Ancient Greece

Page semi-protected
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Hellenic world
)

The Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena, located on the Acropolis in Athens, is one of the most representative symbols of the culture and sophistication of the ancient Greeks.

Ancient Greece (

empire from 336 to 323 BC.[a] In Western history, the era of classical antiquity was immediately followed by the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine period.[1]

Three centuries after the

Achaea during the Roman Empire
.

Classical Greek culture, especially philosophy, had a powerful influence on ancient Rome, which carried a version of it throughout the Mediterranean and much of Europe. For this reason, Classical Greece is generally considered the cradle of Western civilization, the seminal culture from which the modern West derives many of its founding archetypes and ideas in politics, philosophy, science, and art.[2][3][4]

Chronology

Classical antiquity in the Mediterranean region is commonly considered to have begun in the 8th century BC[5] (around the time of the earliest recorded poetry of Homer) and ended in the 6th century AD.

Classical antiquity in Greece was preceded by the

Rise of Macedon
.

Following the Classical period was the Hellenistic period (323–146 BC), during which Greek culture and power expanded into the

Academy of Athens by Justinian I in 529.[8]

Historiography

The Victorious Youth (c. 310 BC) is a rare, water-preserved bronze sculpture from ancient Greece.

The historical period of ancient Greece is unique in world history as the first period attested directly in comprehensive, narrative historiography, while earlier ancient history or protohistory is known from much more fragmentary documents such as annals, king lists, and pragmatic epigraphy.

Darius I of Persia, Cambyses II and Psamtik III, and alluding to some 8th century BC persons such as Candaules. The accuracy of Herodotus' works is debated.[9][10][11][12][13]

Herodotus was succeeded by authors such as Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato and Aristotle. Most were either Athenian or pro-Athenian, which is why far more is known about the history and politics of Athens than of many other cities. Their scope is further limited by a focus on political, military and diplomatic history, ignoring economic and social history.[14]

History

Archaic period

Dipylon Vase of the late Geometric period, or the beginning of the Archaic period, c. 750 BC.

The archaic period, lasting from approximately 800 to 500 BC, saw the culmination of political and social developments which had begun in the Greek dark age, with the polis (city-state) becoming the most important unit of political organisation in Greece.[15] The absence of powerful states in Greece after the collapse of Mycenaean power, and the geography of Greece, where many settlements were separated from their neighbours by mountainous terrain, encouraged the development of small independent city-states.[16] Several Greek states saw tyrants rise to power in this period, most famously at Corinth from 657 BC.[17] The period also saw the founding of Greek colonies around the Mediterranean, with Euboean settlements at Al-Mina in the east as early as 800 BC, and Ischia in the west by 775.[18] Increasing contact with non-Greek peoples in this period, especially in the Near East, inspired developments in art and architecture, the adoption of coinage, and the development of the Greek alphabet.[19]

Athens developed its democratic system over the course of the archaic period. Already in the seventh century, the right of all citizen men to attend the assembly appears to have been established.[20] After a failed coup led by Cylon of Athens around 636 BC, Draco was appointed to establish a code of laws in 621. This failed to reduce the political tension between the poor and the elites, and in 594 Solon was given the authority to enact another set of reforms, which attempted to balance the power of the rich and the poor.[21] In the middle of the sixth century, Pisistratus established himself as a tyrant, and after his death in 527 his son Hippias inherited his position; by the end of the sixth century he had been overthrown and Cleisthenes carried out further democratising reforms.[22]

In Sparta, a political system with two kings, a

second Messenian wars, Sparta subjugated the neighbouring region of Messenia, enserfing the population.[24]

In the sixth century, Greek city-states began to develop formal relationships with one another, where previously individual rulers had relied on personal relationships with the elites of other cities.[25] Towards the end of the archaic period, Sparta began to build a series of alliances, the Peloponnesian League, with cities including Corinth, Elis, and Megara,[26] isolating Messenia and reinforcing Sparta's position against Argos, the other major power in the Peloponnese.[27] Other alliances in the sixth century included those between Elis and Heraea in the Peloponnese; and between the Greek colony Sybaris in southern Italy, its allies, and the Serdaioi.[28]

Classical Greece

Early Athenian coin, depicting the head of Athena on the obverse and her owl on the reverse – 5th century BC.

