3. The Polis
• A supposedly independent political entity.
• Defensible urban center, surrounded by
agricultural territory.
• Citizenship was based on birth, but
political rights were generally tied to land
ownership.
• Most city-states had Oligarchic
governments – rule of the few.
5. The Hoplite Warrior was Equipped
with:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Helmet
Body Armor - corselet
Greaves
Spear, wood with bronze tip and butt-spike
Short Sword
Round, convex Hoplite shield - "Hoplon"
6.
7.
8. Military and Political Values
• Hoplite armies developed during the
Archaic Period (700-500 B.C.)
• Hoplites armed themselves.
• They stood together in the front ranks.
• Safety depended on NOT breaking ranks.
• Spartans were considered the best
Hoplites.
9. Size Matters
• Most poleis were relatively small.
• All poleis generally had some kind of
“council” or deliberative body.
• Membership in that council was often
restricted to the “best” citizens, who were
landowners, and able to afford their hoplite
armor.
• Oligarchy was normal.
10. Tyranny vs. Oligarchy
• Usually, under oligarchy, the various
aristocratic families are evenly matched.
• Sometimes, in times of political struggle,
one aristocrat gains sole power over the
others.
• Usually, he does this by enlisting the
assistance of the poorer citizens.
11. Two Important Exceptions
• Athens was a larger polis, with more
citizens, and naval power.
• Sparta had conquered the neighboring
territory of Messenia. This allowed it to use
the Messenians as serfs or “Hellots.”
• Spartans didn’t have to work their land,
and could spend all their time training and
fighting.
12. Fifth Century Political
Developments
• Following the Persian war in 480 – Athens
developed an “Empire” based on naval
power.
• The Athenian Allies were mainly concentrated
in the islands and on the coast of Asia Minor.
• The smaller, poorer poleis of the mainland,
feared the Athenians and turned to the
Spartans for protection.
• City states took sides – and joined either the
Athenian or the Spartan Hegemony.
14. Athenian Democracy
• Demos – literally means “people.”
• In places with only hoplite armies, they were
not politically important.
• As the Athenian Empire developed, rowers
were needed for the ships which secured
Athenian military supremacy.
• The rowers were citizens from the lower
economic classes.
• Their power in the Assembly led to the
development of Athenian Democracy.
15. Why Would Other City States
Resist Democracy?
• Most “Ancestral Constitutions” took the
form of oligarchies. This was the
traditional way of doing things.
• The power of the “demos” in Athens was
based on the need of the city for rowers.
Small city-states without navies had less
work for the members of the demos.
• In practice a “democratic government”
meant a pro-Athenian government.
16. Tribute
• Athens dominated the islands, and the city
states on the West Coast of Asia Minor.
• These places had been paying taxes or
“tribute” to the Persian empire.
• Athens demanded that these cities should
pay the same amount of tribute - for
protection from the Persians.
• Tribute was the major complaint of the
Athenian allies.
17. Peloponnesian War
• Series of conflicts from 431 to 404 B.C.
• Athens, and its allies, struggled with
Sparta, and its protectorates.
• The conflict might have ended in
stalemate, except Persia began to send
funds (secretly) to both sides.
18. Discussion?
• Why were the city-states often in conflict?
• Why were Athens and Sparta so much
stronger than the rest?
• What were the relative advantages of
hoplite armies?
• Why was naval power so important for
Greek political developments?
19. Chronological Markers
• 404 B.C.E. After the defeat of Athens by
Sparta in the Peloponnesian War, Sparta
imposed an oligarchic government at
Athens (The Thirty Tyrants).
• 403 B.C.E. Many Athenians who opposed
The Thirty were executed or went into
exile. These exiles eventually expelled
The Thirty, with the Spartans failing to
support their own puppet govt.
20. Chronological Markers
• 401 B.C.E. Greek mercenaries, including
Spartans, assist the Persian prince, Cyrus,
in his failed attempt to overthrow his
brother Artaxerxes II.
• Although Artaxerxes II and his satrap
Tissaphernes tried to punish the
mercenaries and the Greek cities of Asia
Minor, they were unsuccessful –
• Were the Persians now weak?
21. Chronological Markers
• 400-396 B.C.E. The Spartans campaign
against the Persians, and attempt to
involve mainland Greeks in the campaign.
The Thebans, especially are unhelpful.
• At the same time, the Persians
(supposedly) were sending money to antiSpartan Greek cities.
22. Chronological Markers
• 395 B.C.E. Athens joins Thebes in a war
against Sparta (The Corinthian War).
