4';:tl&{i{!4n6!

u+:,a

&a

{he ltVest in the,f/Vortd

P.
MTpTTERRANEAN Grcc RApJ{y AND Cr,rnnarr
ti
:!:
.t

Ai4r',or lsr WoRLp

The Mciliten,anecrn Region

The westem tnira or the Eurasian
landmass is as hos_
pitable to hunran beings
as any ..gi",, face of the
globe. It is separated r-m
er.i., i, irr.""',ne
,"orterranean
sea, a deep saltwaterrench
,no.e'than l,ooo miles in
Iengrh whose width_tlianks
to the ffr.ri*, Italian, and
Balkan peninsulas_varies from
miles. To the north, the
:OO io
only a few
sea ,, p"-"ffy ,freltered from
arctic winds b)'the molntainoui
spine oitt. .ontirr.rrt.
on the sourhwest flank, the o,f"riio"iiains
the desen, bur for nota Uact
Sinai, the Sahara touches
a- rhousand _ii.r-]i* Gabes to
shore.

Climate. The Medirerranean clinrate

is warm and dry,
with an arrnual rainfall ,iru, ,".i.,
inchesin thc. Egyptian desen
i..", less than to
to _;..;;;., ro irr"h., in
few_favcred spots, such
as ,fr. *, ,"'ff.y of northern
a_

Italy. Summers are hot, wi*r frigl, te_o.i"rures

eighties and nineties in the
lFahre.rheir)
high pressure, normally ..rr,...J
;;;;" of Atlantic
ou* riloror.s from
 I }"r''r
4r10t'j or CorurrmpoRnRY E uRopl
' ./

:;1.:

:;l t

May until October. ensures cloudless skies. Rain falls infor,'ed for most'of the vear by strong westerlies
nrainly in the autumn and early spring. and the winters blowing off the Atlantic. There,fore, driving ships by
arc typically moderate, wirh snow cornmon onlv at the oars or sails to pass into the ope.n ocean is extremely
higher elevarions. difficult.
Abundant sunshine and scarce rainfall create a
high evaporation rate. About 20 percent of the water Navigation. Like most seas, the Mediterranean has
lost from the Mediterranean each year through evap- eased communication for those who lived along its
oratiolt is made up by rainfall. Another 5 percent shores. Its mild weather and weak tides are envied by
contes from rivers. of which the Nile is by far the most mariners, but its peculiarities must be respected. Once
irnportant, and an insignificant 3 percent come: from waters from the Atlantic enter the Mediterranean, the
the Black Sea via the Bosporus. The rest pours in from powerful current runs along the North African coast for
the Atlantic through rhe Strair oI Gibraltar. This vast its entire length, crearing a counterclockwise pattem of
influx of water influences Mediterranean navigalion. circulation that washes westwaid along the northern
!,|
The surface current entering the strait runs at ap- coasts until it exits again at Gibraltar. Because it has be-
prtiximately 6 knots. (A knot is the standard measure come saltier through evaporation, the old water is
of specd at sea, equivalent to I nautical mile per hour. heavier than the new and exits far below the incoming
A naurical mile equals about l.l6 land miles.) It is re- torrent. It is not felt by ships.
i;rf

ffi a
X
 N.i
,.) :ltll,!
,,r," "1i" ,4;^:";5"*,
r ", j
'".;.1 .,
\ '!l'
"r,l
' ll,t, , *. ^
\.:n.,.
"olll'

ShrP: p,..rvYereC by oars or salls were dependent on the

winds and surlace currents if they were to make head
\vay. The direction of prevailing winds and orrents
rherc{ore determincd trade routes and opportunities
{or crritural exchange.

Thcse currents and the pre"ailing north to nc rthwest

lvinds cletermined shipping routes until the age of
steam and ensured that at sca the shortest distance be-
tween two points was almost never a stnight line. Their
influence on commerce and naval strategy was there-
forc great, but they were not the only navigational pe- scarce, and the management ol water suppli':s has been
culiarity oI the Mediterranean basin. Although idyllic a corlstant preoccupation of farmers and tovvn dwellers
looking in travel posters, the Mediterranean can be alike for millennia.
ciangerous. From October to April it is beset with land
w'ind s whose .Dames.--nrts tr al, b or a, siro cco-are ominous The European Mainland :'
to sailors Sometimes blowing at 30 or 40 knots, they
are difficult to predict and raise high' chaotic seas with The Iberian Peninsula and Anatolia, the Asian part of
disconcerting speed. The captains of fragile oared gal- modern Turkey, dre high plateaus surrounded by
leys or clumsy sailing ships usualll' prefelTed to spend rugged mountains. With elevations of as much as 3,000
the winter months in Port. feet above sea level, these plain; can be cold in winter
Topographically, much of the land that surrounds and, ,exiept for autumn, are almost always dry with
the Mediterranean is rocky and mountainous. On the annual rainfall averaging be tween l0 and 20 inches'
Italian and Greek peninsulas. along the northwest Wood and water aI€ scarce here as well, and erosion
African coast, and in Palestine, only the narrt'w coastal causerl by rhousands of years of overgrazing has only
plains and the even narrower river valleys arc suitable madi rnatters worse.
ior large-scale cultivation' In prehistoric times, rrrost of To the north, beyorrd the rugged barrier of the Alps,
these regions were wooded, but as the population of the Pyrenees. anC the mountairious Balkan Peninsula,
hunrans and their livestock increased, the forests were the climate is very different' Northwestem Europe, al-
destroyed and intensive grazing by sheep and goats de- though at the, same latitude as Newfoundland and
pleted the ground cover. L,lng before the dawn of rabridor, is mild and moist. Its weather is moderated by
recorded history, this process created the landscape that the Atlantic Ocean an<i, in particular, by the Gulf Stream,
exists today: relatively small patches of cultivation in- a warm water current that risrs in the Caribbean and
terspersed with steep rocky hillsides, arid semidesert, washes the shore of England and France. Pleasant sum-
and impenetrable scrub. Wood for building or fuel is men with temrleratules that usually do not exceed 80o

V
 luitt' '
t' ,,;i.Uj,.,":;

",.-*'i{,u
by
ceptibly into the North European plain, which
stretches from the marshes r.rf the Netherlands east-
ward into Russia. In Russia and poland, moderate
summers, harsh .,vinters, and often unpredictable rain-
fail provide a typical contine:rtal cl!mate. Large areas
of central Europe, meanwhile, are hilly. A series of
wooded uplands from rhe Argonne and Vosges on the
west to the Carpathians on the east are drained by
navigable rivers, the most important oI which are the
Rhine and the Danube. Both rise in the highlancls of
southwest Germany, but whereas the Danube flows
eastwa-'l into thc Black Sea through the rich plains of
Hrlnga,t'y ar,d Walachia, the Rhjne flows northward to
its broad esruary on the North Sea. The Rhine provides
rapid access frrm thc Alpine foothills anC central
Germany to the Atlantic.
The North Sea, like the present contours of the Baltic
coast, is relatively modern. As recently as 4000 ncr,
Great Britain was connected to the European tnainland
while the Baltic depression was just that-a broad
rnarshy region surrounding a brackish lake with no
outlet to the sea. The rise in ocean levels at the end of
the last Icc Age inundated borlr a"eas and produced the
present coastline. Beyond tl-re newly formed sea lies
!;..; Scandinavia, a wrntrf region with only small arnounts
of arable land, but with usable ports; abundant fish; and
vast rtsources in timber, copper, and iron.
,i.' To its first inhaoitants, the European subcontinent
must have seemed an earthly paradise. Its clirhatc is for
+i, the most part moderate. In prehistoric times its plains
ti,' Fahrenheit follow long wet winters during which pro_
and forests teemed with wild game and its lakes, streams,
and esiuaries offered a rich harvest of fish and other ed-
longed freezes are rare. palm trees, although not native ible marine organisms. Iarge tracts of well.watered and
to the regron, can be grown on France,s Breton penin- easily rvorked soils held the promise of intensive agricul-
r.?',, sula or along the southwestern coasts of the British Isles, ture on a scale rarely achieved in other parts of the globq.
jfii .' The prevailing winds are westerly, bringng abundant From earliest times, the European subcontinent was
jrlit{.ir:, rainfall even in the surnmer months as Atlantic squalls, horns ts a wide variety of human cultdres.
forced northward by high pressure over the Iberian
i. Peninsula, drop their moisture on the land.
Much of westem Europe is flat or gently rolling,
Question: What advantages of climate and geography
would lrelp Europe bEcome one oi the world,s centers
with ucc;r, casily worked soils that we-e once covered of civilization?
,*t''

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=ii.{:i
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Tnr ANcrrNT MrpplE Easr:

MrsoPoThIrrA, EGwr'
PHonNrcrA, ISRnEL

bout r 0,000 years ago in what is now southeastern Tirrkey, a r4r'oman,

oriperhaps a group of women working together, discovered how to
{: cross-pollinate three .ypes of wild edible grasses that grew in the region. It
was almost certainly lvomen who did thrs because men in that age did not
often concern themselves with gathering or nurruring pla;rts. This early ex-
ampJe of selective brceding ranks among the great technical achievements
of all time. It requireq careful observation and exquisite care inl transferring
the live pollen lrom one plant to another to produce modern bread wheat
whose hardiness and gre;i.er yields helped creart an agriculture that could
sustain large numbers of people. The cultivation of crops, together with
the domestication of animals, marked the beginning of the Neolithic revo-
lution. Humans began to sertle in permanent ro vns and villages, and in
time, many of these settlements coalesced into great civilizations.

(
 {.lril)l(.r I rlis< rrs:r's lilt' in tlrt' paleolithic or OIrl atrrl l;rrt'rv lrow to ntakc stor'tc tools arrd wt,aporrs-llttrs
S I nr rr',\ gt. lrt,lort' cxarrr i lring t I rt' Neolithic revolrrtion llrt: narrre lilr tlris pcriod, thc Old Storrc or l,alcolitltic Agc.
,rirj ils rnirl('iial ({)llsc(lu(,lt/ ('s-itrclrrrliir!l its intl)J(t ()t) Ar;out 10,(XX) ycars ago, lTon o sapicns, a llcolllc plrys-
(1r( 1. ut:rrl()graphy (Jroptrlatiorr slal;stics), and tlrc arl- ir'ally i<lcntic'al lo rrro<lcrn n)cn arrrl worncn, abruptly
,, t'rrl ol organit.t'tl warf
arc. Tltis clralttcr lhcrr covcr: lwo supcrst'dcd lhc Neandcrlhals. Most ltrodern scholars
!r( (rr ar)cjcnt < ivilizali()ns, li('sol)otantia and Egyytt, bclicvc that thc ncw arrivals (anrc lrrlrrr Africa, but
t,rt lr ol wlriclr profirrrrrrlly allt'ctt'tl rlrc devcloprncnl ol ltcarly cvcryll)inll aborrt hrrrnan origilrs is conlrrlr,,:rsial.
rirr' !Ve st. Progrt'ssilrg lo tltc lantl bctwecn Egypt ancl Soon allcr thc arrival of Homo sapiens tlte Nearrdcrthals
,\1r'soyrolanria, Ihts clraltlcr c<lrrclrrdcs with the rrrcicrrt vanisht'cl. Tlrcir extinctiorr rerlains ntyslcri()us, Jor
sot icly of I'hocnicia, whosc pcoplc irtvr tted the alJrha- Homo sapiens wcrc lt() tn<lre advanccd in culture or tech-
lrt'l lrorn wltich wc dsrivc orlr owtl, an.i Israel, whosc nok,13y lhan thc Nc.anderthals and wcre pirysically
rt'ligiorrs ideas bccarnc the lrasis of tltc thrcc great wesl- rather wcalr arrcJ purry by conrparisor;r.
crn laiths: .Judaisrn, Christia rity, anr'lslam. S<lnlc havc suggcstcd rh.,t the Ncandcrthals lell vic-
tim trl an cllidcmic disease <lrcould not adapt t() warmcr
-l-l wcathcr altcr the retrcat ol thc glacicrs. Tlrcy nray havc
tF Fllr.s-r Eut.,ot,t,ANS-:-- four,d it dif{icnir to hunr the fastcr, morc si;lilary ani-
-f-n
l Pn lro LrrFt rc E nn mals <lf rnodern tinres aftcr rhc extinclit.rr <lI their tradi-
'r'o (. IO,OOO gcu tionar prey. B<lth races were hunter-gather.3rs, so-called
bccausc they hur-rted game and garhered plants Ior food.

Fcrv srrbjects are inorc c<lntroversial than thc origins of Paleolithic Work ancl Trade. Thc firs humans
rlrt'Irunran spccics. During drc long scries of Ice Ages, a lived orr a prcrein-rich djer ol ganrc arrd l,sh supple-
rncc ol ool-making bipeds inhabired the fringes of the mented by fruit, berries, nurs, alid wild plants. Constantly
[:rrropcan ice pack. Known convt:ntionally as Nean- on the move, tltey livcd in cavcs oi lclltporary shelter-s
ciertlrals because their rernains \^ crc first discovered at that tney construded froltr n,<tod rtr bones and covered
Ncander-tltal in Gerrnany, these iripeds were heavier, with thc skins ol the animals rhcy killed. TI-rey ntade storre
stlongcr, and hairicr than llomo sapiens (thc Latin nante tools and \4/eal)ons that bccanrc steadily rnore sophisti-
krr rn<icicrn hulnan beings). Neondenhals hunted the cated over time-axes, arr(rws, daggers, spears, whet-
gfcat herd anirlals ol the day: mammoth, bison, wooly stones for sharpi'ning thern, and rrorvels for digging up
rlrinoceros, and reindeer. They lived in caves, buried their plants. As they roamed, they canre in contaCr wit.h other
ilcad in \t'ays that suggest some forut of rellg.ous beliet, grorll)s and engaged it-r the interchange of goods ar-rd

FrcuRn 1.1 Prehistoric StoneTbol (c. 400,A00 nce).

Urrtil people learned to work with merals, thei, made most of
riicir culrirlg and chopping tools and mosr of their edged
w{-apons from flint or sinrilar Ftcunr 7.2 kaf-Shaped Spear Point
stone. B)' striking rhe srone's
(c. 14,000 ncr). Suitable flints often had
surface repcaredly wirh anorhcr to be brotrght fronr great distances and were
stone, rhe toolmal er dctached anrong the most rmportant trade goods in
flakes and fornred a cutting prehistoric times. This spear poinr was made
edge. Bone or wood coull then from r'linr brorrght front a pan of France far
be used to detach even suraller from Volgn, France, where it was found. The
flakes to make rhe edgr. sha4rer. point's shape ard the shallow rarallel-sided
M,rkers shaped rhe largcr de - scars are lt'ft by the renroval of long thin
tached llakes into snraller pieccs flakes stnrck off using an antler or wooden
lik." arrowheads. This hand ax hammer. To nrake thc spear, Paleolithic peo-
(nrt'arrir,g an ax used with thc ple typic..rll.v fir rhe rhinnc'd base of a poinr
hand ratl-rer than fitred to a into a slor ar the lop of a wooden shaft and
wootlen shaft) was found al Ireld it in plac,-. wirh a cord. Made by Honto
Hoxnc, England. Norhing is sapiens rather than Ncanderthals, it illustrates

known atrout lhc pcople who how thc bcst sionc weapons corrld be harder
shaped or used it, but excava- atrd sharpcr than tltssc nradc by early nretal
tions whcre lhis ax was found workers of the latcr Bnrnze Agc.
ur.covcrcd cxtensive llint-
vr crking areas on the edge of an
ancienl river as well as aninral
bones, including elcphant, rhino-
ceros, and lion.

The Ancient Middle East: Me-;opttramia, Egypt, phoenicia, Israel 5

 fjr(;ulr 1.3 l)alcolithic Oapr l)aitttitt.g
(c. 211,000 tx:t). l)rtail .lrom thc I-iorr l)nttrl iu
tltc I Iillairt Ohanrho; tltr Oapc ol' ()ltattuct-
I tottt -tl',,1 rr, I :rancr, Ii,1rly lllnr,,tr) t.rrll rr rt.r irr
I r lr,\! .liltl rrorllrt.rrr Sn.tilr <rrr,<'rr'tl llrt,$,,tlls ol
Irrrr,lrt rlr r;l t,rvt,s witlr lrt,arrtilrrl, li clikc l)i(luf('s
ol .rrrrrri,rlr. Irr tlris rictail (2 yartlsl lrorrr tlrt'oltlt.st
(lr,rr', irrits t,t.l lorrrrrl, nn nrlist (lrt'try llrrt't. trig liorrs
111r {,ryr ol t'i]rlit,r ligr:rt.s ()l li0rrs.'l'lrt'0rrt,irr llrt'

l)arIrI()rlIr(1, slantlirrg ()ul all('r st'raping, is rr.Prt.-

st rrtt tl rrrrly lry tlrr lrt'gintrirrg ol its back lirrt', its car,
ariil ill('to1l ol ils Jar-. Ort tht'otlrcr l\\,(), ()nc calt
s('t lrorv stulll) dldwing lslradingl was rrst,rl arrrl tht
wlrirkt'rs prrt irr. Tltc linc crrgravings in llrc forc-
gr()rnr(l ('irc c.tv(. licar scralchcs, which slrows lhat
tltt, Irt.rrr tan',' back lo tltc cavc alrt , tlrt' peolllt,
It;rii lrrarlc titcir drawirrgs.

s-a n in tcrcha nge that an th ntltoklgists ca ll cu ltural

idca
borrowing. Excavatio,rs havt' t-r ltcovcrcd to<lls made of THr NrorrrHrc RtvolurloN
st()l'rc lrom distant gcographical sor.rrccs, which indicatcs (c. 1O,O0O-55C0 BCr)
e arl\,, tradc llctw,ee n
!]roups.
Paleolithic Society. If Hunring and garrtering remained the chief economic ac-
rhc- htrr.rrcr-garhcrcr sociel ies
o1 nrorlcrn tinlcs are an indicati()r), early l)col)les proba-
tivity fcr a lolrg time. Long before the advent of agricul-
ture, f ,)ttery, or writing, Neolithic peoples developed the
blf iivcd in extended families. Exrcncled lantiiics ma1:
bow and arro\v as well as the basic tools still used to hook
corrrain lt()t or'llV I)arenls and children ')ut also othcr bi-
ol(xicJl relatives-auuts, uncle.;, ltii.'ces, ncphervs, altd or net fish and rrap game. The do-nestication (taming
1,,.-
,: and brr:eding) ol animals probably began at an'eariy date
I
1:
cousins. Nuclear families contaln oltl), parenls and
l1:
childrcn. If rhe1, survived and prospered, trmilies even-
with tlre use of hunting dogs but later extended to raising
and hcrding sheep. goats, and cattle as a reliable source of
tuallv I)e cantc' lribes. A tribe is contposed or several nu-
t protein when game was scarce. Shortly thereafter, the
clcar and extended families that clain-r common dc.scent,
first effons were made to cultivate edible plants. The do-
Becausc e\/ery ntember's cooperative eliort is important
mestication of animals and the invention of agriculture
in a srnall group, the social slructure may have been
ii$.i, marked one of the great turning points in human history.
nr()re egalirarian rhan hierarchical. paleolithic groups di-
''rt', : viciecl rheir responsibilities in a straightforward manner.
,
Mcn hunted, fisired, and perhaps made tools. Women Agric ul t u r e-Th e B egin ni ng
;i"l'l . :
carcd lur rhe children, tended the fire, and gathered of the Neolithic Reuolution
:l.tr ... be rries and wild plants. Status derived from superior skill
.a.ai,i:
in arrl,of lhesc afiivities. Whcn a tribe was headed by a Wheat. Several spec:es of edible grasses are rtative to
clrie1, his prin-ra11, role was probably to organize hunts. the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates .,,alleys,
Art and Religion. Anrong the ntost extraordinary
acllicvelnents of these paleographic cultures was their
arr . ,\'lagnificent wall paintings, usu,llly of aninrals, dec_
()ralr' llic cavcs lltey inhabited fr<lnr Spain to southern
Rrrssia. Marry groups also produccd small clay figurines
n'itli cxaggerared lemale features. This suggesrs the
widtsirrrad !/orship of a fertility goddess, but paleolithic
rcliqioirs beliefs remain unclear. The purpt se of the
pairrlirrgs is also unknown. They ntay havc involved a
Iorni ol rrragic designed to bring game animals urrder the
Irtrnlcr's I)()wcr, or they may have been purely dc_'ora-
tive. ln any case, thc technical skill of the artisrs was
ar)yt llinl.l bur prirnitive.