In 499 BC, the Ionian city states under Persian rule rebelled against their Persian-supported tyrant rulers.[29] Supported by troops sent from Athens and Eretria, they advanced as far as Sardis and burnt the city before being driven back by a Persian counterattack.[30] The revolt continued until 494, when the rebelling Ionians were defeated.[30] Darius did not forget that Athens had assisted the Ionian revolt, and in 490 he assembled an armada to retaliate.[31] Though heavily outnumbered, the Athenians—supported by their Plataean allies—defeated the Persian hordes at the Battle of Marathon, and the Persian fleet turned tail.[32]

Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars.
Delian League ("Athenian Empire"), immediately before the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC.

Ten years later, a

Gelon, tyrant of Syracuse, defeated the Carthaginian invasion at the Battle of Himera.[34]

The Persians were decisively defeated at sea by a primarily Athenian naval force at the

Pausanias but from 477 by Athens,[36] and by 460 Persia had been driven out of the Aegean.[37] During this long campaign, the Delian League gradually transformed from a defensive alliance of Greek states into an Athenian empire, as Athens' growing naval power intimidated the other league states.[38] Athens ended its campaigns against Persia in 450, after a disastrous defeat in Egypt in 454, and the death of Cimon in action against the Persians on Cyprus in 450.[39]

As the Athenian fight against the Persian empire waned, conflict grew between Athens and Sparta. Suspicious of the increasing Athenian power funded by the Delian League, Sparta offered aid to reluctant members of the League to rebel against Athenian domination. These tensions were exacerbated in 462 BC when Athens sent a force to aid Sparta in overcoming a

helot revolt, but this aid was rejected by the Spartans.[40] In the 450s, Athens took control of Boeotia, and won victories over Aegina and Corinth.[39] However, Athens failed to win a decisive victory, and in 447 lost Boeotia again.[39] Athens and Sparta signed the Thirty Years' Peace in the winter of 446/5, ending the conflict.[39]

Despite the treaty, Athenian relations with Sparta declined again in the 430s, and in 431 BC the

a peace treaty was negoitiated in 421 by the Athenian general Nicias.[44]

The peace did not last, however. In 418 BC allied forces of Athens and Argos were defeated by Sparta at Mantinea.[45] In 415 Athens launched an ambitious naval expedition to dominate Sicily;[46] the expedition ended in disaster at the harbor of Syracuse, with almost the entire army killed, and the ships destroyed.[47] Soon after the Athenian defeat in Syracuse, Athens' Ionian allies began to rebel against the Delian league, while Persia began to once again involve itself in Greek affairs on the Spartan side.[48] Initially the Athenian position continued relatively strong, with important victories at Cyzicus in 410 and Arginusae in 406.[49] However, in 405 the Spartan Lysander defeated Athens in the Battle of Aegospotami, and began to blockade Athens' harbour;[50] driven by hunger, Athens sued for peace, agreeing to surrender their fleet and join the Spartan-led Peloponnesian League.[51] Following the Athenian surrender, Sparta installed an oligarchic regime, the Thirty Tyrants, in Athens,[50] one of a number of Spartan-backed oligarchies which rose to power after the Peloponnesian war.[52] Spartan predominance did not last: after only a year, the Thirty had been overthrown.[53]

The first half of the fourth century saw the major Greek states attempt to dominate the mainland; none were successful, and their resulting weakness led to a power vacuum which would eventually be filled by Macedon under Philip II and then Alexander the Great.[54] In the immediate aftermath of the Peloponnesian war, Sparta attempted to extend their own power, leading Argos, Athens, Corinth, and Thebes to join against them.[55] Aiming to prevent any single Greek state gaining the dominance that would allow it to challenge Persia, the Persian king initially joined the alliance against Sparta, before imposing the Peace of Antalcidas ("King's Peace") which restored Persia's control over the Anatolian Greeks.[56]

By 371 BC, Thebes was in the ascendancy, defeating Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra, killing the Spartan king Cleombrotus I, and invading Laconia. Further Theban successes against Sparta in 369 led to Messenia gaining independence; Sparta never recovered from the loss of Messenia's fertile land and the helot workforce it provided.[57] The rising power of Thebes led Sparta and Athens to join forces; in 362 they were defeated by Thebes at the Battle of Mantinea. In the aftermath of Mantinea, none of the major Greek states were able to dominate. Though Thebes had won the battle, their general Epaminondas was killed, and they spent the following decades embroiled in wars with their neighbours; Athens, meanwhile, saw its second naval alliance, formed in 377, collapse in the mid-350s.[58]