• The Spartans did fairly well on land in this
war, but got into a lot of trouble at sea. The
Persians hired an Athenian Admiral (Conon),
and the Spartans lost their fleet at the battle
of Cnidus in 397 B.C.E.
• But, now the allies seemed to be winning,
and Athens seemed to regaining its naval
power, sooooo.
23. Chronological Markers
• 388/7 – The Persians brokered a deal.
• Sparta gave up its campaign to “free the
Greeks” of Asia.
• The Persians, in return, blockaded the
Hellespont, cut of grain to Athens, and forced
it to compromise. The other city states had
to go along with this, because they were
weak.
• The Spartan diplomat Antalcidas did the
negotiating.
24. Chronological Markers
• 388/7 Peace of Antalcidas – Terms
• All foreign garrisons were to be disbanded,
and every city-state was supposed to be
autonomous.
• Therefore, there could be no “alliances.”
• Spartans, backed by the Persians, got the
best of this deal.
• Naturally, everyone else was unhappy.
25. Chronological Markers
388-372
• 388-372 – The Spartans behave badly.
• 382 – Occupy the Citadel at Thebes.
• 379/8 – Allow one of their generals,
Sphodrias to make an abortive attack on
Attica.
• Generally make things unpleasant for the
Thebans.
• Meanwhile, the Athenians form a new Sea
League, which somehow gets around the
“autonomy” clause.
26. Chronological Markers
• 371 – (Our sources are very confused
here….)
• Athens is worried about the increasing
power of Thebes, but still doesn’t trust
Sparta.
• There is a peace conference at Sparta –
and Sparta and Thebes fall out even more
than before.
28. Battle of Leuctra - 371
• For the first time, Sparta is fully defeated.
• The Thebans take their campaign into the
Peloponnese.
• Sparta looses control of Messenia.
• The economic basis of the Spartan system
is destroyed.
29. Literary Sources for the Battle of
Leuctra
• Xenophon – Athenian in Exile – Wrote a work
called “Hellenica 6.4.8-15. Xenophon writes from
the Spartan point of view. He died in 354 B.C. –
so his account is that of a contemporary.
• Diodorus 15.55.1-56.4. He wrote a “Universal
History” and worked during the reign of the
Emperor Augustus
• Plutarch – Life of Pelopidas. His life of
Epaminondas is lost. Plutarch was a Greek
philosopher and statesman, who died in 120 A.D.
30. One more Battle….
•
•
•
•
Battle of Mantinea – 362 B.C.E.
Athens and Sparta vs. Thebes.
Thebes wins the battle, but…..
Epaminondas, their general died…so in
the end, they lost the war.
• Athens and Sparta should have joined in a
grand alliance, but……
33. Sources for Philip, son of Amynas
•
•
•
•
•
•
Narrative Sources
Theopompus (lost)
Ephorus (lost)
Diodorus – Book 16
Justin/Pompeius Trogus
Other bits and pieces that will make you
crazy if/when you try to write a paper.
Plutarch’s Life of Alexander has some
important passages.
34. Sources for Philip, son of Amyntas
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Contemporary Sources – Athenian Orators
Demosthenes
Isocrates
Aeschenes
A few very confusing inscriptions.
Coins – Lots of them.
Some equally confusing archaeological
remains.
35. What does it mean when a source
is “lost.”
• “Demosthenes, the father of
Demosthenes, belonged to the better
class of citizens, as Theopompus tells us,
and was surnamed Cutler, because he
had a large factory and slaves who were
skilled workmen in this business.”
Plutarch, Life of Demosthenes, 4.1.
36. Who was Theopompus?
• Born on the island of Chios around 378 and
died around 320.
• A Byzantine scholar wrote a brief biography.
• His works are lost, except when they are
quoted by later writers. We call these
quotations “Fragments.”
• Ancient writers would have gotten into a lot of
trouble with TurnItIn, and they did a lot of
paraphrasing, so…it’s complicated.
37. More on Theopompus
• His father was exiled from Chios when
Theopompus was a boy.
• They went to Athens, and Theopompus
learned/taught rhetoric.
• He wrote a VERY long life of Philip, and a
number of other works.
• Seems to have been a bit of a
windbag….Except he liked colorful stories.
38. Surviving Sources
• But as for what Aeschines the orator says
of the mother of Demosthenes, namely,
that she was a daughter of one Gylon,
who was banished from the city on a
charge of treason, and of a barbarian
woman, I cannot say whether he speaks
truly, or is uttering a slander and lies.
• Plutarch Life of Demosthenes, 4.2.
39. Aeschines
On the Crown 172
• Here he married a woman who was rich, I grant you,
and brought him a big dowry, but a Scythian by blood.