6 Clmpter 1
@
iffi*': .

l$i
i:!:11.i l Farrlinl.S ricvclopcd in rcsponsc to a gcneral increase
rs11t iri gloylrrlalirrn lhal trltsct tlrc old palcoljthic ecol<lgy.
'17'
':.':ig) ;. $;,t
fl Ilr*nrrr t''rnJrctili,rlr lirr riwir.ciling rcsourccs became
"1:' \(t t
,

n)orc ltl('tls(, as gatltc grcw morc scarcc and e lltsivc.

Xi/ c.ullivalion .>[ r<.tw crops wcre soolt es_
IIt"nc!ing .trrrj tlrt'
''t
;1:' -\t
tt'
scntial to strrvival. As thc hrrntan p<lpulation coltl.inucd
to grow, r'vcn hcrdirrg diminished becausc ir
I

,.,.,JI
:
ltrulvidcs
lcwcr calorics llcr rrnil of land than row
il, Nc<llitlric larnrcrs increasirrgly rcslrictcd thc raising of
animals to tracls othcrwisc unsuitable 1.or cullivation.
crops.

.t"tI
r,,'-f' Altl-ough orher sources of Iood would always sirpple_
,

mcnl crol) raising, it graduarly emerged as the primary

'{,/,i, act,vity whcrcvcr land could be tilled for planting.
The
crrltirarion of plal.rts, bcginning w;rh grains and ex_
, panding lo include beans, peas, r;lives, and evc,ntually
grapes, trade food supplies far more predictable
I
than in
a hunting <lr herding econo,ny and greatly increased
the nuritbcr of calories that a given area of land could
llrodr,cc. Thc irrvcnti<,n of thc whecl arrd tlrc wooden
lllow; both ril which came into comnlolt use around
3000 scr, further enhanced the efficient use ol land.
Irtr;utit, 1.4 'flrc Epolrrtiort ttf-Motltrrr I44tcat. Earty lann- Farrr.ing thcrcforc promote d demographic growth both
('r\ ('r()\\-J)rllljDatctl cinl,orn wltcat (ul)l)er lclt;
with incd;ble absolutely and in rhe densiry of popularion thar a given
t().1 qras\cs to crcalc cr]lncr rvl.cal (lowcr lrltl ancl rlodcrn
l)r( a(i \\,hr.trs (l:rwcr righrl, rvhiclr arc lar nr,rrcl arca cruld support.
elfjcicrrt
sl)lrrr,\ ol lood. Enlncr whcat is rclated to thc durunt rvhcat
Jr{)nl \1,lti('}t rnrr havc rrracaroni. (Tltc Ictters in
ltarcntltcscs
Neolithic Health and Diet. On rhe negarive side, pop-
rcJ)i ('s('t)t scls cha,',s'rttts a.d sh.rv tlte c.trrtti'ati.'s <ll ulations expand to meet the availabilit), of resources, and
'l
tl)t'nt,lv strairts.) Neolithic contmunities soon reached their ecological limits.
Grain yields on trnfertilizcd lan,1 typically range frorn three
to twclve bush.'ls per acre with'a probable avelage of five.
If societies could not expand t-te area under cuhivation,
irrr ILrrlirrg rvild barley and two varieiies
of w,heat. they reached a balance that barell sustained life.
Eilriiorrl (oue-c( rn), a variely of whc.at with a single The transition to a farming economy often resulted
row, ol seeds per stalk, produces only modest
yiells; diets that rvere defident in protein and other imoor-
ir-r
cnulte r, rvith multiple rorvs on each stc,nt, is
more pro_ tant elements. Bread became rhe proverbial sraff of life,
riucljve. When the two grains are crossbred with largell, because land planted with grain SupporLs more
.:.4... other
, ..:-li .qrasscs, the result is ntodern bread wheat, a grain with people. The nuts, animal prorcins, and wild fruits
r asrlv irrrltroved yields. rypi_
: j-1! cal of the Paleolithic diet became luxuries to be eaten
.!:.:. Wlrv did agrictrhure begin in Mesoporamia? perhaps only on special.occasions. As a result, Neolithic fanners
orriy j11 rhe uppc'r Tigris and Etrphrates valleys did
tlle were shorter and less healthy than their paleolithic an_
sci'ds of ihis ltarticular cornbinaticn ctf grasses nteet
a cestors (as rheir skejetal remains inclicate). Although
rr,'arrlr clirnare and well-watercd soils. How peopre
bcans, peas, and lentils became valuable sources of pro_
It'.'irrcrl rh. tecl'rrriqLre s .f cross-polrinarion ar.rd
of con- te,in, oldinarl,people consnmed as much as g0 percent
tltcsr: seeris i.t<) q^lel or bread is unknown, but of their calories in the form of carbohydrates from
'c.rirrg
ont't' lcarncd, thc valuc of syslentatic cultivation or
l,r rt t i t tt, lrt't'a lttc al)l)<t rcnt. Th .' ilrverrti0rr
bread, or ntore often, frorn gruel made by boiling
r
tlf agriCtrlt urc grou.rd grain in water or rnilk.
nrarkt'd thc iregirrning of rlte Ncolithic Ace.
Caloric inrak: varied widely. An adult nrale engaged
i\4 r!r'alron, c()ntacl ant()ng cullures,
rni cultural bor- in heavy labor requircs a urinimunr of 3,700 calories
..r'irrg facilirated rrre diffusior of agriculturar teci-r- per day. Although we cannot nreasure a typical
riqLrcs. 81, 7000 ocE, farrtrirrg was well established diet in
frort Neolithic or ancient times, we can estimate that the av_
lran lo Palesrine. lr spread ir.rto tl.re Nile valley and the erage peasant or laborer probably made do on far less,
Arg('al) by 5000 uce and front the Balkans uD the perhaps onl1,2,500 to 2,700 calories per day.
Darrtrlrc and into central Europe in the vears thar Moreover,
fol- because grain harvests depend on good *"uih.. and are
Iowtd. Racliocarbon dating has esrablisl,ed the exis_ susceptible to destruction by pests. shortfalls were
lcncc of larnting settlentents in rhe Nerherlands by com_
mon. lu yean of famine, caloric intake dropped below
4()00 rrt:r, and in Britain lry 3200 acn.
the level of subsistence.

The Aucient Mitldle East: Mesopotamia, E2ypt, pltoetricia, Israel 7

 Analysis of lhe boncs left at Neolithic sitcs provides clues to I2OO-30OO BcE 2900.-2400 BcE
thc domeslication ol animals and an insight into the
Ncolithic diet. The figures in the tatrle comc from Tamabod Tenxlsoo,
(a sitc of the Bordrogkereztur culture) and Budapest- HUNGARY
Andor utca (the Baden culture), both rn Hungary, and Domestic Animals
inriclow Poland (a site of the Beaker people). Cattle 562 (61 .3o/ol t6o 02 t%) 1,578157.7o/")
Thc number of animal bones that researchers have Dog 1 (O.to/o') 6 (r.2%) ttt (4.r%l
lound at each site appears under ttre name of the site; the Pig 109 (11.9%) lO5 (2i.Oo/ol '566 (20.7o/o\)
prrcentage thar each set of bones represents in the total Sheep 69 (7.5o/o) t94 (\.9-yol 276 (|O.t%\
app('ars in parentheses. For cxample, r,1 .1"/o of the bones and goat,
found at Tarnabod are dorrresticated cattle bones, and 9.17" Total 743 (87.0o/ol 465 (9t.2o/,) 2,5ft (92.5o/ol
arc aurochs bones, a species of wild cattle nolfr e:itinct. Wild Ailmals
The disparity in the total percentage of wild an;mal Aurochs $ 4 (O.8o/o) 0
lg.I%)
bones (7.5% at imielow, for instance) versus the percenr- Horse 0 0 58 (2.1%l
age of domestic animal bones (92.57o atCmielow) tel''s us Pig 3t (3.4%l 4lo.8%l 4) (r.6o/0)
that wild animals formed a declining part of rhe Neolirhic Red deer 4) e.'o/ol B (2.6"/0l )d (t.?%l
diet. Local variations existed in the species o1 domesti- Roc deer 12 (1.3%l 4 (C.$o/ol 45 (1.60/0l
cated animals. All three cultureS used copper tools. Other 5 (0.5%) 9 rl.8o/o) B (0.8o/o)
Although hard evidence is available only for imielow, Total 174 (l9.Oo/o) 7416.8%l zo, (7.rvol
they prob rbly grew emmer wheat, barley, flax, and
wheat. Source: I'dapted from Murray, Jacquelin,r, The First European
Agriculture (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1970, pp.
Questions: What animals were easiest to domesticate? 306. j62i)63t.
Why do you suppose this is? What common types of a ni-
mals do not appear in this tal-'le? Again, why do you
think they do not appear here? At what site does the
smallest percentage of domesticated animal remains ap-
pear? What do you conclude abcut rllat culture?

ii+l : , The permanence of {arming settlements also encour- tury. Although few people literally starved to death. dis-
:ff. aged the spread oI disease. The hunter-gatherers of ease kept cieath rates high while poor nutrition kept birth
Palcolitiric times had lived in srnall groups, camped in rates low. Malnutrition also rais:s the age of first men-
.€...T''t
, caves or temporary shelters, arrd moved frequently in struatiou and can prevent ovulation in mature wonen,
ii;l; "-'pursuit of game-a way of life that virtually precluded thereby reducing rhe rite of conception. When concep-
tl epidemics. Farming, however, is by definition sederlrary.
ijit Fields and orchards require consranr artention and there-
tion did occur, poor matemal diet led to a high rate of still-
births and complications,durir-rg pregnancy. If a baby were
fore permanenl sheltcr. Early farmers built houses of brough' to term and sr,lvived the primitive obstetrics of
surr-dried brick or of reeds and wood and placed them the age, there remained the possilrility that the mother
ckrse together to promote security and cooperation. Such would he too malnourished to nursb the newborn.
$i ' villages encouraged the accumulation of refuse and hu- Statistics are unavailable, but infant mortality probably
,. "i
man wasle. Water supplies became contaminated, and ranged from l0 to 70 percent in the first 2 years of lil'e.
disease-[rearing rats, {lies, lice, and cockroaches became The age distribution of Neolithic and ancient popu-
thc village or town dweller's collstant ccrnpanions. lations therefore bore little resemblance to that of a
$;' nrodern industrial society. Thc young far outnumbered
Neolithic Demography. Inadequate nutririon and the old. and most people had shorter working lives
slrsceptii)ility to epidemic disease created the so-called bi- than their modern counterpa-ts. Their reproductive
ological old regime, a demographic pattem that pre- lifetimes were also shorter, and in people of mature
vailccl in Etrrope r.r rtil the middle of the nineteenth cen- years (aged 35 to 50), men may have outnumbered

8 Chaptn 1
 1,r/()n)('ll, l)rilnarily [rctatrst'so nlally wol)l(,r] tlicrj in
< irilrllrirt lr. Tlrt' lilt, ('xl)(,ctan(y lor t.irlrt'r gcn(l('r rnay
rrrl lravt. lrt't,rr trrur.lr rnorc llrarr l0 y(,ars at [rirtlr, llrrt
llrrsr' wlro srrrr ivt'rl tlrcir {iltit,s ltarl alrrrost as g()(xi a
t irartct' as llle ir rrrotlcrrr ('()ultl('rl)ilrl\ of rca<.lring arr
aiir,.rrrrt'rl agc. Tlris ltattenr, likr tlrc c,orrditir)ns thal
prorlrlt'<l it, worrlrl also pcrsist trrrtil thc irrdustrial rcv-
olutiorr ol rtroilcrrr lirtrt,s.

The Neolithic Concqt of Property

ani iu Social Imolications
The Social Orde^. Tlrc invcnrion ,rf agricullurc cx- I.-tcunr 1.5 Red Deer Antler Hzaildress, 9,500 years old.
Hrrrr.crs rnay have worrr lrcaddresscs Iikc lhis one as a disguise,
Jrarriled thc idcr <lf personal l)rol)ertJlto inclu<Jc land lrut it is nrorc likcli' that thesc anllers were pan oI a costume
.r,,tl dorncsticatcd ani'lals. ln palcrilithic times, pe oplc Worrr ofl spccial rr"casions, perhaps duing religious ceremonies.
owrrcd thcir t(x)ls, wcapons, and clothing, but nr,t the The l,ncs of cut rn:rks made bv {lint rools shorar thar its makers
aninrals, plant foods, or land <ln which thcy depcnded dclibi'ratcly rcmoved the skin from lhe skulls, broke off the
ior survival. The primary measurc of inlividual w<trtl.t antl -'rs and rhc bones forming the .op of the r,ose, and trimmed
5
!!rs a person's abilit/ to hunt (,r gathrr", skills front thc ecges of rhc :cmaining skull. A leather thong, loopcd through
the twr: holcs in rhc'back of skull, held the anrlcrs to the head.
tit n hic'h the enlirc tribc presuu-rai.ly benefi :ed. The
il Ncolithic world, however, ntcasured status in terms of
orvnership of flocks, herds, and Iields. This change af-
fcctrd tlre srructure of hurlan socictics in three irnpor- neighboring peoples. Dealing w,ith popularion growth by
tant wa\/s. First, bccause luck and rnanagen-rent skills annexing the land of others ,vas all t()o ei,sy and resulted
r;ry widely, certain individuals anrassed greater wealth in frequent aggression. War, in tum, made po;sible the de-
than others. To gain the maxinrum advantage from velopment of slavery. To a hunter-gatherer, slaves are un-
tireir wealth, they lound it necessary ro use, and ofren Ilecessary, but to herders and agriculturalists, ,slave labor
1o t'x;r;,r1,, rhc labor o{ thcir poorer ncighbors. Thus, al- makes possible the expansion of herds and the r ultivation
tllougit a nteasure of cooperation in asricultural and of more land: under typical circuinsrances, sla\'es produce
c(rnstntcrion tasks could be found ar the village level, more:han they consumc.
social stratifi cation characterized Neolithic sociel y.
Power and Government. At first, Neolithic commu-
Subordination of Women. TI ,e emergence of prop- nities seem to havr-. been organized along tribal lines, a
crty seents also to have affected t,re status of women. struclltre inherited from their hunting and gathering an-
Little is known about the lives of women in paleolirhic cestors when they settled down to till the land. Most in-
rinrcs, bur most theorists agree that, with the development habilants shared a comnon ancestor, and chieftainship
of herds and landed property, controlling female sexuality was plobably thr dominant form of social orga4ization-
Ircame important in ways that would have b,.en unnec- The rfunction of the chief in agricultural societies was far
essary in a community of hunter-gatherers. Thc issue was mor,r complex than in the days of hunting and gathering,
inheritatrce. The long-term survival of a Neolithirr.family involving not only military leadership but also the man-
dcpcnded on the preservation and augmentatiolt of its agement of goods and ,abor. Efficiency in operations such
n'ealll.r. Women were expected to provide heirs who were as harvesting anJ sheep shearing requires cooperation
the biological children of their pafiners. The result was the and direoion. In retum, the chief demanded a share of
tlcvelopment of a double standard by which women had each individual's agricultural surplus, which he then
to be pure and seen to be pure by the entire community. storel for redistribution during hard times while holding
II anrhrclpologists are correct, the subjugation of wonten bacl: a ponion for his own use.
anc'l the evolution of characteristically femini le behaviors
\vcrc alt outgrowth of the Neolithic revolution. Specialization and Work. The chief,s role in the
r'1i.+-
;1.
management and allocation of resources explains the
i::. Warfare. Finally. the Neolithic age nrarked the begin- stort,houses that early rulers constructed. A,s agriculture
ning of warfare, the systematic use of fclrce by one com- developed, crops becante more varied. Lr the Medi-
rnLrnity against another. Whertas paleolithic hunters ntay terranean basin, for example, wheat, wine, and olives
have fought one another on occasion, Neolithic peoples becanre the basic triad of prolucts on which society de-
fouglrt to defend their propeny-their homes, livestock, pended. One farmer might have a grove of olive trees but
: ::ia l
and cultivated land-against the predalory behavior of no land capable of growing wheat, whereas another
,.:,
;i.*,:i
'.1 t...
i..i The Ancient ltliilille East: Maopotamia, Egypt, Phoenicia,Israel g
".r.r".ji,r,