The power vacuum in Greece after the Battle of Mantinea was filled by Macedon, under Philip II. In 338 BC, he defeated a Greek alliance at the Battle of Chaeronea, and subsequently formed the League of Corinth. Philip planned to lead the League to invade Persia, but was murdered in 336 BC. His son Alexander the Great was left to fulfil his father's ambitions.[59] After campaigns against Macedon's western and northern enemies, and those Greek states that had broken from the League of Corinth following the death of Philip, Alexander began his campaign against Persia in 334 BC.[60] He conquered Persia, defeating Darius III at the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, and after the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC proclaimed himself king of Asia.[61] From 329 BC he led expeditions to Bactria and then India;[62] further plans to invade Arabia and North Africa were halted by his death in 323 BC.[63]

Hellenistic Greece

Alexander Mosaic, National Archaeological Museum, Naples.

The period from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 until the death of

Greco-Bactrian kingdom.[66]

Attalid dynasty occupied some of this area. Not shown: Indo-Greek Kingdom
.

In the early part of the Hellenistic period, the exact borders of the Hellenistic kingdoms were not settled. Antigonus attempted to expand his territory by attacking the other successor kingdoms until they joined against him, and he was killed at the

Antigonus II, only reclaimed the Macedonian throne around 276.[67] Meanwhile, the Seleucid kingdom gave up territory in the east to the Indian king Chandragupta Maurya in exchange for war elephants, and later lost large parts of Persia to the Parthian Empire.[67] By the mid-third century, the kingdoms of Alexander's successors was mostly stable, though there continued to be disputes over border areas.[66]

During the Hellenistic period, the importance of "Greece proper" (the territory of modern Greece) within the Greek-speaking world declined sharply. The great capitals of Hellenistic culture were Alexandria in the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Antioch in the Seleucid Empire.

The conquests of Alexander had numerous consequences for the Greek city-states. It greatly widened the horizons of the Greeks and led to a steady emigration of the young and ambitious to the new Greek empires in the east.[68] Many Greeks migrated to Alexandria, Antioch and the many other new Hellenistic cities founded in Alexander's wake, as far away as present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo-Greek Kingdom survived until the end of the first century BC.

The city-states within Greece formed themselves into two leagues; the Achaean League (including Thebes, Corinth and Argos) and the Aetolian League (including Sparta and Athens). For much of the period until the Roman conquest, these leagues were at war, often participating in the conflicts between the Diadochi (the successor states to Alexander's empire).

The Antigonid Kingdom became involved in a war with the Roman Republic in the late 3rd century. Although the

Roman–Seleucid War
; when the Romans were victorious, the league was effectively absorbed into the Republic. Although the Achaean league outlasted both the Aetolian league and Macedon, it was also soon defeated and absorbed by the Romans in 146 BC, bringing Greek independence to an end.

Roman Greece

The Greek peninsula came under Roman rule during the 146 BC conquest of

Achaea
in 27 BC.

Greece was a key eastern province of the Roman Empire, as the

Italy, and many Greek intellectuals such as Galen would perform most of their work in Rome
.

Geography

Regions

Map showing the major regions of mainland ancient Greece and adjacent "barbarian" lands.

The territory of Greece is mountainous, and as a result, ancient Greece consisted of many smaller regions, each with its own dialect, cultural peculiarities, and identity. Regionalism and regional conflicts were prominent features of ancient Greece. Cities tended to be located in valleys between mountains, or on coastal plains, and dominated a certain area around them.

In the south lay the

Chalcidice was settled early on by southern Greek colonists and was considered part of the Greek world, while from the late 2nd millennium BC substantial Greek settlement also occurred on the eastern shores of the Aegean, in Anatolia
.

Colonies

Ancient Greek colonies in the archaic period.
The Temple of Concordia, Valle dei Templi, Magna Graecia, in present-day Italy

During the

Greek colonies were not, as Roman colonies were, dependent on their mother-city, but were independent city-states in their own right.[72]

Greeks settled outside of Greece in two distinct ways. The first was in permanent settlements founded by Greeks, which formed as independent poleis. The second form was in what historians refer to as

Pithekoussai in the west.[73] From about 750 BC the Greeks began 250 years of expansion, settling colonies in all directions. To the east, the Aegean coast of Asia Minor was colonized first, followed by Cyprus and the coasts of Thrace, the Sea of Marmara and south coast of the Black Sea
.

