 263 Volume, 334 Walls, defensive, 173, 174 Wanax, 89, 367–368, 377 Warships, 357, 357–359 Weapons, 573, 573–575 Weights, 332, 333, 334 West Greek dialect, 293–294 Wheat, 234–235 Whole numbers, 157–158 Wine, 22–23, 236 Wood, 244 Wooden walls of Athens, 495 Works and Days (Hesiod), 92 Wrestling, 246 Xanthippe, 520 Xanthippus, 38, 373 Xenophanes, 473

Xenophon: Artaxerxes, 449; Athenian taxation, 535; Ephors, 214; koine dialect, 295; measurements, 333–334; mercenary expedition, 345–346; pre-Socratic, 476; slavery, 516; Socrates, 520, 521; works of, 306–307 Xerxes I: Aegina, 11; Andros, 33; birth of a hare by a horse, 411; Cyclades, 160; Eretria, 227; Hellenic League, 149; Herodotus, 304; Macedon, 310; mutilation, 480; Mycale, Battle of, 373, 374; Persepolis, 442, 443, 444; Persia, 448–449; Persian Wars, 78, 453–456; Phoenicians, 462, 463; Plataea, Battle of, 91; Salamis, Battle of, 408, 493–496; Sparta, 527; Thasos, 544; Thermopylae, Battle of, 550, 551–553; Thessaly, 555; Troy, 568 Xerxes II, 449 Xiphos, 574 Zancle, 137, 317 Zeno, 20, 331, 474 Zephyr, 484

Zeus: Aeschylus, 557; Arcas, 34; art, 61; Asklepios, 65; children, 180; Cithaeron, 90; cosmology, 156; Cronus, 92; festivals, 233; as god, 483, 484, 485– 486; golden throne, 242; Hades and Persephone, 207; Io, 104; Odyssey, 269; Olympia religion, 402–405; Olympic Games and festival, 406, 407; omens, 410, 411; Panhellenic Games, 418–420; Parthenon, 423; Rhodes, 487; Semele, 195; statue, 6; stoa, 19; temple, 538, 541; temples, 3; wanax, 89 Zeus Ammon, 169 Zeus Meilichios, 233 Zeus Naios, 221 Zeus Olympios, 233 Zeus Polias, 234 Zeuxis, 427 Zoroastrianism, 445

About the Author

James W. Ermatinger received his PhD in ancient history in 1988 from Indiana University Bloomington, writing his dissertation on the economic reforms of ­Diocletian. He is the author of six books: The Economic Reforms of Diocletian (Pharos 7, 1996), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Greenwood, 2004), Daily Life of Christians in Ancient Rome (Greenwood, 2007), Daily Life in the New Testament (ABC-CLIO, 2008), The World of Ancient Rome: A Daily Life Encyclopedia (2 vols., ABC-CLIO, 2015), and The Roman Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia (2 vols., ABC-CLIO, 2018). He is a professor of history and interim dean of the C ­ ollege of Education and Human Services and was formerly dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (2009–2020), interim provost, interim dean of the College of Business and Management, and interim dean of the College of ­Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Illinois Springfield. Before coming to the University of Illinois Springfield, he held faculty and administrative positions at the University of Nebraska Kearney (Kearney, Nebraska), Lourdes College (Sylvania, Ohio), Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau, Missouri), and Bloomsburg University (Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania).

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