iii$
;:iia
 vf:f (;rJRrj 1.6 Stonchcryqc (r. J100-l 5-10 n<n). Tlrc grcar- would trc blcsscd with wcll-drbincd, sottlh-facitl$ hill-
('st ()l w('sl('nr Liurolle 'sprt'lrisloric t'irclt's stands on England's sidcs producirrg tlrc llcsl grapcs for wine . A chicf actcd lo
Salislrtrry Plairr. A p!rcc of worslrip arrd lrtrrial, Stonchcngc encourag,c agricuitural spccialization and alt clfitient usc
rrra1,;rlso havc scrved as an aslronorrrical calcndar, but its lruc of ilroup rcs()urccs. Hc could ,rollcct oil frrlm ()tlc and
l)rirlx)s(' is rnrccrlain. We do krrow,that llrehisloric builclcrs gral)c:' rrrrnr arr()llrcr and l)arlcr lroth to a third farllcr in
(()lrslru(1('(l Slont'ht,rrgc in scvcral slages. Alloul I | 0O lx:t;,
tlrt'y lrrrilt tltt, hen11c-a circular. raiscd carth plalcau insidc a rclunl lilr his suri)lus whcat. Diffcrent cotntnodilies pre-
rlitttr. Approxirnatcly l,(XX) ycars later, thc brrildcrs sct '
vailcd . in diflcrcnt rcgions. but thc Jlr;nciplc was thc
IJltrt'slont's irr a dorrble circlc insidc the hcnlic; transponcd sarnc..ln tlrc atrsclrcc ()f Incrchants ()r org,anized nrarkels.
Irrrrrr a <lrrarry in llrc lnountains of Walcs 24O milcs away, thc clric{ fulfilled an important role in thc distribtrtion of
t'ar'lr storrc wcighed about 4 tons. S()nlcwhat latcr thc gords and services. Although spc:ialization in Neolithic
Srorrt.lrcrrge buildcrs arrangcd lhirlv Sarscn ;loncs in an outcr timcs was rarely tolal, prudent farrners knc'w that tfiver-
circlc ol atrout 100 fcct in dianictcr; trrought from a quarry 20
rrrilt's away, thesc largcr Sarscn stoncs cach lvcighcd ebout 50 sification offered a rneasure of sccurily. that monocul-
lons, A\ sccrr here in thc surviving portion of thc outer circlc, ture, or the growing of only one crop, can nevcr pro-
tht' Sarscn lintels (horizontal slabs) courrcetcd continuousiy, vidc. If the major crop failed, they needed something el."'
t'nd-lo-r:nd, with tonguc-and-groovr joints. Pcgs on the tops to fall back on, and even a modest dcgree of specializa-
ol tlrc trprigtrls-notc thc r6utrd prolrusi'n o*fhe uprigilt tion can incrcase efficiency and iaise a community's
sronl lowarcl lhc centcr of thc picturc-fit into prepared holes standard rlf living.
irr tlrc linte ls alrd hcld thcm in placc (rnortisc and tcnon
jointsl. Thc builders crcatcd the joints and shaped rhe stones Religion and lt{onumenta,l Architecture. Chiefs
lry pou:rding thcm witlr stone hamntcrs. Insidc the <lutcr may also havc had religious duti ,'s. although orgarrized
Sarscn circlc. the buildcrs arranged five trilithons (a trilithon pnesthoods evolved in some early societies. Chiefs al-
is a pair of u;lrights with a lintel; in the shape of a horseshoe.
most certainly organizcd the building of communai bur-
Ils axis lay on the sunrisc of the summer solstice. A heel
stonc, sct outsidc the henge, marked the axis and the path to
ial places in the Aegean and along the Atlantic and
the ccnter. The prevalence of these large-scale construcion North Sea coasts from Iberia to Scandinavia. Or,ginally
pxrjects. whatever their purpose, and the care in selecting simple dolmens formed of a giant stone or megalith
tlrc riglrt combination of building matcrials, indicates rhar laid upon othc'r stones, these tombs gradtrally evolved
Neolithic societies < ould, and did, achieve high levels of or- into domed chambers that were entcred tl-rrough long
tion and technological sophisticarion.
ganiz.a masonry passages. Graves of this kind are often found irr
the vicinity of stone circles such as Stonehenge.
 Nrclithic Aduantes in Tbchnology lo forgirrg war(.;. rvhich they sold or tlarlcrcd f<lr nccessi_
lir.s. This irrrplics a sophislicatcd trariing nclwork and sys_
PotLery. 5pc'r'ializati,rr arr<l clli.clivc distlib.li.rr calr
tcrrr of !l()vc'rnallce slablt' r'nough 1o prolccl it, trrrt in the
,rlso crr(orrr.lgc rltc rlcvt'lolltttt'ltl ol tt.t'ltttolog\2. [)1v111,1-,
,rppt,lrcrl soolr after tlrc N.'olilltic.rt,volrrliorr as a way t()
allscncc ol' writtt,rr -ccortls. cvirlcnce is lackiirg. Tfans_
srr|r' grains or lirluirls. wonrcrr proba[r y nra<lc rhc f irst fcrring wcap()ns rrralrtrlacturc I,r,rm thc inilividual to thc
spccialist, howcvcr, prornotcd thc largc-scalc production
,)()ls al lrorrrc attd Iircrl tlrcrrr irr a corrtrirttrtal <lvcn, lrrrt
llr. irrve rr1i.n lhc poltcr,s wlrce I all.wccl l'r ,,lhr.w- ol rnclal wcap()ns ancl nray havc cnhanced the power <lf
ing" Jlots wilh'l unprcccclcrrted clticfs by cnabling lhcrl to amass largc armorics.
spccd and cfficiclrcv.
iJ(,(aus thc rrew rncllt()d rcquired grcaf skill, th0sc
rvlro ruastcrcd it tcndcd lo irccorrre sllccialists, that is.
artisans who wcrc paid for their work rr.r food or othcr
f-Ht, Ervlr.RGENCE
t or rr nrr.rd itics. or: Ctvt:,tZA'ftoNS
Mctaliurgy: 'I'he Beginning of the Bronze Age Whcn srrrvival-as opp<lsed to the demarids of ritual_
13500 nce). The advenr ol ,nctallurgylrovides a morc requirc'd a majrtr co()l,crltive effort, some societies
rirarrratic cxamplc of <lccupalional specialization. Beforc evolved inlo :ivilizations. A tcrm loaded with subjective
6000 BcF,, Nc<llithjc people usecl pure coppe, which is meanings, for our purposes, civilization refers to the es_
sorltctimes found in natrlre, for jewelry and personal tablislrment of a political and cultural unity over alarge
irenrs. I3y' 4500 nce, tlrey wcre smelting coppcr fronr geographical area. It impl;cs high population densities
orcs and hamnrering the lreated metal into tools and and the production of substanti:l wealth requiring elab_
\vcal)ons. These complex -pr<tcesses appear to have oratr: social, commercial, and administrative structures.
evolved separ-ately and independently in the Middle In most ca:;es, civilization also meant the devclop_
East and in the Balkans, wlrcre copper deposits were ment of rnathematics and a writterr language. Both
(ontnton. Sntelting and forg_
irrg dcpcnded on thc dever-
ol)ntent of ovens that could
aclticve both a controlled air
flolv altd ternpcratLtres of
nlorc than 2000o Fahrenheit.
An analvsis of pottery frorn
Ilrese areas reveals that pot-
tcrs had developed such ovens
to facilirare glazing.
t)1,3tOO sce, bronze-a
rrrixltrrc of copper and tin_
nas irr gencral use lhrouglt_
()itt tlte West {or the rnanu.
l.ictLlre rtf tools and weapOnS.
Ilronze is harder than copper
.rrrd Irolds a lrert _'r edge. Stone
is nrorc dr.rratrlt. and can be
sltarper lh.rn eitlter lrronze or
c()l)l)cr, Lrut the process oI
fr)ntrillg stole tools by hand
is l.tbor-intcnsive ancl tltere-
Iorc 1,'"1t'.'"nr. The Neolithic
A{t' ivas no\v ()ver, artd lhe
Brorlz.e Agc ltad begun. It
laste'd rrrrril lhe invcntion of
ir.rrrworking ushered in the
lrorr Aec in abor"rl I200 Bcr.
Ilccarrsc the skills involvcd
lrl rvtlrking bronzc wcrc
IriCIrlv sncr-iilizecl, Sptiths oc_
votcd thcnrse lve's cxclusively

T lrc Ancient Miildle East: Mesopotamia, Egypt, phoenbia, Israel 11

 w('r(' n('('(i('(l lrlr larrrl srtrv('ys, irlrrrirrislration, all(l trl('
distrilrutiorr ol goo<ls arrtl scrviccs irr a con.lllcx so(i('ly.
As r liit'ls I't'tarrrc' kirrgs, tlrc rccortl ol laxr'" rnd lril)utcs
ylaitl. ol larttls arrncxcrl, a'r<l ol tlrc provisiolr, consrrntc<l
lly t I rt'i r t'vt'r- la rgcr f, nlt l(,s a('(t ui r('(l grcat sigrr ililarrcc.
Tlrc tltsirt' lo record rirc rrrlcr's gloriorrs <lccds [<lr llos-
lcritl' r;rrrrt' sliglrtly latr.r brrt \^ as lte ve rtlrclcss irnpor-
tar)1. \'\/rilinlj givcs nanrcs to irrdivi<lrrals arrtl ltcrrnits thc
dcatl to slrt'ak irr tlrcir owrr worrls. Will)()ut it, thcrc is
n() rll\1,)ty.
Tirc crrrcrglncc of socictics al this lcvcl oI complcx-
ity allr(te(l cvcl.l th()sc arcils rroi dirr,.ctly under a soc!-
ety's corrlrol. Grcat civilizations are rnagltcts that draw
oilrcr cultur.cs into thcir orbits. As pc<lplcs on the pc-
riJrlrt'ry pay rritlulc to rtr tradc with thc larger markct,
{ulltrr--ri lro rowing accclcrates. fhcn, ai?iviiizati<lns
€x11611,1, thcy comc inlo conilicl with onrr another lnd
bring rrciglrtrrlring pcoplcs into thr-'ir : ystcrns oI war and
dipkrnracy. By 3000 BcE. at least two such civilizations
liad I'cgun to enlergc: one in thc vall,ry of the Tigris and
Euplrratcs Ilivcrs, ,hc other in the valley of the Nile.

r Larsa
:4.: b
r.:t Tur, ANctENt- Mtpprr Ensr
Sorrrcrirrrcs known as the Fertile Crescent, the ancrent )l---
' Midciic East includes Mesopotantia and,he eastern
"tt t')'' '
,I sltorcs of thc Mediterranean to the borders of Egypt.
,-,. Thc n,ririrrg, nrarherratics, and religious faiths of
We;te rn civilizatiolt originated here. The broad valley of
'7' .EflOU
the Tigris and Eupfrrares Rivers (centcr riglg on the ac- ..\
'. conll)auf ing rnap) is known as Mesopotamia. he heart .^c\\-
of orrc of rhe firsr great civilizations. For 1,500 years,
FlcuRE 1.7 The Mesopotamian Ituee (embankment)
the rtrle'rs of different regions or cities (Sumer, Akk.ld, System. Then as now. levees prorected croplands and cities
Irom floodwaters. Here, satellite imagery reveals mar'y of
:: , wirhout substantially altering its basic culture. The the more important levees in the lower Tigris and Euphrates
-i, coasral region centered on the phoenician city-states valley (modern Iraq) constructed dur;ing the Sumerian and
Babylonian epochs. ihese ancienr levees follow-not only the
. bcn'e.l as a c,.rrridor between Mr:sopotamia .and Egypt rivers but major irrigation channels. The extent of the levees
,..., ?fld was on various occasions ruled by, one or the other indicates thc high lcvel of social organization and technologi-
., ,. of thcse great civilizations.
cal sophistication that led ro survival in t'he land between the
,,.-i,i,
rivers.
Mesopotamia
,
ii:' Geography. Mesopotamia. in Greek, means the land
i,i' ,, bcttvcerr the rivers, in this case the Tigris and the through the dry plains. of whar is now Syria and north-
.r
1' Euphrates. It is a hot,.fertile flood plain, most of which western lraq. In April and May, snow melting in the
Zagros Mountains aauses massive flooding throughout
pcralrtrcs rcach I10" to l20o Fahrenheit, and no rain 'alls the region. This provides r--.eeded warer and deposits a
fronr ,\4ai, tltrough late October. Winters are more moder - rich lay:r of alluvial silt. but the inundation presents
atc, iriir only Assyria in the nonh receives enough rainfall enormous problems of n:;.nagement. Communities must
lo slll)lx)rt agriculttrre witlrout irrigation. In tle lower val- control the tloods not orrly to prote( t human settlement
-by
ley, e\/crything depends on water supplicd the two . but to preserve water for irrigation during the rainless
rivcrs. summer. To m,tke matters worse, both rivers creale nat-
Of rhc two, the Tigris carries by far the larger volume ural embankmenrs or levees rhat inhibit the flow of trib-
of w'alcr. The Euphrates on the w( st has fewer tributaries tutaries and that over time have raised the water level
:: altd krscs more of its flow to e laporation as it passes above that of the surrounding countryside. If spring
,u,
i.'. l

'
;,,' 12 Chapter 1
 liootls wash llrc crnbarrktne l)ts away, llrc rivcrs clrangc
rirt'ir rrrrrrscs.'frcn with disastrr)rs rcsults. Thc tliblical
\r()r), ()[ Noah arrd thc Flo<d originatccl in Mcs<4rotamia,
alrlr.ugh llrcre wcre ;lr'babry nrany f r''ds rarhcr tharr
. Jlrsl Orrc (scc I) rcumcnt l.l).
'l-lrc fjrst klrown sclllcmcnls
in thc regi<ln wcrc vjl-
lagt'crrllurcs sllcakilrg a Scrnitic language distanrly rc_
laletl to tlre mrlre mode rn Hcbrcw or Arabic. They grew
rvlrtar and barlcy arrd by 4500 n<:t: had established
' rht'rrsclvcs as f rr south as Akkad ncar rhe m'dern Iraci
<aliilal of Baghdad. Ahhough Semiric peoples from rhe
' ivest and southwest continued to migrate into the re_
giorr until the Arab invasiorrs of the ninth century cr,
by 3CC0 scr, a non-Scmitic peoplc wlro may have come
.ririnally fr'm Incia-the Sumcrians-had achievecr
. clorrrinance in the lower valley

Th^ !':nerians. The Sumerians introduced larse_

scalc irrigation and built the firsr rruc cities, usua.lyln
a tributary of one of the rivers. Many of them grer,r,inttr
ciry-stares that dominated a terrirory of perhaps a hr,n-
drcd square miles. The inhabitants cultivated cerears, es-
pccially barley, and had lea,ned rhc secrer of laking
beer. Sumerian homes of sun_baked b.ick were orisi_
nally small and circular, like a peasant,s tur, but grad"u_
ally expanded to be :ome large, one_srory stnlctures
rvitlr square or reoangular rooms surrounding a
central
courtyard.

The Sumerian Social Order. The organization of

rire Sumerian city-states provided a model for their
Akkadian and Babyloniarr successors. Each city had
a
kirrg rvho ruled with the assistance of a palace bureau_
cracy. A city council, elected by free citizens, had
lee_
islarive and judicial responsibilities, although
the pr!-
cise division of powers is unknoivn. The roval farnilv
and irs retainers owned large tracrs of land. An orea_
ruiz-cd priesthood also held extensive propenie,
o ,,.ip_
p()rt rheir service in the great raised temple,
or ziggu_
rat, rhat dominated the town (see Tfvo Faiths: Their
Prayers and Monumerrrs). private far'ilies-most
of them
extended, ntultigenerational, and organized on patriar_
What does the writer
ciral lines---owned the rest of the land. Although rarely
to da1 "?
rich, rhese freeholders enjoyed full civil rig,rts and par_ ,l,iilr:?
'. r'1.,#ilt.r
ticipared in the city,s represenrative asser tblv. The
' ,,i,',r. j .
grcal('st threat t' their i.dependc'cc was cleut, which
r.'rrrrlti lead to enslavenrent. Srill. although
sla. e11, in
paynrr'nl of debt was common and the te nrple
o. puiua.
sonrelinres acquired slaves through war, Sumer
was not
a slave-based economy. eties, they stood at the cenrer of a system of clientage
Srrrtrerian cities warred co:-rtinually over the alloca_ that involved tlreir families and their seivants, as well
lion of l, nd and water. At first rhe local kings were as officials, commoners, and priests.
probably war chiefs. As the necd ro mobilize
the city,s Clieirtage. As the basic form of social organization in
resources for war grew, they acqtrired new responsibil_
manv cultures, clientage was destined to become a pow-
irics lor the allocation of goods and latror and rhcir
erful force in tl e histoi:y of tl.e West. Clientage is best
powcrs became I'rereditary. Like chiefs in ,ther
soci- defir ed as a system of mulual dependencyr in which a

The Ancient Miildle East: Mesopotamia, .Egypt, phoenicia, Israel 13

 woo'1, \l()Il(', (()l)l)cr ipllots,
arr<l llrcciorrs lrrctals. lron
antl sleel wcrc as ycl un-
krrorvn. Latcr, in thc lilnc o{
Harnrrrrrralri (r. 1750 nc.r),
13a[tyi<lltran rrrlcrs attcrlptcd
to lrrirrg solnc of tlrcsc lrad-
irrg companics undcr g<lv-
('nrrr cnl regrrlatlolt.