Eventually, Greek colonization reached as far northeast as present-day

Syracuse, Naples, Marseille and Istanbul had their beginnings as the Greek colonies Syracusae (Συράκουσαι), Neapolis (Νεάπολις), Massalia (Μασσαλία) and Byzantion (Βυζάντιον). These colonies played an important role in the spread of Greek influence throughout Europe and also aided in the establishment of long-distance trading networks between the Greek city-states, boosting the economy of ancient Greece
.

Politics and society

Political structure

populist political figure in the development of the radical Athenian democracy.[74]

Ancient Greece consisted of several hundred relatively independent

poleis). This was a situation unlike that in most other contemporary societies, which were either tribal or kingdoms ruling over relatively large territories. Undoubtedly, the geography of Greece—divided and sub-divided by hills, mountains, and rivers—contributed to the fragmentary nature of ancient Greece. On the one hand, the ancient Greeks had no doubt that they were "one people"; they had the same religion, same basic culture, and same language. Furthermore, the Greeks were very aware of their tribal origins; Herodotus was able to extensively categorise the city-states by tribe. Yet, although these higher-level relationships existed, they seem to have rarely had a major role in Greek politics. The independence of the poleis was fiercely defended; unification was something rarely contemplated by the ancient Greeks. Even when, during the second Persian invasion of Greece, a group of city-states allied themselves to defend Greece, the vast majority of poleis remained neutral, and after the Persian defeat, the allies quickly returned to infighting.[75]

Thus, the major peculiarities of the ancient Greek political system were its fragmentary nature (and that this does not particularly seem to have tribal origin), and the particular focus on urban centers within otherwise tiny states. The peculiarities of the Greek system are further evidenced by the colonies that they set up throughout the Mediterranean, which, though they might count a certain Greek polis as their 'mother' (and remain sympathetic to her), were completely independent of the founding city.

Inevitably smaller poleis might be dominated by larger neighbors, but conquest or direct rule by another city-state appears to have been quite rare. Instead the poleis grouped themselves into leagues, membership of which was in a constant state of flux. Later in the Classical period, the leagues would become fewer and larger, be dominated by one city (particularly Athens, Sparta and Thebes); and often poleis would be compelled to join under threat of war (or as part of a peace treaty). Even after Philip II of Macedon "conquered" the heartlands of ancient Greece, he did not attempt to annex the territory or unify it into a new province, but compelled most of the poleis to join his own

Corinthian League
.

Government and law

Inheritance law, part of the Law Code of Gortyn, Crete, fragment of the 11th column. Limestone, 5th century BC

Initially many Greek city-states seem to have been petty kingdoms; there was often a city official carrying some residual, ceremonial functions of the king (

archon
) by c. 1050 BC; by 753 BC this had become a decennial, elected archonship; and finally by 683 BC an annually elected archonship. Through each stage, more power would have been transferred to the aristocracy as a whole, and away from a single individual.

Inevitably, the domination of politics and concomitant aggregation of wealth by small groups of families was apt to cause social unrest in many poleis. In many cities a tyrant (not in the modern sense of repressive autocracies), would at some point seize control and govern according to their own will; often a populist agenda would help sustain them in power. In a system wracked with class conflict, government by a 'strongman' was often the best solution.

Athens fell under a tyranny in the second half of the 6th century BC. When this tyranny was ended, the Athenians founded

Ecclesia), for the discussion of city policy, had existed since the reforms of Draco in 621 BC; all citizens were permitted to attend after the reforms of Solon (early 6th century), but the poorest citizens could not address the assembly or run for office. With the establishment of the democracy, the assembly became the de jure mechanism of government; all citizens had equal privileges in the assembly. However, non-citizens, such as metics (foreigners living in Athens) or slaves
, had no political rights at all.

After the rise of democracy in Athens, other city-states founded democracies. However, many retained more traditional forms of government. As so often in other matters, Sparta was a notable exception to the rest of Greece, ruled through the whole period by not one, but two hereditary monarchs. This was a form of

Kings of Sparta belonged to the Agiads and the Eurypontids, descendants respectively of Eurysthenes and Procles. Both dynasties' founders were believed to be twin sons of Aristodemus, a Heraclid ruler. However, the powers of these kings were held in check by both a council of elders (the Gerousia) and magistrates specifically appointed to watch over the kings (the Ephors
).

