Intro to classics

Lecture 1, Greek Archaic age

776-479 BC * Before 776 was the dark age * The age that will lay the foundation for the classical age. * The Greeks are given credit for laying the bricks of western civilization. * The Greeks focus on a society that focuses on the person (the individual) , a democratic society. * Greeks established that you can get things based on merit, a meritcrosity. * They are highly competitive which leads to success. * Greece consists of almost a thousand cities in competition

Part 1 Tyranny * Greece before 776 BC after many wars and natural disasters the dark age begins which is mainly farming and ruled by warlords. * 700’s polis states of farmland over 1000 polis’s in Greece. * Ionia the trip of west coast which is part of modern Turkey was part of the Greece * Greece is becoming culturally unified same system of law, language and culture * Economy is on the rise and more trading * Oligarchy: rule of the few * Olympic: Games, athlete contestants at Olympic founded in 776 every 4 years * The first time the Greeks see that the wealthy aren’t better * Arête the wealthy have more arête which is what the Greeks believed that the rich would be better at everything * Poor people start competing * The Greeks fight one another as Haplite (armed Greek fighter) the phalanx is the tight formation * Greece is mountainess so it is hard to unify a society * War for the flat land to grow food * The more soldiers the stronger the phalanx * Phalanx is for flat terrain * Middle class rises * Middle class called to be part of the phalanx because they could now afford armor * Shield only covered left part of the body while shield of your right neighbor protected your right hand side. * While stabbing they would push with the shields * Most of these soldiers are normal people like potters * Deaths in these fights were light * The rich and poor had the same job * The soldiers on the far right got the more credit because they had to protect ones on their right * Around the 700, ages, Hoplites went on the oligarchy * Oligarchy says “no” so Argos revolt with more weapons and soldiers * Tyrannies (tyrant) is a one man ruler the leader Phi don of Haplites becomes the tyrannous * The idea that the military service to another state will give them freedom * Stasis inner conflict between two groups * This catches on throughout the 600’s more and more polis’s go through the hoplite revolution * Greece is then ruled by tyrants * They don’t really like wars * Population grows, more food, more infant mortality * Lack of space * Tyrants find new cities across the Mediterranean * The Greek culture is the spread with the alphabet also * Syracuse, founded 734 because the largest and most successful colony of the Greeks modern * Taras 706 * Napoli’s 600 modern Naples * Messalina 600 modern Marseille * Greece is ridded of access population * These became larger then mother countries * Tyrants focus religion on