The Firsr Writing. -wc

ktr<tw morc. about the
Sutncrians only becausc they
wcrc the first Wcstern peopic
t() creat(. a wriltcn language.
Trrcir polirical and cconomic
rclationships had reached a
level of comL,lexity that re-
quired permanent record-
keeping. Alrhough the
Sunrerian language was ap-
paren rly unrelated to any
other and was used only for
religious purpose j after about
2000 B:E, all later Mes-
i.fur'- opotamian cultures adopted
in Akladian ot.the Epkof Gitsameshrels rhe Babyfonian its cuneiform sysrem of writ-
; ;:end rf rhc f,,lj":.I':::::-t
:j::i:,1 ll.,d and c.nres f.rm the great ribrary estabrished ar Nincveh reg-
ot'l:tbanipa,l (669-626 ace). I-'ke ail cuneiforrn wriring, ;;il;;;;;1; ing. Cuneiform refers tc the
l.Tll.),t
,w",1,r".sr,pc'd ii',,'"'"i.Tuiliil;il:ffiiilil ir rvas created b.,nressirs
;il'Tf'J'":fi,,i[,1i1,0,;Xli,i""t ' wcdge-shaped nrarks left by a
stylus when it is pre3sed into
::,:

i: a \^/et cla,v tablet. Surrrer was

*_{ rich in mud, and slabs of clay
i1
. p.rv.rftrl individual protects rhe inreresrs of others in were perfect for recording
taxes, land transfers. and legal agreements. When the
rerrrrn frtr their political or economic support.
A system document was ready, the tablet could be baked until
."r be informal or sandion3d by law. clientage in hard and stored for furure reference.
[,P..]
urlcr appears to havc been both. Informal
{ . .ur ties of de_
crLJ vr ul_
pendcncy existed rogether with a separate crass
of fre e
individuals vvho. defined by the law ai clients, leased Power Struggles and Warfare
the
:use of snrall rrarcels of land in return for labor
are of their produce. Their patrons_kiugs,
and a in Macpotam:ia . .-
officials, c r
tenrplc priesrs-rerained title to the lanJ and a Throughout its history, Mesopotatnia,s wealth and lack
com_
. of natunal defenses made it a tempting prize for con_
'p.elling
,__.. hold .... rlreir
-"._ on lrr!rr LrrLrr. political toyallles.
client,sJ lrutlttLdt
:,..- loyalties. Sumenan
Sumerian
'clieltrs had full rights as citizens,
-
querors.'For 1,i00 years, the rulers of different regions
but th,-,y could not be
; exllc'creri to \'0le against those wl ro aont.ull.d
.succession conquered all or part of Mesopotamia.
ir.r
their ect.,-
Using foi'ce and the careful ntanipulation of alliances,
they established dynasties rhat t nded when their de_
ilrade. organizatior. of rrade, like rhar of agricul_ scendanu fell prey either to internal divisive forces
.The or to
;.lurc, rellccred this social slrtrcture. For centrrries. invasions by pelrple from the surrounding highlands.
FiMcs.ll,r,tanrian business rested on the exrended family Sumer. Even with r,r.ritten records, political relations
T;or rvlrar would ttday be called family corporations.
anrong the Sumerian city-states are difficulr to recon-
lorrrc groups ran caravans to every part of the Middle struct. As populations increased, struggles over boundaries
'.East .r shipped goods by sea via rhe persian Gurf. Thev and trading rights grew more vio.ent. By 230t) BcE,
1; ,exprtrrcd-texliles; copper implements, and other prod_ inter_
city confli.rs engulfed the region as kings claimt d ruler_
i ucls ol Mcsopotarnian craftsmanshi ip and intported
ship ovrr more than one city, or, all of Sumer_although

14 Chaptr 1
llrcrt'rrr iy n('v('r l)av(,bc'crr a Srrnrcriarr [:rrrJlirc ol ar)y sil]- ttccring, alrd f rctlr.rcnt rc<listribution ol land. Thc Mcso-
lrilir'ant lt'rrgtlr. Acrrrrriirrg l() tlt(. irrst'ri1l1i<lrrs r,l l(ing l)olalnians' highcst intellcctual achicvcrrrcnls wcrc
Lrrg.rlz;rgcsi ol Urr,,lra ((. n7, rtr:, ), lrc aclricvccl c()lttr()l tIrc rc j o rt' 1r ra ct ica I

ovt'r llrt'('nlirc rcgion only l() ltavr,it lakcn frorn hirn lry
ir rron-Srrrrrcriarr, Sargorr ol Akkatl,
Mathematics. Thc Mt'sr'po amians wcrc tlrc lirst
grcal rrrathcnralicians wlrosc placc-valrrc syslcni of
Al<l<acl. Thc Akkatliarr lriulnph lltarkc(l thc bcginnirrg ol ll()tati()r') is the lrasis of all utodcrrr rrrrrncral systcms.
a rl('w irrrpcrial agc. Tlrc uniticali()n of southcrn and ccn- They usccl a nutrtcrical syslctn lrascd on sixty (inslead
tr al Mcsopotamia gavc Sarg<ln (rcigr;cd c. 2350-2300 ;rcr,) of tire moclcrrr tcn) and produccd rcfcrcncc tables f<lr
tJr(' llcans 1r) conqucr tlrc nortlr togclhcr with Syria. rnul'tillicati<ln, divisi<ln, squarc ro()ls, cubc r{ro15, unO
r\ltlrotrgh Akkadian rule was bricf, it transmitted c cmcllts othel functions. Tl,cir greatcst achiev(jment, the
()f Mcs()lx)tamian culturc througlrout thc ,vliddle East, and place-valuc sysl'jrll in which tl,e valuc of cach digit is
Akka<liarr, a Scmitie language, bccamc standard through- dctermined by r1s position iftcr tht" base-instcad of
()Lrt lllc figris and Euphratcs vallcys. But the brevir)r ol hy a scparale nante-madc d.-scribing large numbers
Sargon's triumph sc1 a pattern f<lr' rlte political frrturc. ;lossiblc.
The Legal Code of HammuraLi. The Babylonians
B2lrylon. Afrcr thc overrhr(rw of Saig;,r's descendanrs
also created one of the first comprehensive legal codes.
by a descn peoplc known as the Guti and a brief revivai
Narned aftt'r Harlmurabi, it was alm<lst certainly a
of Sumerian power undcr rhc Third Dynasty of Ur,
cornpendium of existing laws rather than new legisla-
Eabylorr becante the chief political and cultural center of
tion and rc'flected a legal tradition that ltad been de-
thc regi<rn. Under Hammurabi (ruled c. 1792-1750 BCE)
veloping for centuries. Its basic principles were retribu-
tlrc Babylonians achieved_ hegemony over all of tion in kind and the sanctiry of contracts. In criminal
Nlesopotamia, but a series of invasions after I600 scr led
cases this meant literally "an eye for an eye, a tooth for
to a krng period of political disorrler. The invaders. thr:
a tooth"-if the social status of the parties rvere equal.
ntost inrportant of whom rvere Hittites, an Indo- If not, a defendant of highr:r status could usually es.
Eurtlpcan p€ople from the area around Hattusha in
cape by paying a fine. Blood feuds, private retribution,
sollth-central Asia, introduced fighting from wheeled
and c,ther features oi tribal law, however, were forbid-
chariots, a tactic that soon spread throughout the Middle
den. This same sense of retributive justice extended to
East. Because rhe Hittites did not seek to aher local insri-
the punishmerlt of fraud and negligence. A builder
ILltions, their influence was olherwise imperntanent;
whose house collapsed and killed its <lccupants could
horvever, a rivalry soon developed.between Babylon and
be executed; tavern keerlers who watered their drinks
Ass,vria, a kingdom in the rrorthern parr oi rhe valley
were drowned Craftsmen had ro replace poor work-
centered fir:st on the city of Ashur and Iater on Nineveh.
manship at their own expense, and farmers who failed
Assyria. A fierce people rvho spoke a dialec-t or to keep their ditches and levees in good repair were
Akl<adian, the Assyrians may havc been rhe first peo- sold into slavery if ti ey could not compensate the vic-
ple to coordinate the use of cavalry, infanrry, ant. ntis- tims of their carelessness. Cortracts governed every-
siie rveapons. Not only were their armies wel! orga- thirg from nrarriage to interesr rates and could not be
nizcd, but their grasp of logistics appears ro have broken witht-rut paying a heavy fine.
sLrrpassedthat of other ancient el'npires. Although a An almost oppressive sense of social responsibiliiy
highly civilized people wlrose literarl, and' artistic drove Hanrrnurabi's Code. The eccllogy of Mesopotamia
was ,both fragile and largely rnanmade. Only elaborate
achievenrents continued the traditi rns of Sumer and
Babylon, they waged psychological warfare b1, culti- regulation could prer ent disaster, and the law is expiicit
or1 rrlElnI arjpects of trade, agriculture, and manufactur-
valiug a reputation forhorrific cruelty. The1,eventually
dc'leated the Babylonians and after 933 restored tlte ing. Courts ar-rd city cor.rucils heard a variety of cases-
achicverlents of Sargon by esrablishing an entpire that demonstrating rhe conrinuing irnportance of local gov-
strerched front Egypt rtl Persia. ernment even after the esiablishment of an empire-and
alsrr toclk an interest in personal, farnily issues, including
rrrarriage.
Alesopotamian Culture, LAut, and Religiotr As in rrost ancient cultu.'es, parents arranged the
marriages of rl-reir children. The parents of tne bride
hr spite of violent political alterations, Mesopolantia re- provided ht'r with a dowry. which she was entitled to
nrained culturally hornogeneous for nearll, 3,000 years. keep in the event of widowhtlod or divorce. Hustrands
While capitals and dynasties rose and fell, rhe land be- coulcl demand a divorcc al tny time but had to pay
l\verr) the rivers rentained captive to the annual {loc,ds mailrtenance and child support unless they could
arrd consequent need for cooperatior.r, superlative engi- demonstrate that the wife had failed in her duties.

Tlrc Ancient Micldle East: Mesopotamia Egypt, Phoenicia, Israel 15

 Religiorr McsoJrotamiarr rcligion was no1 based on
ctlrical cortntandltr.-trls Ironr thc gocls (althtlugh likr:
SslrcrroNg rnoM Hnrvrl{unnst's Copr nlost lawgivcrs, Harrttnuratti claimcd drvirrc sanctioll for
his codc). Tltc Srrntcrians had w<tr:'hillpcd nl()re than
translation, Seignior refers to-both nobles and free cit- 1,00o tlcitics. nrany ol whom acqttircd httntan frtrnt
The disrinction is imponant because .Mesopotamian ancl u rich ntytltoklgy arouncl their advcntttrcs. Most
like many early legal systems, prescribed different Mcs()lx)ta:niarr god; rcprcscntccl nat,ural ltlrccs or the
Ities and obligations on the basis of social cl rss. spirits of lrarticular localities. Thc chicf god of Babylon
was its city g,od, Marduk, and thc Assyrians accorded
seignior has destroyed the ne of a tnember of the aristoc-
s'rnilar honors t<l Ashur. Both wcre .th<lught o[ as cre-
they shall destroy'his eye. If he has destroyed the eye of a
a.<lrs who had trr<lught the universe out of primal
r or brolctn the bone of a comtnoner, he shall pay one
chaos. Other goiJs and goddcsses \'vere still worshipped,
of silver, If he has destroyed the q'e of a seignior's slave or
but in an apparent step toward monotheism (the be-
the bone of a seignior's slave, he shall pay one-half of
lief in on,e god), they were increAsirrgly described as
agcnts clf Marduk or Ashur and even,tually' as manifes-
an obligation came due agairst a seignior and_he sold the
tces
tations"of a single god. i
of his.wife, his son, or his daugh.yn or he has been bound
Thc powcr of the gods was absoiute. Humeins de-
for servicz, thcy shattitrk in the house of their purchaser or pended on their whrms and could hope to prolritiate
for three yean with their freedom reestablished in the them only through the ceremonies of the priests.:The
year. . , .
problem crf the :ighteous sufferer vlars therefore ,drre-
outlaw have angregated in the establishment of a woman
cr.riring theme in Baoylonian literatqre. Even de; th of-
seller and :he has not arrested those outlaws and did not
fered no hope of relief. In the greatest of all Babylonian
them to the palace, that wine seller shall be put to death. . .
epics, the hero Gilgamesh, inspired by the death of his
a wotnan so hatcd her husband that she has declared. "You
friend Enkidu, wrestles with the 'rroblem of the here-
not have me,' her reard shall be investiga:ed at her city
after. His discoveries are not reassrring. The nether
and if she was careful and was not at fault, even though
world is a grim place, and neither the legendary
husband has been going out and disparagmg her greatly, that
Gilgamesh nor any other Mesopo'tamian could imagine
, without incurring any blame at all, may take her dowry
a personal salvation. I^ their extensive literature is an in-
go off to her father's house. If she was not careful, bui vas a
dication, I the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia knew
thus neglecting her house and humiliating her hu:-
how to eirjoy life, but a grim fatalism tempered their en-
, they shall throw that woman in the water.
joyment (see Tiazo Faiths: Their Prayers and Monuments).
In the land between the rivers, with ^ts terrible inunda-
From the excerpt, what can you conclude tions and vulneratrility to invaders, it could hardly have
a woman's right to own property? been otherwise.

ANcrcNr Ecypr
,l

cluties, like all other aspects of the mdrriage

ueograpny
ngcmenl, were spelled out in a detailed conrract While the Sumerians were establishing thems:lves in
enritled htrsbands to satisfy tlteir creditors by sell- Mesopotamia, another great civilization was developing
n'ivc-s and children into slavery, usually for no in the vallt.y of the Nile. In central'Africa, Uganda's Lake
re tharr 2 or 3 years. Trre systenl was patriarchal, but Victoria, rrrore than 1,000 miles from the shores of the
wile could sue for divorce on gr<;un.ds of crueltl', ne- Mediterranean, streams running from a cluster of great
, trr her husband's false accusation of adultery. If, lakes merge their waters to forn the White Nile. The
ver, atlultery were proved, the guilty cotrple lakes serve as a reseryoir, and the river's volume re-
rultj ire tietl together and drowned; if the aggrieved mains constant with the seasons as it flows north to
bantl forgave his wife, her lover would be pardoned meet the Blue Nile at Khartoum. The Blue Nile is
we'll. Bccause there were no lawyers, women, like smaller than the White, but its sources are north of Addis
n, \vcre expected to plead therr own cases-a right , Adaba in rhe Ethiopian highlands where the monsoon
r dcnied them in more mocern legal syslems. Trr rains of June and the melting mountain snow become a
ucc litigation, Hammurabi's Code decreed the death torrent. Tliis annual flood, which rea:hes the lower Nile
It1, for those who brought false accusations or frliv- valley in July or August, provides both the moisture and
us stnls. the rich iayer of black silt that support Egyptian life.

Chapter 1
 Frorrr llrc c(,nllu(:lt('c of lltc two tiv(,rs. thc Nilc
lrrakcs a wi<lt' sw(.('l) to tllc wcsl ltt'lorc f lowing lrorllr-
',i'arri tlrrouglr a vallt,y rrrorc lllarr rllorc tjlan 350 rnilcs
Iorrg lrrrl rarcly lrrorc tharr | 0 rrrilc's wi<lc. Thc hisloric
larrrl ol I:gyJlt is a narrow wcll- valcrcd passagcway lrc-
ro
lw,('('ll tlrc Mcditcrrarlcan and tlrc hcart ol Africa. T<r
i'tht'rvt.sr lics tlrc vast c'tlptiltcss of thc Libyan
descri; t<l
llrt r'ast. a lirrc oI yrarclred and rrrgg,cd hills mark thc
. slr,/rcs ol tltc Rcd Sea. r)pcn cour)try is found only ncar
' llrr. rivL'r''s r]loullt, a vast alluvirl dclta thr<tugh which,
,in ,lrrrirlrrity at lcast, scvcn nrain clranncls provided ac-
'", crss to rhc Mcdite rrancan Sca. Sunlncr temperatures
i; ilr tlrc valley arc not as hol as thosc <lf Mesopotamia,
, lrur lirrlc or n<l rai'r falls ano, withoul the river, life
'.
.w,ol: lrl lrc insupportablc.
,:. As irr r\4esopotanria, the key 1o Egyptiafl agriculture
'I wrs rltc
l)roper monagemertt ol the annual flood. The
:. Nile is rnorc predictable and less violent than the Tigris
.:r.or ELtltlrrates, but the construction of levees, catch-
$;meni. and an extensive network of clitches was es_
fusenrial both to.protect settlements and to preserve wa-
i:.. lcr altcr thc flood subsided in rhe fall. Such projects, as
f;{, n,cll as rl.re preservation and d;stribution of grain dur-
f ing rlrc dry monrhs, required a high level of organiza-
[,i;:,tion. lrrar riray tn turn have led to the centralized, hi-
i.:. erarcltical character of ancient Egyptian society, b.rt
'.. thc poinr is arguable. Little is known of politics before
:i:t, thc aclvenr of the First Dynasty around ll00 ecr. At
,.; rhar. Lirtrc, rhc kings of the First Dynasty or rheir im-
..: ntedratc predecessors united the ivvo lands of U1,per Egtrrytian society depended on rhe waters of the Nile .
,:'. (sourhern) and Lower (northern) Egypr ..nd-laid the .
and occupied almost no territory outside its narrow
i; foundarions of a political culture that viould endure river "alley. The deserts on either side made Egypt dil-'
ii,t f.',r nearly three millennra. The essential characteristics ficult to invaCe.
--;:if - r,i;,
'' of Egyptian society were in place when the Third
f,,.,DVnasty assumed power in 2686 scr and began the
".,Old Kingdom.
The Old and Middle Kingdoms. The Old King-
dom ended when massive crop'failures coirrcided with
Political History the political collapse of the Sixth Dynasty. After,an anar-
chic Intermediate Pe-riod of more than 100 years,
$,F]
gisto.ical Periods. The history of ancient Eglpr is Amene.nhet I, the ruler ol Thebes in Upper Egypt, re-
li:,conrentionally divided into three kingdoms and no united the country and established the Middle Kingdom.
i,. fen'cr rhan twenty-six dynasties: the Old Kingdom During the TWelftlr Dynasty (c. l99l-1786 ncr:). Egypt
{26.s6-218 ) scr), the Middle Kingdom (2133_17g6 rcr), found it;elf under military pressuie in both the north
arrr,l rhe Nerv Kingdom (1567-525 ncr). The terms o/d, and south and, for the first time in its history, created a
ntiJdle, and trcw do not necessarily rellect progress. Some standing army. Expeclitions into palesrine, Syria, and
ol Egypt's grcatest achievements-for -.xample, the con_ Libya hclped stabilize rhe norrh while massiv" io.tr.rr.,
.j:,strLrcriorr of the pyramids at Giza-came during the pre- were built in Upper Egypr as prelection against the grow-
.];,"d1'rrasric period and the Old Kingdom. The Intermediate ing povrer of Kerma, an expansionist state in what is
$i,Pcriods bcrween these kingdoms were troubled times now Sudan. The MiJdle Kingdom dissolved when a se-
tii' J..-:-..-
drrrirrg --.1-:-l- -,- !
which provincial governors, known to tll(. Greeks ries of foreign dynasties known as the Hyksos supplanted
as trcnrart'hs, iucreased their power at the expensc of the the naf,ive Egyptian rulers. From thb late 1700s ncr,
ccntral government. Periodically one would gain ascen- Egypt's wealth attracted an influx of immigrants from
dancy over the others and establish a dynastv that se,ved Palestine dnd other parrs rf the Middle East. The Hyksos
as thc cornerstone of a new kingdom. rulers were probab y drawn from these groups. They

The Anciett Miilil.le East: Mesopotamia, Egypt, phoenicia, Israel 17

 Tlvo Fm:'rrs: THgin Pnnygns AND MoNtrrrnENTs -i

Thc Mesopotamians.believed that the gods were hostile, de- An Egyptian Prayer *
1{r

manding, and inscnrtable. Denlng them due respeo brought ;

immediate and terrible punishment in this world, but ihey This prayer or incantation was forrnd on coffins during the
promiscd no reward in the next. In conrrast, Egyptian beliefs Middle.Xingdom. It reveals none of the Mesopotamian fear
centcred on an after'ife. The following illustrations and docu- of arbilrary punishment t.ut provides a graphic vision of life
mr:nts show two very different spiritual worlds. aftcr dei.th as well as a fine sample of Egyptian religious im-
agery. I'he Eastern Doors mark ihe enfry into paradise. Be is
the Sun god, anci Shu is the god of air who raised Heaven
A Mesopotatnian Prtyr above the Eanh and plantcd rrees ro support it. A cubit mea-
sures bctween l7 and 2l .inches.
i:' Tl,is fragment from a longer prayer displays the characteris-
tic Mesopoumian sense that the gods were not only rle- Coing in an:d Out of the Eastern Doors cf Heaven among the
manding, but fickie, and that the worshippe?Toulci never be Followcr. of Re. I know the Eestern Souls
certain nr Gnrlipg favor with them. I knort the centr.tl door from which Re issues in the east. Its
The sin, whidr I have ammitted, I know not. south is tire pool of kha-birds, in the place where Re saib with the
The iniquity. which breeze; i s north is the waters of ro-fowl, in the place where Re
I have do4e. I know not.
The iniquity, which I have done, I know not. sails with rowing. I am the keeper of the halyard of the boat of the
The offence , which I committed, I know not. g"d; I am.the oarsman v.lto does not weafl in the barque of Re.
The transgresion I have done, I know not. I know those two sycamores of tur 4uoise between which Re
The lord, in the anger of his heart, hath tookel Ltpon me. comes forth, the two which came from the sowing of Shu at every
The god, in the wrath of hk heart, hath visited me. eastern Coor at which Re rkes.