Social structure

Only free, land-owning, native-born men could be citizens entitled to the full protection of the law in a city-state. In most city-states, unlike the situation in

homoioi, meaning "peers". However, Spartan kings, who served as the city-state's dual military and religious leaders, came from two families.[77]

Slavery

Gravestone of a woman with her slave child-attendant, c. 100 BC

Slaves had no power or status. Slaves had the right to have a family and own property, subject to their master's goodwill and permission, but they had no political rights. By 600 BC,

chattel slavery had spread in Greece. By the 5th century BC, slaves made up one-third of the total population in some city-states. Between 40–80% of the population of Classical Athens were slaves.[78] Slaves outside of Sparta almost never revolted because they were made up of too many nationalities and were too scattered to organize. However, unlike later Western culture, the ancient Greeks did not think in terms of race.[79]

Most families owned slaves as household servants and laborers, and even poor families might have owned a few slaves. Owners were not allowed to beat or kill their slaves. Owners often promised to free slaves in the future to encourage slaves to work hard. Unlike in Rome, freedmen did not become citizens. Instead, they were mixed into the population of metics, which included people from foreign countries or other city-states who were officially allowed to live in the state.

City-states legally owned slaves. These public slaves had a larger measure of independence than slaves owned by families, living on their own and performing specialized tasks. In Athens, public slaves were trained to look out for counterfeit coinage, while temple slaves acted as servants of the temple's deity and Scythian slaves were employed in Athens as a police force corralling citizens to political functions.

Sparta had a special type of slaves called helots. Helots were Messenians enslaved en masse during the Messenian Wars by the state and assigned to families where they were forced to stay. Helots raised food and did household chores so that women could concentrate on raising strong children while men could devote their time to training as hoplites. Their masters treated them harshly, and helots revolted against their masters several times. In 370/69 BC, as a result of Epaminondas' liberation of Messenia from Spartan rule, the helot system there came to an end and the helots won their freedom.[80] However, it did continue to persist in Laconia until the 2nd century BC.

Education

Mosaic from Pompeii depicting Plato's Academy

For most of Greek history, education was private, except in Sparta. During the Hellenistic period, some city-states established

public schools. Only wealthy families could afford a teacher. Boys learned how to read, write and quote literature. They also learned to sing and play one musical instrument and were trained as athletes for military service. They studied not for a job but to become an effective citizen. Girls also learned to read, write and do simple arithmetic so they could manage the household. They almost never received education after childhood.[81]

Boys went to school at the age of seven, or went to the barracks, if they lived in Sparta. The three types of teachings were: grammatistes for arithmetic, kitharistes for music and dancing, and Paedotribae for sports.

Boys from wealthy families attending the private school lessons were taken care of by a paidagogos, a household slave selected for this task who accompanied the boy during the day. Classes were held in teachers' private houses and included reading, writing, mathematics, singing, and playing the lyre and flute. When the boy became 12 years old the schooling started to include sports such as wrestling, running, and throwing discus and javelin. In Athens, some older youths attended academy for the finer disciplines such as culture, sciences, music, and the arts. The schooling ended at age 18, followed by military training in the army usually for one or two years.[82]

Only a small number of boys continued their education after childhood, as in the Spartan

Stageira) and the Platonic Academy (founded by Plato of Athens). The education system of the wealthy ancient Greeks is also called Paideia.[citation needed
]

Economy

At its economic height in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the free citizenry of Classical Greece represented perhaps the most prosperous society in the ancient world, some economic historians considering Greece one of the most advanced pre-industrial economies. In terms of wheat, wages reached an estimated 7–12 kg daily for an unskilled worker in urban Athens, 2–3 times the 3.75 kg of an unskilled rural labourer in Roman Egypt, though Greek farm incomes too were on average lower than those available to urban workers.[83]

While slave conditions varied widely, the institution served to sustain the incomes of the free citizenry: an estimate of economic development drawn from the latter (or derived from urban incomes alone) is therefore likely to overstate the true overall level despite widespread evidence for high living standards.

Warfare

Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC.

At least in the Archaic Period, the fragmentary nature of ancient Greece, with many competing city-states, increased the frequency of conflict but conversely limited the scale of warfare. Unable to maintain professional armies, the city-states relied on their own citizens to fight. This inevitably reduced the potential duration of campaigns, as citizens would need to return to their own professions (especially in the case of, for example, farmers). Campaigns would therefore often be restricted to summer. When battles occurred, they were usually set piece and intended to be decisive. Casualties were slight compared to later battles, rarely amounting to more than five percent of the losing side, but the slain often included the most prominent citizens and generals who led from the front.