This wife bore him two daughters, whom he sent hither
with plenty of money. One he married to a man whom I
will not name—for I do not care to incur the enmity of
many persons,—the other, in contempt of the laws of
the city,1 Demosthenes of Paeania took to wife. She it
was who bore your busy-body and informer. From his
grandfather, therefore, he would inherit enmity toward
the people, for you condemned his ancestors to death
and by his mother's blood he would be a Scythian, a
Greek-tongued barbarian—so that his knavery, too, is
no product of our soil.
40. Analysis
• A writer like Plutarch has access to many
sources now lost to us.
• But even if we have the source that
Plutarch used, should be accept that what
that source says is true?
• This kind of analysis is called “source
criticism.”
43. Philip is Born
• Born around 382.
• His father was Amyntas III, King of Macedon,
and he was the youngest of three brothers
born to Amyntas and his wife Eurydice, a
member of an important Macedonian family.
• There are many stories about Eurydice, and
her bad behavior, but remember, Greek
orators like to talk about women behaving
badly….
44. Philip is Sent to Thebes
• Amyntas III died in 369 B.C. and was
succeeded by his son Alexander II.
• There was a coup, and Alexander,
momentarily, was victorious. He sent his
youngest brother, Philip (about 13/15 years
old) to Thebes as a hostage, because
Thebes arbitrated the succession dispute.
• Shortly after, Alexander II was assassinated.
45. More Court Intrigue
• The “usurper,” Ptolemy, acted as regent
for brother # 2 – Perdiccas.
• 365 B.C. – Perdiccas came to the throne,
assassinated Ptolemy and recalled Philip
from Thebes.
46. Philip’s Time in Thebes
• 369 to 365 - Philip was in Thebes.
• Observed Theban Military Reform such as
the training of the Sacred Band.
• 365-360 – Philip returns to Macedon and
trains his own troops.
• 360 – Philips brother Perdiccas is killed in
a disastrous campaign against the
Illyrians.
47. 359-357 B.C.
• There are some source issues.
• Philip took over the kingship and did what
he had to do to prevent an Illyrian takeover
of Macedon.
• By 357, Philip had reduced the Illyrian
threat. Theories about how he did this
include bribery, strategic alliances and
military campaigns. Our sources are a
mess.
48. 357-352 B.C.
• Philip had made an alliance with Athens.
• Two poleis were particular problems,
Amphipolis and Olynthus. Athens wanted
Amphipolis.
• Philip captured the city, and talked about
returning it to Athens, but that didn’t
happen, and eventually, Philip took all of
the cities in the area, and controlled the
productive gold and silver mines there.
50. Athenian Hegemony
• 480-431 – Athens leads the Delian
League/Athenian Empire.
• 404 – Athens looses its fleet – Sparta cuts
off access to grain from the Black Sea.
• 378 Athens reforms a “Sea League.”
• After the Battle of Leuctra – Sparta is no
longer a problem for Athens.
52. 359-337
Philip Marries
•
•
•
•
Phila (359)
Audata (359)
Philinna (358)
Olympias of Molossia (357) mother of
Alexander.
• Nicesipolis (353)
• Meda (352)
• Cleopatra (337). Cleopatra was executed by
Olympias after Philip’s death.
53. Philip and the Sacred Wars
• The 3rd and 4th Sacred Wars were conflicts
between the Greek states, supposedly
involving sacrilege.
• Phocis, which was located close to Delphi,
was charged by Thebes with cultivating
sacred land.
• In these conflicts, the Thebans and their
allies fought the Phocians, and their allies
(who were the Athenians and the Spartans).
54. 353/2 B.C
• Philip came south to participate in the Sacred
War in support of the Thessalians, who had
sided with the Thebans against the Phocians.
• Philip defeated the Phocians at the Battle of
the Crocus Field.
• Result: Philip now controlled Thessaly, and
had fought successfully on behalf of a
“sacred” cause. Many viewed him as a
legitimate player in Greek politics.
55. 352/1
Some Athenians are Not Happy
• From now on, the orator Demosthenes
never misses a chance to point out that
Philip is a “threat” to mainland Greece.
56. 348 – Philip Captures Olynthus
• Olynthus was the major city in the Chalcidice.
• It feared Philip, and made an alliance with
Athens.
• It also, supposedly supported alternate
candidates for the Macedonian throne.
• Philip besieged the town in 349 and
destroyed it completely in 348. Although
Olynthus asked Athens for help, that help
came too late.
• Demosthenes made several famous
speeches….
59. Sarissa
• Thrusting Spear
• 14 Feet Long
• No need for Hoplite
Armor.
• Possible to recruit
more Macedonian
style infantry than
traditional hoplites.