The goddess hath become angry with me, and hath grievously I know the Field of Reeds of Re. The wall which is around it is
stricken me. of metal. The height of is barley fo'tr rubits; its beard is one cu-
is

The known or unknown god hath straightened me. bit; and i's stalk is three ahix. Its emmer is seven atbits; its beard
The known or unknown goddess hath brought afliaion upon is two aibits, and its stalk is five cubits. lt is the horizon dwellen,

me. nine cubits in height. who reap it by the side of the Eastern Souls.
I sought for help, but no one taketh my hand. I know the Eastern Souls. They ai e Har-akhti, The *.huner-
I wept, but no one came to my side. Calf, and lhe Morning Star.
May the known and unknown god be pacifed! From Ancient Near Eastern Tixts Related to the Old Testament.vol. l,
May the known and unknown goddess be pacified! 2nd ed. ,Iames B. Pritchard (princeron, NJ: princeton Univr,rsirv
Press,1955).
'Penitential Psalms,' in Asryrian and Babylonian Literature,
trans. R. F. Harper (New york: D. Appleton, l90l).

caltrc ro power by infiltrating high office instead of b',, in_ twelfth century scr. Thereafter, the power of the
vacling, but their success was deeply resentrd. monarcby declincd perhaps because the gold and silver
iml)orts that sustained its armies began to shrink. After
rThe New Kingdom. The resroration
of a narive dv- 525 ncn, Egypt fell first to rhe lersians and then ro the
nasll in 1567 gcr marked the beginning of the New Macedonians under Alexander the Great in 321 ncs.
Kingdonr. ,/. series of warlike pharaohs destroyed the
.capital of Kerma and briefly exten,Ced their authority to
the barrks of the Euphrares. Ramsesll (1279-"213 ncr) Characteristics of Egyptian Society
fouglrt rhe Hittite empirc to a rruce. Ramses III re- The Pharaoh. The society rhat survived these
mained slrong enough to protect Egypt against a series changes bore little resemblance to that of Mesopotamia.
lirrearening population movements in the earlv Its most unusual feature was the absolute po,ver it ac-

8 Chapter 1
 Although pyramids and ziggurats are srrperficially similar, ered msmooth stone that could not be scaled' Their purpose
their purposes were different. The ziggurat was a stepped was to ensure the resurrection of ttre god-king i r the lands
pyramid dedicated to the god or goddess who was patron of of the west so that the etemal rycle o{ floods and harvests
rlrc city. Like the tater pyramids of Central America, it drew might continue. The pyramid had to be orienteo urccisely
rlrc cycs of the worshipper upward to a platform at the top and contained not only the embalmed remains of 'he dead
wlrerc prirsts performed sacrifices ar.d conducted religious ruler but also th'e possessions he would he woulJ need in
ccrcmonics. The pyramids of Egyptian pharaohs were cuv- the afterlife.

A Muopotamian Ziggryat,
Bcgu r in the twenty-second
cenlury sce and restored in
rrodern times, the s!ructure.is
set in bi-
built cl burnt bricks
tumen (a naturallY occurnng
petroleum-based substance
similar to asphalt). Its base
measures 210 X 150 feet, and
its or,ginal height was about
40 !eet. On the northeast face,
sho'vn here, three staircases
lcad upward to the bedcham-
ber of Nanna, the Moon God
and prtron ol the city of Ur.
The sloping walls are not
straight, but they are built on
a slight convex curve so that
they do not appear to sag.

lhe Pyramids at Giza.

the largest ol thelyramids,
that o{ Cheops or Khufu
lc.2570 BcE) on the right,
r-reasures 480 feet in height.
The middle one is that oI
I(helren (c. 2530 ecn), and the
pyramid of Menkaure
(c.2465 ncr) is on the left.

({)rrlcd to the kirrg, or pharaoh, a Middle Kingdom ti- When the king died, his spirit. or ka, would take its
tle nre'arting "great house." His authority in life was place in the divine pantheon and becorne one with Osiris,
airsolule . ln practice, he was expected to act accord- god of the dead. To facilitate this passage, the Eglptians
itrg t<t ma'at, a concept of justice or social order based built vast funeral monuments-the pyramids-to hold
on lhe balance or reconciliation of conflicting princi- the dead tuler's mummified remains and serve as the
plcs. The king could not appear arbitrary or irrespon- centcr of a temple complex di:dicated to his worship:
silrlc, and trecause Egyptian society was conservative, The largest pyramids were built at GiTa during the
prccedenl {urther limited his actions. If ma'at were Old Iingdom by the Fourth Dynasty (2613-2494 ncr)
i,
n()r preserved, dynasties could fall, but the historical monarchs-Khufu (Cheops), I(hefren, and Menkaure
ri",rti
circumstances in which this happened are Senerally (see 71vo Faiths: Their Drayerc and Monumerls)' Constructed
unknowu, of between 80 million and I l0 million cubic feet of cut

Ancient Miildte East: Maopotatnia, Eg'pt, Pltoenicia, lsrael lg

 r('\lx'( l (or(l('(l wonl('n ol ll)(. royal falltily ntay also
.r( irrg, are graccd with nragnif iccnt gallcrics ancl porticoes
lr,r't' l.tl atritrrrli's lrwarrl wolncll tlrr<ltrglr'trr rlrt'
allr'< sr.rpp()rt('(l [ly sl()rrc c(,!umns, many of which were dec_
(()ilil1t)/. Irr gcrrt'ral, llrc slalrrs ol rvornc,rr irr Egyptiarr
so- rlratcJ or irrscribcri wirh writing. Thc Egyptians also
i it'rv rr,,rs lriglrcr llrarr tlral ir.r nr,sl .tlrcr ancicnt crrllurcs.
built spacious palaccs for lhc kings and their officials,
hut fcvy ()f lhcsc structures survivccl thc ccnturies intatr.
ll,g1rptian Cultura, Scict:cc, and Religion
Religion. Although few cultures havc devoted more
Wriltcn I-anguage. Writirr:l cvolvcil irr Egypt ancl in atlcntion to rcligiorr and phiklsophy, or produced a
\lt rolrolarrria at alxrul llre sanrt, lirnc, lttrl tlrc !ra,o sys- larger body <:f speculativc litcrature, the ancient
r('lr\ r\r(.r( (lill('rc,nt. EgyJrtian writirrg i: kn<lwn as hiero- Egyptian idcas arc difficulr to dcscribe. This is in parr
glr'plrics.rrrrl irr irs t'arricst lirrrrr c.rrsistcd,f rifcrike bccause thcy saw no need to demonstrate the kiglcal
Pic-
lur('s r(.1)rcs(,rrting sJrccifi<.<ltrjcrts or acti()ns. By a pr0cc.;s
connection bclween differcnt statenlents. Asserling
:irIril;rr IrI rvord associalrorr. ccrtain hicroglyphs acquireci principles or retclling illustrative myths was enough;
.rtltiitiolral rrrcanilrgs, ancl by alrotrt 2700 tJ(_ir, scvcrtty- analysis was leir to thc ',.,'it or irnaginaiion of the reader.
t'iglrl ol llrr.rl1 1arat" llcing usud plrorrctically lo rcp,.esent Il an .tral tradition supplementeci these urrerances or
(r,r),.{)nal}ls or gr()UI).;
of c<ll)s0narrts. Afirr tire Semiric provided a me rhodological guir'le to their interpretativn,
irnqtiar:cs. Egyptian writirrg lrad no vor,r,els. Symools it has been losr. The surviving literature is therefore
r('l)r(,sct)ting bOth thc O"rjcct <lr iCca and its pronunciation
rich, cornple.r, and allusive, bur to literal-minded mod_
n,cr.r ollcn used sitnultancous.y lo avo.cl confusion,
and erns, full of contradictions.
slrlllirrurr.as nol srandardized. ^^hhough Egyptian can
be The earliest Egypiran gods and goddesses were n3ture
rcad vcrtically <lr horizolrtally in any dircction, the
hiero- spirits p,eculiar to a village or region. They usually took the
rlyplric f isirres aliva1,5 facc tlrc- beginning of the line. forms of anirnals, such as the vulture goddess Nekhbet
Ilicnrglvphics apyrcarcd primarily in formal inscrip_
who became the patroness of Upper Egypt arrd her Lower
riotls ()n stonc or papyrus. For contracts, correspon_ Egyptia: counrerpart, the cobra goddess Buto. ,ihe effigies
dct rcr, a nd <ltlter cvcrydal, docu r.nents, professi,onal of both adomed tlre pharaoh,s crown as a syml ,ol of im-
stnbcs nrotc lvith recd pens on l)apyrus in a script perial unity. This anin-ral imagery may reflect totr,mic be_
kno\1,1) as ltieratic. Based on hieroglyphics, hieratic
be_ liefs of great antiquity, but in time tl,e deities acqrrr:ed hu_
c.t,n(, nl()rc cursivc over time. Mo:.t of Egyptian litera_
man bodies while retaining their anintal hcads.
Iultr, inclr ding p<lerns and popular romances, as well as
lcarrrcd trcitises. rvas circulated ir-r this form.
. Everrtually, new deiries emerged who personified ab-
.
stract qualities. Ma'at, the principle of justice'and equi_
Iibrium, became the goddess of good order; Sia was rhe
Mathenratics. The Egyptian nunri,er sirte-, like our god of intelligence. None of this 'nvolved the displace-
o\vlt, \i/as trased on ten. (Tl-re Greeks adopted it from the
ment oi other gods; the Egyptians, like other socielies
Eglpriarrs and passed ir or-t rct orhcr European peoples.)
with polytheisric rqligions, sou3ht to include and revere
Brrt rhc Egi'ptidns never developed a place_valui system
every conceivable lspect of the divine.
()f llr)tati()ll. so tltev ueeded a bewildering
como.nation of Egyptians long resisted monotheism. perhaps they,
svnrtrols r() exprcss nunrbers that were not mu,tiDles
of
-believr,:d
.The
it was too simple a corrcepr to account for the
1eu. Genenlly less sophisticated in mathematici than
complexity of the urriverse. When the New Kiugdom
l\.lcsopor"rrnians. ancienr Egyptians could nrultipiy
and pharaoh Akhenaton (reigned c. l?,79-l362nce banned
divide onl1, by doubling, bur this appears io have been i
all cults save titat cf-Aton, the Sun disk (formerly an as_
suflicieir for their needs. They understood squares and pect of Re-Honrs), the people rejered his ideas as hereti_
squarc r()ors, altd they knew, at an early date, the ap_
cal and abandoned them soon after his death. Sonte writ_
pr<lxilnate valuc' ol n. The.necd for land surveys
after ers vie'v Akhenaton as an early pioneer of monotheism,
caclr annL,ai flooci forced the Egyprians to become but little reason can be found to believe that his views
skilled nlcasurers, and the construction ol thc pyramids had nuch influence cither
rcvt'als arr inrpressive lirasp of geontetry. in Egypt or elsewhere.
Akherrltot)'s grcatesr legacy was probably artistic, for he
and his queen, Ncfertiti, were great patrons, and the art
Architecture. pyrarnids
afrer the Fourth Dynasty of the Amarna Age, named after the new capi ral he con_
grcrv snr.tllcr antl less expensive, but the Egyptian
pen_ structed at Tell el-Arnama, was magnificent.
charrl lor public works, temples, ancl funirarv monu_
Of the many facets of Egypti,an religion, the one that
nrt'nts conrinued until rhe Hellenistic (Greek) era. The
most i^ttrigued t-rutsiders was its concern with eternal
Egyptians were superior craftsmen n stone and could
life. Broadly speaking, the Eglptians thought of erernal
c()lli,crl cven the hardest granites into WOrks of art. As life as a continuation of life on Earth, spenl somewhere
arclrilccls they seem to have invented post_and_lintel beyond the "roads of the west,, (see Ttuo Faiths: Their
c()lrstrLlcrlon irr masonrf. Their ternples, whether cut
Prayerc and Monumelrts). Ihey also believed that,
irrto tlre linrestoue cliffs of the Nile valley or freestand- like the
pharaoh, the virtuous dead would merge their identities

22 Chapter 1
 wirrr osiris 'r'rris was'urssirrlc lrt'carrst'lrlc
ltari rrra'1, asl)(,(.ls or nla'il.(,slali,ns,
lrrlralr so.l
irrclurlirrg tlrr, rrklr,
wirich crrr:rgt,<l orrly arle r tlcallr. .flrc,
larc ol lltc wit.kt.ri PHlusrrni
was t)()l rcasstrrirrg. Thcir sirrs
wt,rc wcighr.rj ilr a sc.alc
agai'sl rlic f.atlrcr,l rna,al, arr<l il
r'c scalc tillltcrl, tlrc,ir
s()ltls wcrc Ilrr0wn l0 tlrt, rrtortsl
rotrs. cr()c(xtilc_likr,,,rlt__
v()Llrcr of hc.arls.,,

Srience. Tlrc works altribrrtr:ri by Grcck

scholars to
Jcrnrcs
I Trisnregist irs ( I-lcrrnc,s t lre, Th ricc_Grcal,
or Tlrot lr )
rrray lrc a cr.rnrllilation of arrticnl
Egyptiarr source:j ()n as_
lr()rl()nly, aslrology, alrd rratural
rnagig al hough thcir
origirrs rcnrailr thc subjeit ,,f
c.,ntroversy. It is it)dis-
1lu:ahle, horvcvcr, tltar rhc Grr.cks admired
ihc Egyptians
thcir mcdical and scicntilic wisclom
ir.rr
and w<luld lror_
rorv heavily fronr th.cm,.cs;:_,cia11;
after ptolcmy estab-
lislrcd a Greco-Egyptian dynasty
in lZl ncr.
Egyptian culturc, for all irs ..,,,...,
with thc rrnsccn
world. was aI anorher level deepiy
prac ical. Irs instiru_
trons, Iike irs cngineering, endurcd.
conservarivc, inward-
l"king, ancJ less aggrcssivc than mani;;;n;;:;;';;
served as a bridge not only bctweerr
Africa and Europe
but also berween hist<,ric iirres
and un ,lrnnr, uninrag_
irrably disranr pasr. Growir.rg .involvemeni
witn rhcour_
sidc world after about q00 Bct
was in sonte ways a
rrag,dy frtr rhe Egyprians as rltc
country fell to a suc-
cesslolr of forcigrr rurers. Most
Persian, Greek, or Roman,
of them, whclher
*ar" aun,.jnr ro prescrve
Egt'ptian institutions; only the
t.ir,r,pt-, ,rt Islam in rl.re.
seventh century cr brought funtlamental
change. By
this rime. much of rhe Egyptian
incorporaied, often uncc/nsciously,
,.-lri;;;;.,lt had been
into the develop_
ntenr of the Wesr.

CeN,ux., pHoENICIA.
AND Pr-rrlrsrn
The easrern sh,ore ol the Meciirerranean
has been in-
liabited since earliest tirnes. Neanderthal
l\lagnon rentains are {ound in and Cro-
close p.o"i_iry to one
antlher ir.r tire caves of Mt. Carm"l, Ancient Palestine
unO ug.iaulture was
csrablishetl on the eastein sirorc
before it vias .ntroduceci
t()..Egypr or Mesoporanria. Thc- Fhoenicia. The first phoenicians, as
Bibre cails it "tire lano ,r
known to the Grceks, spoke a
they wert
rrrilk and honey.', Tlre climarc va.i.ty ol Sernitic di_
is Uenign, with rrilcl win-
Icrs and euough rainfall to suj)port alects and movecl into the lrorthern
lfr. pt.Oi,..ranean *uriuf region of
triad oI crops-wheat, olivcs, C.arraan during the fourth millenniunr. superseOing
uni g.up"r. But Canaan. a blending with an carlier Neolithic or
tcrnr that describcs the cntire region,
was also a corri_ foprlu,,on.
firsi urban foundations, at Sidon, Byblos, fn.i,
rlor and ar rintes a clisputed froniier and Ras
between the civi_ shamra (ugarir). date fronr around
Iizarions of Mesopolarnia and ioo,i".r. politicaily.
Egypt. Its- inhabitants Phoenician rowns were_ governed
ne vc'r cr.rjoyed rhe political by a hereditary king
srabiiily of the g..ui .i".,,
crrrpircs. The eastern shore of assisted by a council of elders.
the Mediterranean was a In practice, they were
w.rld .,f snralr, aggressive ciry-sra,., probably oligarchies in r.,rhich poticy
*hor" *earth arrcr was OeciaeO by
strarcgic the wealthy merchants whrr served
altracted the' unwelcome attention on the council, but
sr r()ltllL.r ''siticl'
of litrle is known of rheir civic life or
IX)wers. even-of their reli_
gious pracrices.