The scale and scope of warfare in ancient Greece changed dramatically as a result of the Greco-Persian Wars. To fight the enormous armies of the Achaemenid Empire was effectively beyond the capabilities of a single city-state. The eventual triumph of the Greeks was achieved by alliances of city-states (the exact composition changing over time), allowing the pooling of resources and division of labor. Although alliances between city-states occurred before this time, nothing on this scale had been seen before. The rise of Athens and Sparta as pre-eminent powers during this conflict led directly to the Peloponnesian War, which saw further development of the nature of warfare, strategy and tactics. Fought between leagues of cities dominated by Athens and Sparta, the increased manpower and financial resources increased the scale and allowed the diversification of warfare. Set-piece battles during the Peloponnesian war proved indecisive and instead there was increased reliance on attritionary strategies, naval battles and blockades and sieges. These changes greatly increased the number of casualties and the disruption of Greek society.

Athens owned one of the largest war fleets in ancient Greece. It had over 200 triremes each powered by 170 oarsmen who were seated in 3 rows on each side of the ship. The city could afford such a large fleet—it had over 34,000 oarsmen—because it owned a lot of silver mines that were worked by slaves.

According to Josiah Ober, Greek city-states faced approximately a one-in-three chance of destruction during the archaic and classical period.[84]

Culture

Philosophy

The carved busts of four ancient Greek philosophers, on display in the British Museum. From left to right: Socrates, Antisthenes, Chrysippus, and Epicurus.

Ancient Greek philosophy focused on the role of

Islamic scientists, to the European Renaissance and Enlightenment
, to the secular sciences of the modern day.

Neither reason nor inquiry began with the ancient Greeks. Defining the difference between the Greek quest for knowledge and the quests of the elder civilizations, such as the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians, has long been a topic of study by theorists of civilization.

The first known philosophers of Greece were the

The Republic and established a radical difference between ideas and the concrete world, and Plato's disciple Aristotle, who wrote extensively about nature and ethics, are also immensely influential in Western philosophy to this day. The later Hellenistic philosophy, also originating in Greece, is defined by names such as Antisthenes (cynicism), Zeno of Citium (stoicism) and Plotinus (Neoplatonism
).

Literature and theatre

The ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, 4th century BC

The earliest Greek literature was poetry and was composed for performance rather than private consumption.

Acharnians, produced in 425.[89]

, c. 440 BC

Like poetry, Greek prose had its origins in the archaic period, and the earliest writers of Greek philosophy, history, and medical literature all date to the sixth century BC.

presocratic philosophers Anaximander and Anaximenes—though Thales of Miletus, considered the first Greek philosopher, apparently wrote nothing.[91] Prose as a genre reached maturity in the classical era,[90] and the major Greek prose genres—philosophy, history, rhetoric, and dialogue—developed in this period.[92]

The Hellenistic period saw the literary centre of the Greek world move from Athens, where it had been in the classical period, to Alexandria. At the same time, other Hellenistic kings such as the

Attalids were patrons of scholarship and literature, turning Pella and Pergamon respectively into cultural centres.[93] It was thanks to this cultural patronage by Hellenistic kings, and especially the Museum at Alexandria, that so much ancient Greek literature has survived.[94] The Library of Alexandria, part of the Museum, had the previously unenvisaged aim of collecting together copies of all known authors in Greek. Almost all of the surviving non-technical Hellenistic literature is poetry,[94] and Hellenistic poetry tended to be highly intellectual,[95] blending different genres and traditions, and avoiding linear narratives.[96] The Hellenistic period also saw a shift in the ways literature was consumed—while in the archaic and classical periods literature had typically been experienced in public performance, in the Hellenistic period it was more commonly read privately.[97] At the same time, Hellenistic poets began to write for private, rather than public, consumption.[98]

With Octavian's victory at Actium in 31 BC, Rome began to become a major centre of Greek literature, as important Greek authors such as Strabo and Dionysius of Halicarnassus came to Rome.[99] The period of greatest innovation in Greek literature under Rome was the "long second century" from approximately 80 AD to around 230 AD.[100] This innovation was especially marked in prose, with the development of the novel and a revival of prominence for display oratory both dating to this period.[100]

Music and dance

In Ancient Greek society, music was ever-present and considered a fundamental component of civilisation.[101] It was an important part of public religious worship,[102] private ceremonies such as weddings and funerals,[103] and household entertainment.[104] Men sang and played music at the symposium;[105] both men and women sang at work; and children's games involved song and dance.[106]

Ancient Greek music was primarily vocal, sung either by a solo singer or a chorus, and usually accompanied by an instrument; purely instrumental music was less common.[107] The Greeks used stringed instruments, including lyres, harps, and lutes;[108] and wind instruments, of which the most important was the aulos, a reed instrument.[109] Percussion instruments played a relatively unimportant role supporting stringed and wind instruments, and were used in certain religious cults.[110]

Science and technology

The Antikythera mechanism was an analog computer from 150 to 100 BC designed to calculate the positions of astronomical objects.

Ancient Greek mathematics contributed many important developments to the field of

integral calculus. The discoveries of several Greek mathematicians, including Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes
, are still used in mathematical teaching today.

The Greeks developed astronomy, which they treated as a branch of mathematics, to a highly sophisticated level. The first geometrical, three-dimensional models to explain the apparent motion of the planets were developed in the 4th century BC by

circumference of the Earth with great accuracy.[112] In the 2nd century BC Hipparchus of Nicea made a number of contributions, including the first measurement of precession and the compilation of the first star catalog in which he proposed the modern system of apparent magnitudes
.

The

National Archaeological Museum of Athens
, accompanied by a replica.

The ancient Greeks also made important discoveries in the medical field. Hippocrates was a

medicine in ancient Greece, establishing it as a discipline distinct from other fields that it had traditionally been associated with (notably theurgy and philosophy), thus making medicine a profession.[115][116]

Art and architecture

The Temple of Hera at Selinunte, Sicily

The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times to the present day, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models. In the East, Alexander the Great's conquests initiated several centuries of exchange between Greek, Central Asian and Indian cultures, resulting in Greco-Buddhist art, with ramifications as far as Japan. Following the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards of Greek art inspired generations of European artists. Well into the 19th century, the classical tradition derived from Greece dominated the art of the Western world.

Religion

Mount Olympus, home of the Twelve Olympians

Religion was a central part of ancient Greek life.

polytheistic, worshipping many gods, but as early as the sixth century BC a pantheon of twelve Olympians began to develop.[118] Greek religion was influenced by the practices of the Greeks' near eastern neighbours at least as early as the archaic period, and by the Hellenistic period this influence was seen in both directions.[119]

The most important religious act in ancient Greece was animal sacrifice, most commonly of sheep and goats.[120] Sacrifice was accompanied by public prayer,[121] and prayer and hymns were themselves a major part of ancient Greek religious life.[122]

Legacy

The civilization of ancient Greece has been immensely influential on language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, science, and the arts. It became the

Italic traditions. As Horace
put it,

Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit et artis / intulit agresti Latio (Epistulae 2.1.156f.)
Captive Greece took captive her uncivilised conqueror and instilled her arts in rustic Latium.

Via the Roman Empire, Greek culture came to be foundational to Western culture in general. The Byzantine Empire inherited Classical Greek-Hellenistic culture directly, without Latin intermediation, and the preservation of Classical Greek learning in medieval Byzantine tradition further exerted a strong influence on the Slavs and later on the Islamic Golden Age and the Western European Renaissance. A modern revival of Classical Greek learning took place in the Neoclassicism movement in 18th- and 19th-century Europe and the Americas.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Though this excludes Greek city-states free from Alexander's jurisdiction in the western Mediterranean, around the Black Sea, Cyprus, and Cyrenaica