The Ancient Middte East:

Mesopotatnia, Egypt, phoenicia, Israel 23
 j
!".
1 ,

Tracle. Frorn tlrc ocgirrlring, llrcsc iI,.,1 a hosl of ollrcr. Galilcr', lltcy fonncd an alliancc of sorts with the
citics rradcd activcly witlr br,tlr l:gypr arrd Surncr. Their I)l:trcniciarrs of Tlrc.
irrlralritarrts wcrc sail'rs, shiprrrir<it'rs, alrd rrcrcrrarls Thc Plrilistirrc antl Hcbrcw i,ncursions were related to
who lllaycd a vilal rolc in thc Jlroc.css of cultural cx_ br'oadcr populalion ,ntovcm(.'ltt:r in lhe eastcrn Mediter-.
c'lrarrgr'. Thc Ph,crriciarrs wt'rt' ers, skillcrl cralrsr-rrclr. ranuan. Thcy coincide roughly with thc displaccment of
(-arvcd lurnitrrrc of woorl antl ivor.y was i
an olrviotrs s;lc_ thc Ioniarrs irr Grcecc and a succcssful assaulr on the
cralty, givcn thc lrlrcsts <lf ccriar and other valuable wcstcrn portion of the Hitt,tc empire by the phrygians,
r.r,oo(ls that c()vcre(l lhe nearby hills, but mclalworkine
a peoplc who may havc corrre from the same region as.:
rvas cqually imlx)rtant. Tlr,. I,lrrtcnicians cxprlrtcd fjlr.i
the Philisrines. In C'anaan propet both philisrines alrd,,.
roJd arrd copper jc;vclry. tlronze lools, and .weapons Hebrews were forccd t() c()nrencl with other peoplesi'
()vcr a widc arca. Arotrnd 1500 rlr.r, thcy
seelr,r to havc. pu';hing in from the Arabian Desert and the country be_:
rnvcnlcd the pr<lccss ol casling glass around a core .lf ,
Yohd the Jordan Ri rer. ,,

sancl. Dccorativc glasswarc rc,rnainecl an importanl cx_

IX)rl tltrou;hout antiquity, anci the phoenician,s oescelt_ Phoenician Colonies, Tla te, and Exploration. .;

dar,rs likely inventcd glasslrl.rwing in Romarr times. Ca.laan was becoming crowded. The newcomers en-
Thc
!v()ntcn of Sidon wcre kn<lwn fclr thEir remarkable fcx_ couRtered a land rhat rnay already have been reaching its
tiles incorporaring the purple clye rhat syrnbolized roy_ ecological limits after several ntillennia of human settle-
alty throughout the ancielrt world. The dye *u, ment. The closely spaced phoenician cities now saw their
rracted with great difficulty from th,r shell of the murex
"*_ territories grearly reduced, and w:th that their ability to ,

snail, a creature abundant in the harbors of Sidon and feed thei; people. Led by T!re, the phoenicians began
'['r('(Lcbanr)lt). planting c,rlonies frcm one rnd of the Mediterran-eah to
the otlier. The first was ar Utica in North Africa, suppos_
The First Alphabct. in. pnn.nicians are creditcd edly iounded oy ll0l scr. In the next three cenruries, ,

ivitlr irrventin!' the first trut alphabet. a phonetic script dozens of others were estabrishecl in C1prus, Sicily,
rvitl.r twenty-two abstract symbols representing Sardinia, and Spain. At least twenty-six suih communi_
the con_
sonants. Vowe.ls, as in the other Semitic languages, were tics were in North Africa, rh3 most important of which
ornirred. Their system is regarded as the greatest of all rvas Carthage, founded about g00 BcE near the present
Phoenician contributions to Western culture because it site of Tirnis.
c'orrld be masrered without the kind of extensive educa_ Like the colonies later established by the Greeks.
tiorr given to professional scribes in Egypt clr Mesopo_ those of the Phoenicians retained .orn-.rtiul and per_
tantia. Literacy was now available to neafly everyone, had:; sentimental ties to rheir founding city but were for
but bccause the phoenicians normallyiarote with ink on all practical purposes independent ciry-stares. They did
papyrus. most of their records have oerished. not normally try to establish control over large territo_
ries. They served as commercial statjons that extracted
The Philistines. political crises were common. wealth from the interior in return for goods from the
Phoenicia was invaded and at times ruled by both Egypt
civilizations of the eastem Mediterranean. They were
and the Hidres of Asia Minor. In I190 BCE, a mysr:rious
also useful as safe harbors for phoenician traderi.
gror"rp lcrorvn as the Sea people attacked the
igyptiar-r
del'- Tlt?y vvere driven out but eventually established
tlrerrrselves along rhe coasr south of Jaffa. Ttre1,
app-,ar to Flcunt 7.1O A Phoenician Clay Masle. Designed to
have come from somewhere in rhe Aegean or westem frigt':en away evil sliirits, this 7-inch mask was found in a tomb
at
Asia Minor and to have brought wirh them the use of i^on the site of the Phoenician colony of Tharros, Sardinia, and
im-
l\/eapons. Uttle of rheir language has survived. Their gods poned from Canhage in the sixth century scr. The phoenicians
appear ro have been Canaanire deities adoptbd on arival. typically buried rheir dead
T'he Sea People were grear fighten anC iionsmiths in rombs wirh rheir feer
who
dorrrinared the iron trade in rhe Middlc Ea.st for many pointing toward an east-fac-
ing entrance. Written.spells
1,earu. Polirically,
their rowns of Gaza, Ashk:lon, Ashdod,
.and gifts such as terra-cotta
Gath, antl Eglon fomred a powerfu' league llnown as
figures invoked the god,s
Pirilistia or rhe Philisrine confederacy. Thc. Bible cails these protection. Phoenician con-
pcrtple philistines, and the Romans used palestine, ,acts with Sardinia trace
a term
dcrivc'd frorn lhat name, to descritre the entire region. ba;k to around 1000 sce,
b'rt iraras not until the
The Hebrews. While the philistines annexed the eighth cenrr,rli acr rhar they
soulhern coast, tlte Hetrrews, recently escaped from cstablished peimanenr
Egypr, invaded the Canaanite highlands, They fought bit_ colonies on the island. One
terly with rhe philistines, but after establishing a united of the most imp;rrtant was
kingdoln of Israel that stretched from the Negev desert to Tharros, a major .rading
center.

24 Ch,ipter 1
 :

lly tlrc scvcnth ccnlrtry nr--r. phoenician ships had w('rc at rltis f ime a l00sc confcdcracy of tr'ibcs united
r<'allrcrl llritain in scarch ol llrccious tin, and ph<tcnician by a comrnon religion and ,nilitary ncce.,,sity. After'
(aravilrl r()llt(.s [)ascd in l]rc North African colonics had they subdtrco thc Canaanite highlandcrs. ,laul (reigned.
pcrrclratcd thc rcgions s<lullt of the Sahara. Thc c. .l 020-1000 ncn) established a monarchy of sorts in re.l
(lartha1-iinians latcr claimcd l<l havc circumrravigalccl sponsc to a military threat from the Philistines, but it was'
Alrica, and al thc very bcginn,ngs of thc age of col<>- not until after his death that. David (ruled I00G-961 ncr).
rrization. Hiranr I of Tlre and his ally Solomon of Israel corrrolidated the territories be tween Beersheba and the
scr)t tricnnial expeditions to Optrir, a place now thought Sea of Galilee into the kingdom of Israel.
to havc becn on the coast of h-rdia. Wherever they went, 'Under David's son Solomon (reigned i
961-922 scrlj.,
thc Phocnicians carried their system of writing together Israel became .r regional power. Commerce flourished;
with thc idcas and products of a dozen orher cultures. and the king used his wealth to. construcr a lavish
Tlrough their history was all l<lo often negler-ted or writ- pa'lace as vrell as the First Temple atJerusalen, a struc-
tcn try their cnemies, they played a vital role in the es- ture heavily inf^uenced by Phoenician models. But
ta bl ish rnent <lf Mediter ra nea n civilization. Solnmon's glory canre at a pric,e. Heavy taxation and re-
ligious disputcs led to rebeilion afrcr his death, and,r
Isiael divided into two kingdoms: Israel rn.the north.
Arvcrrrur Isnnru and Jrtdah in the south. Israel was a loosely knit, aris-
tocrat;c monarchy occupying the land later known as
Ihe history of ancient Israel is based on the collectioit SJmaria. Judah, with its walled capital of Jerusalem,
of writings known as the Bible and on tite archeologi- wils p(rorer but more cohesive. Both, irr the end, would
cal record compiled by hundreds of excavarions. The fall prey to more pcwerful neighbors.
age and complexity of these sources, togerher with their
importance to rhe religious beliefs of jews, Christians, Invasions. The danger came from the nr:rrth. In what is
and Muslirns alike, have led to great controversy, but now Syria, rcmnants of the Hittite empirc had survived
the basic outline of that history is accepted by a major- as petty states. Many of them were annexed in the
ity, of scholars. twelfth century by the A;amaeans, a Semitic people,
wbose most important center was Damascus. The
Aranraic language would become the vernacular of the
H is to ric al D ev elop m ent Middle East-it was the language, for example, in which
lhe Hapiru, who entered Canaan around 1200 Jcsus preached. Holvever, Syrie. remained polirically un-
sce,
came from Egypt.The name is thoughtto mean out- stable. Assyria. once more in an expansionist phase and,
sider or marauder and is the probable root of the term enriched by the conquesr of Mesopotamia, filled the vac-
Hebrew. The invaders wer€ a Semitic group of mixed uum. The ministates of the region could not long expecr
ancestry whose forebears had left Mesopotamia some to resist such a juggemaut.'For a time, an alliance be-
600 years earlier during Babylon,s conquest of tween Israel and Dainascus held the Assyrians ar bay, but
Sumeria. According to tradition, their ratriarch by'/22 ecr, both haC fallen to ihe armies <if the Ass.yrian
j:, Abraham came from Ur. They lived for several genera- coriquerors Tiglath-pileser and Sargon II. Sennacherib
+r,
tions as pastoralists in the trans-Jordan highlands and (ruled 705-682 acr) annexed Philistia and phoenicia, af-
then emigrated to Egypt, probably at about the ,ime of ter which Esarhaddon (ruled 680-689 BcE) and
the Hyksos domination. \ryith the revival of the New Assrrrbanipal (reigned 669-<. o27 nczl, the greatest and
'ti; most cultivated of the Assyrian emperors, conquered
Kingdom under native Egyptian dynasties, the situa-
.I: Egypt. The tiny kingdom of Judah survived only by ally-
ij. tion of the Semitic immigrants became more difficult.
:a;
Oppressed by a pharaoh (c r pharaohs) whose identity ing itself with the conquerors.
!:
renrains the subject of co rtroversy, a group of them Babylonian Captivity and Diaspora. The end'
l fled to Sinai under the leadership of Moses. Moses,
ralhose Egyptian name helps confirm the biblical story
of lris origins, nrolded the rcfugees into the people of
came in 587 scr. A resurgent Babylonia had destroyeci.
Assyria by allying :tself wirh the Medes and adopti4g.
Assyrian military tactics. In a general settling of scores,
tsrael and transrnitted to them the Ten Command- the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar ll then sacked
nrents, the ethical code tha I forms the basis of Judaism. Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and carried the
Christianiry, and Islam. Jr'daean leadership off to captivity in Babylon. Many of
According to rhe Bible, the Israelires spenr 40 years in these people returned after the persians conquered
thc Sinai desert before beginning rhe conquest of the Babylon in 539 sce, but thc Israelites or Jen,s, a name
Canaanite Highlands. The pcriod berween 1200 and 1020 derived from the kingdom of Judah, did not establish
BCri appears to have been one of constant struggle be- another independent state until 142 scr. Judaea ano
trrycen the Hebrews and the other peoples of the region. Samaria would be ruled for 400 years by persians and
As described in the Book of Judges, the people of Israel by illellenistic Greeks, while thousands of Jews; faced

The Ancieil Middle East: Mesopotamia, Egypt, phoenicia,Israel 25

$
willr 1ll('rlcsolaliort ol tltt'ir lr'rrttt'latrd, <lispcrscd lo llrt' as lhc (;reeks w<xrld wrilc it, thc Biblc rcnrains the first
(()flr('rs ol lltc kttovrtt rvrtrl<1. altcrlrl'i lo llrOvitlc a ctlltcrcnl acc')unl of past cvellts.
The Mosaic Code ol Law. Thc prittrary cxprcssi<ln
R,'li,qiott of Isracl ol Yaltwclr's will is fir,rnd in lhc.Tcrl Commattdmcrits
arrcl irr lltc srrbscrlucnt claboralion of tlre Mosaic Law.
Arrr'it'rrt lsrat'l was nol ir rrrat'crial sttcccss. lts pcoplt' 'vcrt'
Tlrc Tclr Cornrttarrdrncttts, brougirl dtlwtl by Mtlscs from
n(',,,('r'nurr)cr()tts or riclr, anil it was.rrrly bricfly a rc-
gional lxrwcr. lls corrlril)rrlions ltl art antl lcchrtolrtgy Mt. Sirrai arrd tlclivcrctl to tltc peoplc of Isracl beforc
wcrc rtctrlligiblc, yct fcrv sociclics lravc ltad a grcatcr irr- tlrcir crrlry irrto Canaan, lormcd thc basis <lf an elabtrrate
lcg,al an<l nr<lral c<ldc tltat g<lverned virtually every as-
liut'irr.c orr thilse tl:at lilllowcti . Tltc reas<ln f<lr tlris para-
pcct oI lifc arrd conduct. Like thc corlccpt of God. the
riox is tlral thc Jcws dcvclopct a rcligirtrt lirat was urtlikc
law evtrlved ()vr: r tinrc. Re fincd and arrrplificd by gener-
al)vtlring clsc irt the attcient world. lt was not rn,holly
witlror.rl ylrecedcnt, for idcas wcrc borror^,r'd lront ation:; of priesls, I)rophets, ar d teachcrs, it rcmains.t<l
M('s()lx)larnrarr arrd pcrtlaps frrlrn Egyptiarr s<lrrrces. this Cay thc ftrr,rndation of Jewislt life.
Moreovcr, altlt<lrrglr insllired by, revclati..,)s lhat can bc Ccrtain fcalu-cs ol Mosaic -aw-such as the princi-
ciatcd witlt s()n' accrlracy, i s basic Jlractices evolvcd
ple of an cyL for an c)'e, a tooth for a tooth-recall
ove r lirrrc. Ilut if thc history of rhc bclicls thcl.nsclves can
Babvlonian prcccderrts, but it went much further by
[rc traccd likc thosc of arry <lthcr rrligion, tl]c Jcwish con-
sccking to govcr r bt,th private and public behavior.
ccpl ol tlrc Civine was ncvcrthcless rcvolutionary. Dictary rcgulations were set f'lrth in great dctail along
with rulcs for sexual conduct and lhe proper fonn of re-
One God. Its central fcati;rc'-was its monothrism: a vi- ligious observances. Although legalistic in form, Mosaic
siorr of orte God wlto was indivisible. Yaltweh. the God of Law offered a comprehensive guide to ethical behavior
thc Jcws, c<;uld n lt tle reprcscnted or r-rnderstood in visual whose force transcended social or political sanctions
tclnls, nor could hc ire described. The name is formcd (see Riblical Sources of Judaisml.It was intended nor only
lrorrr tlrc Hebrew w<trd YHWH ancl appears to be a derir,- as legislation but also as a prescription for the godly life.
ative of the verb "to be." indicating that the deitf is eter- This concept of righteousness as an essential duty, to-
rral and cltangeless. Creator of the universe and absolute gether with rnany of the specific ethical principles en-
irr porvcr, the God <11 Israel \\,as at the sar.ne tirne a per- shrined in the Torah, or first five books of the Jervish
sonal i;od rvho actcd in lristory and took an interest irr the Bible, would later be adopted by both Christianity and
lives rrl individual Jervs. Islam. The influence of Mosaic Law on Weste'rn thought
and sc.,ciety has therefore been incalculable.
Ethical Behavior. Above all. the *niship of Yahweh
denranded ethical behavior on the part of the worshipper. Social Order. The society that produced these revo-
This ivas extraordinary because while the Mesopotamiars lutionary concepts was not in other respects much dif-
had emphasized the helplessness of humans and ferent from its neighbors. From a federation of nomadic
Akhenaton had thought of a single, all-powerful goC, the herdsmen initially organized into twelve tribes, the ear-
idca tl-rat a god might be served by good leeds as well as liest.lews evolved into settled agriculturalists after their
b1, ritual and sacrifice was new. arri',al in Canaan. Tlibal prac'.ices srich as the commu-
nal ownership of resources gave way Io a system in
A Covenant with God. the ethical concept was which famihes generally owned land and water as pri-
liiLrnded on the idea of a covenant oi agreemcnt made vatg property. Inevitably, sonie families were more suc-
[irst bcnnre'en God and Abralram and reaffirmed at the cessful than others, and many became substantial land-
tirrre of iire exodus from Egypt (see Biblical Stturces of holders with tenants and periraps a few slaves. As in
Judttisntl" Itr return for God's favor, the Hebrervs would Mesopotamia, these familics were often extended and
rvorshiy'r Him onll'and obey His laws. Failure to observe always patriarchal in organization. A gracual process of
thcur cotrld bring territrle punishmenl. The fall of urbanization increased the importance ol crafts and
Jt'r'trsalrrn to NclrtrchadneT.z.ar was thougltt to [rc,an ex- trade, but the basic lamily structure remaineC.
lrnplc of rvhat cor.rld happen if the Jews lapsed in their
rlcvtltirln. and a riclt prophetic tradition developed that Status of Women. In earliest times, father: held ab-
callccl uptln the pcople oi lsrael tc avoid God's wrath by solute authorit / over wives and children. As ethical
lrchavir.rg in arr ethical manner. The Jews thus became stand rrds evolved, patriarchy was increasingly tem-
the lirst pr'ople to wrile long narralives of human events pered by a sense of responsibility and mercy. However.
as opposed to nrcre chronologies ; nd king lists. Much of the status of women was lower in ancient Israel than
the Jcwish Biblc is devoted Io the interaction between among the Hittites, the Egyptians, or the Mesopo-
God arrd the children of Israel and is intended to provide tamians. Under the Judges wrro ruled Israel from the in-
a record of God's judgments that will help His followers vasic.n of Canaan to the emergence of the monarchy,
Io discern the divine will. Therefore, although not history women presided as priestesses over certain festivals. As

26 Chapter I
 BrsllcAt Sor;Hcrs oF |u,:rusm ., 't.'
rl
The three passages that follow are taken from tl e Torah. the beasts; I du not delighi in the blood of bulk, or of lambs, or of he.
first fivc books of what Lhristians call the Old Testament. g0ats. When yot,t come to appear l,,rfore me, who requires of you
Thcy illustrate three major themes within ancient, and in- this trampling <tf my aurts? Bring no more vain oJfcrlngs; ineirq
dccd, modcrn Judaism: the belief and trusl in a special rela-
tionship berween the God of Israel and tire Jewish people,.a
is an abomina,tion to me. Neu,moon and sabbath and the uaii!
oJassemblies-I'ccnnot endure iniquity and sotemn assembly. .,4
stron'.; cmphasis on cthical bchavior, and the minute regula_
lbur new moons and your appointd feasts my soul hates; they
ti<ln of pnvate lifc by Mosaic Law. 'hcve
become a burden to me, I art we4ry of bearing them. Whe4
forth your hands I will hide my eyes from you; even:?:"
votr spread
We Couenant (Exoil. l9:I-9) ,4Wh you nake many praye,.s, I will not listen; your harlds i;1,'
fvll of blood. Wash yourselves;tnake yourcelves.clean; remwe thi.
This passage describes the making of the covenant between
*il of your doings from before my eyes; crase td,do evi!, tearn to (o
the Hebrews and their God that forni'sthe basis of rhe Jewish good; ;eel: justice, correct opprcssion; defend tfu
fatherless, ptead ij
religion and the concept of the Jews as a chosen people. widow.
for the ',,