References

Notes

  1. .
  2. .
  3. .
  4. . for ancient Greece was the cradle of Western culture ...
  5. ^ Osborne, Robin (2009). Greece in the Making: 1200–479 BC. London: Routledge. p. xvii.
  6. ^ Shapiro 2007, p. 1
  7. ^ Shapiro 2007, pp. 2–3
  8. .
  9. ^ Marincola (2001), p. 59
  10. ^ Roberts (2011), p. 2
  11. ^ Sparks (1998), p. 58
  12. ^ Asheri, Lloyd & Corcella (2007)
  13. ^ Cameron (2004), p. 156
  14. .
  15. ^ Martin 2013, p. 65
  16. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 67–68
  17. ^ Martin 2013, p. 103
  18. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 69–70
  19. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 73–4
  20. ^ Martin 2013, p. 108
  21. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 109–110
  22. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 112–113
  23. ^ Martin 2013, p. 96
  24. ^ Martin 2013, p. 98
  25. ^ Osborne 2009, p. 270
  26. ^ Hammond 1982, p. 356
  27. ^ Osborne 2009, p. 275
  28. ^ Osborne 2009, p. 271
  29. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 126–27
  30. ^ a b Martin 2013, p. 127
  31. ^ Martin 2013, p. 128
  32. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 128–29
  33. ^ a b c Martin 2013, p. 131
  34. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 131–33
  35. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 134–36
  36. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 137–38
  37. ^ Martin 2013, p. 140
  38. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 137–41
  39. ^ a b c d Martin 2013, p. 147
  40. ^ Martin 2013, p. 142
  41. ^ Martin 2013, p. 149
  42. ^ a b Hornblower 2011, p. 160
  43. ^ a b Hornblower 2011, p. 162
  44. ^ Hornblower 2011, p. 163
  45. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 198–99
  46. ^ Martin 2013, p. 200
  47. ^ Hornblower 2011, p. 177
  48. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 202–03
  49. ^ Hornblower 2011, pp. 186–89
  50. ^ a b Martin 2013, p. 205
  51. ^ Hornblower 2011, p. 189
  52. ^ Hornblower 2011, p. 203
  53. ^ Hornblower 2011, p. 219
  54. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 221, 226
  55. ^ Martin 2013, p. 224
  56. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 224–225
  57. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 225–226
  58. ^ Martin 2013, p. 226
  59. ^ Martin 2013, p. 221
  60. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 243–245
  61. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 245–247
  62. ^ Martin 2013, p. 248
  63. ^ Martin 2013, p. 250
  64. ^ Martin 2013, p. 253.
  65. ^ Martin 2013, pp. 254–255.
  66. ^ a b Martin 2013, p. 256.
  67. ^ a b c Martin 2013, p. 255.
  68. ^ Alexander's Gulf outpost uncovered. BBC News. 7 August 2007.
  69. ^ "Macedonia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2008. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
  70. , pp. 723–24.
  71. ^ "Population of the Greek city-states". Archived from the original on 5 March 2007.
  72. ^ Boardman & Hammond 1982, p. xiii
  73. ^ Antonaccio 2007, p. 203
  74. .
  75. . Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  76. ^ Slavery in Ancient Greece Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Britannica Student Encyclopædia.
  77. .
  78. ^ Cartledge, Paul (2002). The Spartans: An Epic History. Pan Macmillan. p. 67.
  79. .
  80. ^ W. Schiedel, "Real slave prices and the relative cost of slave labor in the Greco-Roman world", Ancient Society, vol. 35, 2005, p 12.
  81. .
  82. ^ Power 2016, p. 58
  83. ^ Kirk 1985, p. 44
  84. ^ Kirk 1985, p. 45
  85. ^ Power 2016, p. 60
  86. ^ Handley 1985, p. 355
  87. ^ a b McGlew 2016, p. 79
  88. ^ McGlew 2016, p. 81
  89. ^ McGlew 2016, p. 84
  90. ^ Mori 2016, p. 93
  91. ^ a b Bulloch 1985, p. 542
  92. ^ Bulloch 1985, pp. 542–43
  93. ^ Mori 2016, p. 99
  94. ^ Mori 2016, p. 98
  95. ^ Bulloch 1985, p. 543
  96. ^ Bowersock 1985, pp. 642–43
  97. ^ a b König 2016, p. 113
  98. ^ West 1994, pp. 1, 13.
  99. ^ West 1994, p. 14.
  100. ^ West 1994, p. 21.
  101. ^ West 1994, p. 24.
  102. ^ West 1994, p. 25.
  103. ^ West 1994, pp. 27–28.
  104. ^ West 1994, p. 39.
  105. ^ West 1994, p. 48.
  106. ^ West 1994, p. 81.
  107. ^ West 1994, p. 122.
  108. ^ Pedersen, Early Physics and Astronomy, pp. 55–56
  109. ^ Pedersen, Early Physics and Astronomy, pp. 45–47
  110. PMID 18392218
    .
  111. ^ Hippocrates, Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006. Microsoft Corporation. Archived 31 October 2009.
  112. ^ Garrison, Fielding H. (1966). History of Medicine. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company. pp. 92–93.
  113. .
  114. ^ Ogden 2007, p. 1.
  115. ^ Dowden 2007, p. 41.
  116. ^ Noegel 2007, pp. 21–22.
  117. ^ Bremmer 2007, pp. 132–134.
  118. ^ Furley 2007, p. 121.
  119. ^ Furley 2007, p. 117.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links