On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the tand
3
of Egypt, on that very day, they came inU the wildsmes of Sinai. .
, . )*viticus:The Impurity of Women (!xu. 15:12-22)
krael amped there in front of the tnountain. Then Mo*s went up
to God, the LOIID called u hia ftrese passages of the Mosaic krw are part of a much longar
from the mountuin, saying, 'Thus
you shall say to the house of Jaob, and tell the Israelius: you'have section concemed with impurity; that is, those conditions
seen what I did to the Egyptiaw, and how I bore you on eagle,s under which performing religious rituals is not permissible.
wings and brought you to mlnetf. Now, therefore, if you obey nty Note that, although men, rco, could be impure,.the puriii-
voice and kcep my covenant, ycu shall be my treasured possession cation of women took longer and the amount of time re_
out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall qr,ired for purificati'on after the birth of a girl was twice as
be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These Iong as that lollowing the bint- of a boy.
ere the
words that youshall speak to the Israelites.- So Mwes ure. sum-
I'!'a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole bodlt
nrcned tlrc elderc of the people, and set before them all these words
in wate, and be uncL an until the evening. Evetythittg made of
Ihat the LORD had ummanded.him. The peopk.all ansu.ered as
cloth or skin on whirh the semen falls shall be washed with water
one: "Everything that the LORD has spoktt+we will do.' Moses re-
anJ be unclean until the evening. If a man lies with a woman
ported the words of the people to the.LORD. Then the
LORD said to and has an enission of semen, both of them shall bathe in water
Moses, "I am going to conu to you in a dense cloud, in order that
aruJ be unclean until the evening. When a woman has a dixharge
the people may hear when I speak to you and so trust you evo afien of blood that is her regular discltarge from her body. she shall be
in her impurity for seven days, and whoever toucha her shall be ,

The Propht Isaiah: So3ialJustice (Isa. I:11-.17) unclean until the eveiltng. Everythrng on whiclt she Ees diing
'"
. 1.',., lu.r,imputity_sltall be unclean; ngryihing.abo on whifh s,he.slb
,;.
This passage, i{iiaiah of Jerusalem'in the'mid- shall be unclean. Whoevir touchei her bed shall wash his clok:ei!,
eighth century"trriUgi.a
BcE, demohjirates the inseasing emphasis and bathe in v,aten and be unctean until the evening. Wh,oeier '
on social justice in Hebre#?ehgious thought. to.u&es anything ot, which she sits shall wash his clothes alld' ,, .,
huthe in water, and be unclean until the evening.
What to me is the multinde of your sacrifias? says the LORD. I i
have had enough ofburnt oferings oframs and the
fat offed

interpretation of Mosaic Iaw evolved, women,s partici_ men even as observers because their presence was
pation in religious life was restricted (see Bibtical Sourres thought to be distracting. The proper role of women was
of Judaism). The worship of yahweh demanded purity as
in the home, which was central to religious life.
rvell as holiness, and wornen were regarded as ritually Families arranged marriages for their children and
inrpure during ntenstruation and after childbirth. They scaled them by contract as in Babylon, but only mer:
rn',cre also exempted from regular prayer and other ritu_
co.rld initiate divorce. No provision was made for a
als on lhe theory that thel should not be distracred from dowry, which usually meant thar a man could divorce
cliild care. In effect, they were excluded from direct par- his wife without financial loss. Divorce was nevertheless
ticipation rn all public rites and \vere segregated from uncommon because Mosaic Law and Jewish custom

The Awient Middle East: Mesopotamia, Egypt, phoenbia, Israel . 27

 platcri a Jrrcnrium on tlrc famiiy. polygyny an<j concubi_
facilitatc tha.t orgarrization. Thcsc devclopments marked
rragr., alllrorrgh perrniltcd, wcrc rarc fur ccontlrnic
rca- thc bcginrrirrg of Wcstcrn civilization, for writing cn_
sons, arrrl adrrllcry was punishalllc [ly dcath.
ablcd pcople to transmil thc lncmoiy <lf rheir achicve_
\Vitlrirr thc hornc, worncn rcecived nr<lrc rcspcct lharr ments to othcrs. Thc plroenician invenlion of f he alpha_
thcir lcgal liosition might indicate. Tlrcy had rlre right r<r bct simplificd rhc procr,ss of communicati<ln and was
narrt' tlrc childrcn and wcrc. resporrsiblc for lheir carly quickfv ad<rptc,rl by other culturcs. Tradc. warfare, and
ilrslruclion in moral anci praoical nralters. The<lry asidc.
c<lklrrizati<ln spread Egyptian and Mcsopotarnian ideas
thc1, olten controlled the cveryday lifc of the household.
thr<lughoul the Mcditerranean world. Among the chief
Frrrtlrcrnrorc, Jewish litcraturc revcals nonc of thc
con_ bencliciaries of this cultural fcrm_.nt wcre tlte Greeks,.
ir,: lcrnlrt for women and thejr calracities
sometintes f<lurrd who wculd adopt and modify some <lf the mathemati-
i'i in tltc wrirings of encient Greece. The Bible abounds in cal, scientific, and phillsophical theories oi the Near
i hcroic women, such as Esther, Rachel, and Deborah, and East foi their own purposes an.i transmit them ro the
i tlre llook of proverbs holds the vaiuc, of a good woman modetn world. Tlre transmission of Jewish rehgious
as "lrcyond rubies.', But the patriarchal nature
1: of Jewish ideas took lorr,ger, but the vision of a single deity whose
3 soci('ly.c'upled with the divine origin of A,losaic L:w worship demands righteousness and ethical behavior
irave a.profound impact on subsg.quent history.
#:,.,yt,1. would one day become the foundation of Christianitv
TlChrisrianiry, Islam, and modern Judaism ibsorbed frorn
and Islam as well as rnodern Judaism.
thc l,,ible rhe.idea that women,s exclu ;ion from many
U; as_
grpccrs of public and religious life was ordained
by God.
Children. The Mosaic
Reuieu Questior,s
I emphasis on family placed a
. higl: valuc on children" The Iaw forbade infanticide. . What was "rhe biological olcl regime,,,and how did
l- a
ii'pracrlcc common in other ancierrt cultures, and pre_ it arise from the invention of agriculture?
iscribcd child-rearing pracrices. On rhe eighth day . Hovr did the status of women in Mesopotamia com_
aftcr
birth, ::::1,' :hi,dren were circumcised as a sign of their pare'vith rhei..status in Egypt and ancient Israel?
covenant with God. They received religious instructit In what ways could women exert their influence?
n
it:'frc,t'rhcir farhers and at age l3 assuried the furr reli- . Why did the civilizations of thc ancient Middle East
ii...
re sponsibiliries of an adult. Eldest develop writing, mathematics, and eventually
',., ,gi,,rt sons, who were
., especially honored, had extra responsibrrities. Both boys alphabe ts?
,, 3nd girls were expected to help ur the fielcts and in the . Why was ancienr.Egypt mor: politically stable than
q.nd:. roles were carefully prr:3rved. Boys Mesc,potamia?
i.- learned
lom", ,b:, rheir father,s trade or cared for the livestoci<. . How aia tn" religion of ancient Israel differ tiom ttat
of other ancient societies, and how did it influence
:;i; .9iil: sleaned (gathered r.p grains thar reniarr.ed in the
atrer-the harvest and kcpr rhe trouse supplied the later Cevelopment of Christianity and Islam?
I:l:t)water
#.;,ij;with from wells tliat, in town at leasr. were usu_
remained in the fields after glean_ For Furthtr Stuily
iliY:::l:nal.riy'hat
was left for the poor.
''"ing
Readings
! Charity. The obligation to assist rhe poor and helpless_
Burl, Aubrey, Great Stone Circles: Fable, iiction, .F(,crs (New
fslnlbcilized by this minor, yet divinely established, Haven, CT: Yale, 1999,). A no-nonsense analysis of
: injuncion-was central to the Jewish conception
of twe_lve sites. including Stonehenge.
ngnrcousness. A comprehensive ideal of charity
and Cohen, Mark N., The Food Crisis in preL,'istory:
'conrruunal responsibility gradually evolved from' such Overpopulation and the Origins of Agnculture (New
prcceJ)rs and. Iike monotheism itself,
spread throughout
fiven.
CT: Yale, 1977). A standard work on the beginirings
t wesrcrn soc_ery long after Israel as a political of
entity had the Neolithic Revolution.
.ceased to exist.
Markoe, Glenn E. The phoeniciaru (Berkelev: Univenitv
of Califomia press, 2000). A, briei but tto.ough il ;;:
to-date survey.
CoruclusroN Niditch. Susan, Ancient lsraelite Religion (New york:
,,For all rheir differences, the ancient
Oxford, 1997). places religious issues in their historic
societies of the Near c0ntext.
:East ionned part
of a larger, interconnected w.rrld in
which rhe Mediterranean Sea facilitated cultural bor_
Web Site
'powing rlrrough trade and migration. conditions
in,the h t tp / /www.ford h am. e du
at river valleys of Egypt and Mesopotamia had de_
: / h a i s a I I / an cien t / a s boo k. htm I
The Internet Anci :nt History Sourcebook offers a
nded the organization of resources on <trt unprece_
t,road range of materials and iltformation on all of
dented scale. writing and mathematics were invented to the ancient societies discussei in the text,
28 Chaptu 1
j;,1: rl '
i x;
+i
*I';1i
 Using Kcy Tcrms, entcr thc scarch t"ms
I trrf.r.frac College Edition Mcsopotamia Assyria
Visit tlrt' soLlrcc colicclitlns al http://infotrac.thoinson Bahylonia Phoenicia
It'arning.com and rrsc thc scarch ftrnction with tlrc fol-
Iowirrg kcy tcrrrrs. Using tlrc Subject Guide, cnter the search teims:
archaeology research Egypt history

'l'rlI Airrcrt:N]- MIpDLl: EAS.t-

f000 ecr 2500 2000 t500 l00O 5O0 scs
Mesopor.aurA
Sumerian Period Assyrian Empire

L*,. L,- I

. Aktradian Empire Mitani and

Hit|ite Invasions - -New Babylonian
Empire
iCuneiform Writing
rlnvention.of the Wheel
Persian Conquest
rFirst Vssions of Gilgaraesh
Epic
*Hammurabi's €ode

Ecypr. ffrt; -
u.::'fd

Unification K
I

Age of Pyrami,is
"Hieroglyphics

Caxe,lrrt/PnosNrcrA./IsREAL
Foundation of Sidon, Byblos, and Ugarit Abrabam leaves Ur
I j
-s ]!di--

1iil

Jt

{$,i ii'
i''lt;l;
,1.-*,; i

&.q;
'i.:

The Arcient Middle East: Mesopotamia, Egypt, phoenieia, lsrael 29

 Cfo#ptcr 2
AxcrENT GnrucE To THE ENp
oF THg PEr,opcNNEsrAN Wans

t'/
nrst year of the great peloponrresian W4r drew to a close, ,he
f-Snf
shtesmi,n pcricles delive'ed a funeral oration to honor those
- \,r,z,lfc-rrian
r-,rfio'Ed died ir, the struggle. praisrng the men died and the
'vho city for
which they lought the speech was designed to lift the spirits of a people at
war. Extolling Athens lor its hymns, games, and dramatic spectacles that
made it the source of all that was good in life, its Jpenncss to srrangers
and
free inquiry that mad: t 'rhe school of Greece.'' the speech refleoed
the
fundarnental Greek belief in the value oI the polis. To the ancient Greeks. life
centered on the city-stare br polis, which provided lar more than place
a to
live. Its rituals and institutions formed thcir personal character and made
them who they were. other ancient peopres, the prroenicians, for exampre,
had lived in city-states, but the Greeks developed from their concepi of the
polis a unique and immensery vitar curture-a cr.rrture that in
many ways
became the fouirdation of Western civilization as a whole.

-t!
 Clraptcr 2 traccs thc dcvclop-
nlcnt ()f Grcck socir.ly fronr
iVlirroan tirrrcs to thc cnd ol
tlrc l,cloponncsialr Wars. Thc
Ircarr of lhat proccss- -thc
t'volution of thc polis-takcs
US lront a gr()uJ) 0f simplc for_
rificd scttlcmcnts to tlrc grcat
citic.; ()f the fifth ccntury BcE,
lronr a l<lng period of domi-
nancc by aristocratic elites.
through thc rulc of tyrants, to
nlc emergencc of the first
lrue demtrcracies in recorded
history. We will survey the
social instituti/)ns common to
(lrcck socicty as a wholc and
look at daily life in two verv
diffcrcnt poleis (the plural of
polis)-democratic Athens
and conservative, aristocratic
Spana. This chapter endswith
tlrc lwo grcat crises of ancient
Greel: history: the persian
War, which preserved Greek .+l;j.::
in<lependence, and the pelo- Mai rland Greece is an extersion of the Balkin'
ponncsian Wars, which set thc European Greece lrom west i{sia (esia fvfinoffirnE:
S, : i rrita :: in.
stage for its eventual loss.

E.lnly ArcIAN CurJuREs had to follc,w the currents north along the phoenician
r-o 8OO scr coast and then wesl to Crete before proceeding to thc
prns of Italy or North Africa. phoenician ships on the
The eastern Mediterranean Sea was like u gr.", luk. way ro Carthage or the Strait of Gibraltar did the same,
that facilitated trade, communication, and cultural passing either to the norttr or. the south of the island.
bor_
rowing. The societies rhat surrounded it, phoenicians, Most preferred Crete's northern shore because it of_,
Egyptians. Greeks, and many others, shared similar fered more ;andy inlets where.their ships could an
di_
ets, ideas; and institution:;. The Greeks, for example, chor for the night or be hauled ashore fdi repairs and
took their alphabet from -he phoenicians and some of cleaning. The same harbors offered .ury to the
their philosophical and scientific ideas from Egypu Greek mainland, the Ionian islands of the ".."r,
Aegean, and
their
social organization into city-states bbre a sup,::rficial
re-
Ttoy. Crete wai therefore a natural and convenient
scnrblance to rhe phoenician city_state. way sration for thc' transshipment of Egyptian and,
Phoenician goods.
Minoan Crete-The First Aegean Civilization A people of unknown origins arrived on the island
(3000-f400 ecE). The Aegean Sea, with irs innumer_
of Crere before 4000 ecn. They found not only a strate_.
afile islands, has been a crossroads of trade and conrmu_
gic location but a land rhar was well suited for Neo-.
nicarion since the first sailors ventured forth. To
the lithrc agriculture. Crefe's mountains rise to more than
south is Crete, the navigational center of the eastern
8,000 feet, but the island has rich valleys and coastal
Mcditerranean in ancient times. Approximately 150 plains that provide abundant grain. The .li-"t. is gen-l
rnilcs long and no ntore tha. l5 mi'eswide, it lies across erally mild. perfection is marred only by ,u*-..
the southern end of thc Aegean Sea, about 60 miles
drrughts, winter gales, a.rd devastating earthquakes
lronr tlre southernmost extremity of the Greek main_
that are perhaps the most conspicuous feature of the
land and not nlore than 120 miles from the coast
of west island's histo'y.
Asia. Africa is only 200 nrilcs to the south. But the im_
The civilization that developed on Crere arose at
portallcc of C. ete was determined less by raw
distances about the same time as those of Egypt and Mesopotamia.
rhan by wind rnd current. Ships westbound from
Egypt It is usually celled Minoan, after Minos, a legendary
Anciafi Creece to the End of the peloponnesian Wars 31
 Iul('r who bccalnc part of
(irt't'k rttyt lrr)l<lg1r 3q a crcaturc
\vlr() was half rnan arrd haif
lrrrll. Minoarr (Mirr-91-utt) sgci-
( r) 's ( l)i('f charac'tcrislic; wcrc
t rt' r'a rly r:tan ufaclrrrc ()[ bronze
I

.rird tlrc c()t)strucli(rn of cn<lr-

rrrorrs ltalaccs thal combineC p<l-
Irtrt.rl. n'ligir)us, and ecollomic
lrrrrclions. Thc Minrnns con-
four main paiace com-
strr-rc'tcd
lilcxcs-at Knossos, Phaistos,
Zakros, and Mallia-and the
r tiirrs oi othcr largc houses are

io1111flhroughoul the island.

All arc built aroulrcj largc rec-
tatrglilar courts that thc
Minoans apparently usecl for Flcunr 2.1 Bull baping at I'-nossos. This fresco frorn the east wing of the palace at
Knossos portr;lys a man holding the horns oI a
rcligio u s a nd pu blic cere - bull wirile a r?Jman somersaults over its back
and another woman waits to cat:h her. Whether this was a sport, a religious l'itual, or both is
rnorries. Minoan builders cov-
not known. But the presence of women in such an activity indicates a measrri. of gender
cred their walls with tirin la-y- equality that would not be found among the Greeks.
crs of shiny gypsum* or
decorated them witlr naturahs-
tic wall paintings. The upper
levels of the palaces had decorative staircases and colon- trayed indicate a measure qf gender equality that
nades that resembled those of Egyptian temples. Below, would not be found among the Greeks.
rhey built innumerable storerooms and a system of
drains for the removal of wastes and rainwater. So elab- Tloy. At the northern end of the Aegeart Sea stood
oratc- was rhe floor plan thar Labyrinth, the Greek name Tloy, the earliest of whose nine cities, each one built
fcrr the palace at Knossos after the heraldic tabrys,or iwo- upon the ruins of its predt.cessors, dates.from before
headed axe of the Minoar royal house, became the 30C0 scr. Built on a ridge, lloy overlooked the south-
conrnlon word for a maze, ern entry to the Dardanelles, or Hellespont, the long
'Ihe presence ol such vast storage facilities ,ndicates narrow waterway through which ships must pass to en-
that Minoan rulers played an important part in ttie itis- ter,the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus. and the Black
tribution of goods, but little is known of Minoan social Sea. The current in the strait runs southward at about
or political life. The early language of Crete, wriiten at 3 knots (approximately 3.5 m,ph), and the prevailing
lirst in hieroglyphic charatlers derived from Egyptian win<is are from the nonh, making the strait passable
tnodels, has not yer been deciphered. A later linear only under the most fqvorable of:conditions to early
script is equally unreadable. Only the so-called Linear ships powered solely by oarsr4en and small sails.
I3. daring from the last per-od of Minoan history has Fortunately, a small harbor just inside its mouth al-
lreen translated and reveals an earlv form of the Greek lowed ships to lii at anchor while they awaited a favor-
langtrage, probably introduced by a new Mycenaean able wind or offloaded Aegean goods for transshipment
dynasty from the mainland that seized control of the is- by land. TIoy controlled the harbor as well as that part
l.rnd around 1400 ecr. of the Dardanelles offering the best crossing point on
Minoan religious beliefs are also obscure- Wall the land route,from Europe and Asia. The city had ob-
paintirrgs and statuary porrray women in priestly vious strategic importance and grew rich from the tolls
rolcs. ar.rd the dominant cult was almost cqrtainly that it extracted from passing merchants.
ol the Earrh Mother, the fertility goddess whose wor- Thc Ivlycenaeans-Pnscursors of the Ancient
slrill in the Mediterranean basin dates from paleolithic Greeks (2O(XFf2OO scE). Mainland Greece,is an ex-
tinrrs. Other paintings show young women and men tension of rhe Balkan peninsrrla.bounded by the Aegean
var.rlting over lhe heads ol bulls and doing gymnastic Sea on the east and the Adriatic Sea on the west. It is,.as
routines on rheir backs. This dangerous sport probably it was in anriquity, a rugged land-mountainous, rocl:y,
':i
had religious significance and was performed in the and dry, with much of the rainfall coming in the autumn
air palace courtyards, but its exact purpose is unknown. and winter months. Iarge areas suitable for cultivation
Irr any case, the prominence of women in Minoan art ,:re rare, and the narrow Greek valleys provide only
and the range of activities in which they were por- modest amounrs of rich land. Deforestation, largely the

32 Chapter 2
 result of ovcrllrazing,
was alrcady we ll ad-
vanccd by the lifrh ccn-
tury BcE. For rlruch or
its history thc relarivc
poverty anr'l rtrg;ed gc-
ography of Grcece pnr-
tectedit from forcign
conquest. Tht same du-
l,ious blessings made ir
difficult, if not impossi-
blc, for any one settlement to achieve regional domi-
nance. The result wrs a society outward-looking, cclnt-
mcrcial, and fiercely resistanl to the need for unity.
The Mycenaeans (My-see,-nee-uns). so-callcd af-
tcr Mycenac, one of their rnanycities on the Greck
rnainland, spoke an early form of Greek and ntay havc
occupied Macedonia or Thessaly before establishing
themselves on the Greek mainland. Their chief centers_
al)art from Mycenae and its companion fortress.
Tiryns, in the Peloponnese-were Athens on the rich
;le'ninsula of Attica and Thebes in the Boeotian (boh-
ee '-shun) plain. All were flourishing by 2000 acr.
Kings or chieftains ruled each of the Myccnaean
communities and apparently distributed commodities in
the traditio,ral way. They carried on an exrensive trade
with Crete and Egypt and built vasr palaces and tombs
using cut srones of as much as 100 tons apie,_-e. fhe
palaces, although similar in function ro those on Crere.
rvere heavily fortified and more symmetrical in design,
but rvith the sanre spacious apartlrents and colonnaded
porches on the upper levels. Below were v-rst store_
roonrs. some of them h:ated to keep major experts such ?u
I
I A:--

., .riive oil from congealing in the winter cold. The

Mycenaeans kept voluminous accounts of cornmercial
transactions, and their carrful, hardheaded organizatio;r !]gulo 2.2 The lJpper-Borly Armor of a Mycenaean
Wanior. This bronze cuirass and helmet i.om rh. fifteenth cen-
ol vast enterprises characterized Mycenaean life.
tury BcE consists of a collar, shoulder.pads, a breast-plare, and
The earliest tombs were shaft graves of a kincl found in an aniculated midsection made irorrr three broad bronze beltS to
rnan), other parts of Europe: underground brrrial cham- ,rroteo the wearer's midsecrion'y,hile permitting freedorri of'
bers reached by a horizontal stone-,ined passage. Later, movement. h was found in a Mycenaean torrib at Dendra.
vast corbeled vaults became cornrrlonj in a coJbel:d
vault. each Sto[€ rn the upper walls of rhe rontb extends scribes, however, is unlike that revealed by Mycenaean
slighrly beyond rhe one below it to form a kind of domed ruins. Homer's Mycena,:ans cremate, rather ihur, ..r-
ceiling. The Mycenaeans buried their dead wirh magnifi_ tornb, their dead and fight as individual champions.
cent treasures, for they collected art and luxury goods Flomer probably described a much later world-that of
Ironr other cultures as well as from their own. They u ere
'he uinth century ncr in which he lived-and attributed
.rlso skilled metalworkers. Their bronze armor and its values to his Mycenaean.prede ce ssors. By'the time
weapons, like their gold jewelry and face masks, were Honer wrote, the Aegean world bore l:ttle resemblance '
arn()llg the finesr produced in the ancient world. Io that of the Minoans and Mvcenaeans.
Aside frour their material culture, the Mycenaeans re_
rurain sontelhing of a mystery. Homer, the semimyrhical
poct who stands at the beginnings of Greek culture, The Dark Age Migrations (1200r-:800 BCE)
rrratJ : rhenr the heroes of his The ltiad. This great epic, The population movements that began around 1200
discussed in more detail later, tells the srory of 'the acE inaugurated a kind of dark age about which little is
Mycenaeaus' successful siege of Ttoy, an event partially krown. Greeks of the classical age believed rhat the
supix)rted by archaeological evidence. The society he de_ Dorians, a Greek-speaking people from the north,

'Ancient Greece to the En4 oJ the Peloponnesian Wars

. 33
swct)t illt() tht: Pctlinsula and cstablislrcd thcmsel'ucs in
llrt' llclttp5rnrtcst' attd olhcr Myccnacln ccntcrs' Recclrt
s,r'irolar.sfrip casts (l()ubt,on tlris tlrcory; s()me historians
lrclievc that a Dorian populati<ln alrcady lived in thc
1rt'rrirrsttla antl camc lo por cr by taking advantage of
tlisrirrity atnong thc Myce )acarls. lrl any casc, the
lrorialrs dcstroycd Myce nac but alrJlarcntiy bypassed
n tilcns, which llccarnc thc collduit for a va::t eastward
rrrigratiott. Thousands of rcfugccs, tlleir lands taken by
lr'lvconrers, flcd lo Attica, thc region surrounding
/itlrcns. Taking sl.rips from .\thcns, the y colorrized the
islarrtis ol thc Acgcan and rhc southwestern coasl of
Asia. Thc migration of these Ionian Greeks displaced
FlcuRr 2.3 The Site of an Ear.ly Polis. The ancient acrop-
1,1fii'r pcuplcs, who flowcd eastward into southwest oli: of Corinth, shown here with ruins at the top, prr'vide$a
Asia. The Phrygians who rt,ppled the weakened frag' sensc of hor^'the early poleis must have looked. Corinth be-
nrcnts of the Hittite Empire and the L lilistines who dc- camc a large city, but the first settlement would have been
sccndcd on the Canaanite coast wcre almost certainly small enough to fit on this inaccessible but secure site.
among them, lor all of these events occurrcd at about
thc samc time.
By tlre ninth century BcE, the Greek world was di- primary loyalty of its inhabitants. Composcd in theory
videcl into two major subgroups: the Dorians, who of trrose who shared a common ancestry and wor-
tjorrrinatcd most of the peninsula, and the Ionians, who shipped the same gods, the polis molded the character
infrabircd the rcgiotts of Attica, Euboea (you-be'-a) and of irs inhabitants and opcrated as the focus of their
thc Aegean islands. They spoke different Greek dialects lives. In practice, this meant that only those born to one
bLrt shared many aspects of a common culture. Both of ttre local tribes or clans could claim citizenship.
groLlps thought of the Greek-speaking world as Hellas Foreigners, including Greeks born in another polis,
and referred to themselves as Hellenes. might be allowed residency t'ut had no political rights.
A god or goddess served as each city's patron, and the
rites and ceremonies for that god or goddess formed an
-l-rrr DrvrLoPMtNT oF THE important part of civic culture. To Greekg of the later
classical period, the polis was lar more than a city-state;
GnnrK Polrs ro 5OO ncl it was the only form of social organization in which the
individual's full potential could be achieved. To live
The Dorians and Iot,ians tended to settie in high places apart from the polis was to live as a beast.
that they could fortify aga:nst thei;' enemies. After ex-
pelling some of the existing population and subjugating Go'vernments in the Early Poleis. Until aboul 750
orhers, each community-and there were scores of Bcri, the governments of these communities reflected
them--claimed full sovereign rights and vigorously de- their quasi-tribal origins. Membershi! il- u recognized
fended its independence against all comers. Some com- tribi or clan entitled a man a;rd his family to the pi'o-
nrunities had minuscule populations and armies num- tection of the polis and obligated him to :iupport it, but
bering no more than 80 or 100 men. Even the largest, it did not necessarily give him a voice in its governance.'
including Athens and Corinth, were small by modern Actual power rested in the hands of those ,'vho demon-
standards. Many of the settlemenrs did not possess strated prowess on'the battlefield. Some cr:rmmunities
enough land to support their populations. Cooperation had a king. This form of govemment rzas called a
arnonL thenr was always fragile and warfare endemic' mc,narchy, a Greek term meaning "rule by one." Kings
Tl're mountainous teirain of Greece with its nrany val- might inherit their thrones or be elected, but they al-
Icys and no permanent roads enhanced a community's wai, gouerted with the assistance of a council of war-
isolation. Furthermore, securitl from threats outside rior aristocrats. Other governments were aristocratic-
rlie Greek peninsula during this period made possible another Greek wqrd meelniltg, literally, "rule by the
the political decentralization within. The Greek city- best.' Warriors descended from families that had played
states developed after the Hittites had fallen and when a leading role'in the city s foundation held power by
Egypt was in decline. The great Asian en.,pires were not hereditary rignt. The best fighters generally had the
yet a threat. greatest penonal influence. In either system, birth and
These early communities were the precursors of the military prowess granted more status than'vealth did,
polis (poh'-lis), the basis ol Greek political ,rnd social Warfare between the early cities, aimed ldrgely at seiz-
life. Each polis, whether Dorian or Ionian, claimed the ing or destrof ing a neighboring polis'- crops, reflectgl
\
34 Chapter 2
 *
L
:

id

idittlcutr and pursuil impossiblc wirhour brcaking ranks.

. r(ccpirrg ranks rcduccd thc nrunbcr of casualties
but
madc ir difficult to ach,cvc clccisivc rcsulls. Sreaili;,g
"tlrc l<lrrrrati<ln usually resullcd irr catastroplrc. i
Thc arJoption of rhc lroplirc phalarrx forccd cltiesro
, adopt nl()rc represcnlativc fornrs of governlnenL.
M,jn
wlro lought l<lr rhe polis cor.,ld not bc dcnied a say in.its
governance. Whereas slaves, womcn, and foreigner*_
meaning those who had been born in another polis_
wcrc cxcludcd from public life, all nrale citizens now
exltectcd to participare in nratters of justice and public
policy. Even those too poor to equip rhemselves
,i f,up.
lites served as suppon rroops or rowed in the city.s gil-
Jeys. for many Greek cirias maintained a'navy as
w-cll.
Although wealth and he,cdity still corrnted, the new
warlarc grearly increasc,l the nrrrnber of those who par_
trcipated in public life. In some of the poleis it markerl
Ftcunr 2.4 Hoptite Warfare. This vase painting from the beginnings of democracr,.
the
sevenlh century scr is oni of the few ,u-iuing
pcrtrairs of ,

Hoplires at war. The helmets and armor ponr"-yed

were too Ihe Age of Tyrantr. Si.ill, tlernocracy. Greek for
expensive for.the.poorer citizens who thirefore 'rule by the people,,.grew slowly, for tlre aristocrats re_
served as
archers or suppon troops,,i{s in the Homeric
era, heraldic de- sistbd change. Effons to majnrain their traditional
vices similar to thbse of the Western
middle ug., d..orut. ih.
shjelds and identify the warriors. On the left a pipei leads an- .privilegcs caused disorder in every poLis, and the late
phalanx into bartre. cighth and early sevenrh centuries BcE ,,uer", times
r.rrher oi
civic co,.tflict. When rhe leader of a fa, tion, whether
popular or aristocraric. tr:iunphed over his adversaries,
the organization of society. Individ._ral
he becarne a. tyrant, or dictator. The more .upuUf.
champrons foughr tyrants served a uselul. if unappreciated, histori.aipur_
one another with sword and .lance, vrhile
tactics in the pose. They developed r.e* administrative srructures
larger sense were unknown. It was a primitive
form of and, by weaken;ng old loyalties based.on tribe or dis_
rvarfare suited only.to a simrle society.
As the Greek trict, focused a broader patriotism on the polis. Nearly
cities grew, armies became larger and the
usefurness of every city ac:epted a tvrant at one time or another
individual champions declined. be_
cause rule by one ntan was better than endless
civrl
The Hoplite phalanx and the Beginnings of war, but most Greeks regarded tyrannical rule as an
Democracy. The period of arisrocratic .domirranc. aberration. a temporary suspension of the, laws rather
came to an end with the adoption of the
hoplite (hop,- than a permanent insritution. Most cities eventuallv
lite) phalanx, a new tacrical system that required overthrew'tl eir tyranrs and replaced them with some
the
participation of every, able-bodied form of gdvernrnent rhai repreSented the will of the
-treemah who could
afford arms and armor. The hoplite phalanx was community. This might lre a narrowly based oligarchy,
a
formation of trained bpga.men who fought shoulder
to as at Corinth, or a rrue democracy of the kind thit
shou der in a rectangle that *u, ,ror*Jly eight evolved gradually ar Athens. Oligirchy means -ruie.
ranks.
diep. As long as no one broke ranks, the phalanx
was
o) the few." In mosr cases, this meant rule bv the
almosr invincible against a frontal attack by rvealthy, whose eligibility for office depended
horse or on prop_
foot and could clear the field of traditional infantry erty qualifitations.
at
rvill. Only anorher band of hoplites could srand
them. Grounding the sides of the.formation
ug"ir,rt l\rrants and the physical Landscatrte of the polis.
againsr Built around an acrolnlis-the high point seleaeQ as,a
natural or humanmade obstacles, an easy task
i-n the place of refuge by the original inhabitants_the
nrgged Greek countryside, prevented flanking typical po_
arracks lis ccrntaineJ the acropolis and agora-an open space
bv cavalry. Missile weapons (arrows or thrown javelins) thar
served as the econontic cenrer, marketplaie, and socia
presenred only a minor threar because
the hoplite,s center of the town-inside walled fonifications. The polis,
l)ronze amlor was heavy and enemy archers
usually rural farming district lay outside the walls. On the uC.op-
had ro fight in rhe open. After the firit volley,
the pha_ olis they established rhe f irsr rude temples in honor
lanx could cover the distance of a bowshot in of the
the time city's gods. The tyranrs, many of whom were great
it took to fire a second or third arrow, and the.archers
builders whcse temples and public works gave torrn tI
rvould be forced to flee in t.lisorder. The major J".
weakness cities of rhe classical age; r,rplaced the early temples
of the formalion was its immobility. Maneuvering with
was new, more magnificent stmcures and banished private

Ancient Greece to tne End oJ the peloponnesian Wars

35
 -:r ,

1:t

|!:
s'

tllc counlrysicle that thcy managcd with thc' help of

+
srrall ttumbcrs of slavcs. Thcir cfforls hclpcd, but did ril
ti..

not Di'(xlucc cn<lugh to fced the city's popr"rlation of n

craftslncn, mcrchants. and wagc labrlrcrs in the cgn-

_ii.
struction or shipbuilding tradcs. Ily 850 gcr,, most Greek ,:,.

citie$ had long outgrown their agricultural resources I

and wcrc inrporting food, especially from Egypt.
Thc resulting cornletition for scarce resources inten-
sifieC conflicts among rhe po eis and pr<.rbably inspired
thc cievelopment of the hoplite irhalanx. Internally, the
shonage of arable land brought social tensions that
threateneC the stability of the stateland encouraged
tyranny. But even tyrants could only redistribute
wcalth; they coull nor create it. Fortunatcly, Greece had
an extcnsive coastline with good harbcrs and a seafaring
population. A polis could preserve its independence if it
Ftc;un[ 2.5 The Acropolis and the Agora. This model followed the Phoenician example and established
shows the two main public spaces of a large Greek polis, in colonies in other parts of the Mcditerranean world as an
ihis case Athens ar irs pcak. The acropolis (in the background,| outle{ for surplus population.
on its lrigh hill conraincd the Parthcnon and other centlrs ol
The process seems to have begun around 750 acr
public worship. iire agora (foregroundl, with its long cokrn-
rradcs, scrved as a public market, but lemplt:s and other public
with the establishmenr of a trading communiry in the
!rurlclirrgs are shown within ir. In rcality, ancienr Athens was Bay of Naples. Its founders intended it to provide access
not this tidy. The rhousands o{ homes and privarc shops rhar to the copper of Erruria, but the colonies established
rladc up the rest of the city are not portraycd. during the next 50 years in castern Sicily were almost
purely agrarian. Some of .the colonists weie merchants
or political exiles, but most were poor people who
buildings to the area around the base oi'the hill. With rare sought only enough land ro feed their families. Settle-
exceptions, Greeks built simple homes and spent much of ments then spread throughout southern Italy and west-
their daily lives in the srreers or in the agora. This space, ward into France. where in 600 BcE the Ionic town of
pcrhal)s.as much as any other factor, ,rccouni:s for the vi- Phocaea founded Massalia, the present-day Marseilles.
tality of Greek polirics and intellectual life; the life of the Other cities founded colonies arcund the shores of the
citizen was one of constant interaction with his fellcws. Black Sea. These colonies, in what is now the southern
Tl're more ambitious tyrants not only built templbs Ukrarne, soon played an important role in supplying
bur remodeled such public spaces as the agora. They the Creek peninsula w,ith grain.
strengthened the defensive walls that surrounded their Some Italian colonies, such as Sybaris on the ltalian
cities and worked to improvc the quality and quantity Gulf of Taranto, grew wealthv through trade. Although
of the water supply. Some w:nt even funher. Corinth, originally founded to exploit a rich agricultural plain,
one of the wealthiest Greek cities, bestrides the narrow Sybaris became'a point of transshipment for goods
isthmus that separates the Saronic Gulf from the Gulf of from the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian Sea, thereby avcjid-
Corinth. The Corinthian tyrant periander built a stone ing the treachete-us Strait oj Mcssina. C'ther colonies,
lrackway across the isthmus, allowing enrire ships to be suchli.s Syracuse in Sicily. owed their wearlth to agri-
hauled from the Aegean to the Adriatic. Merchants cultlre, but Syracuse grew larger than its parent
willing to pay a subsra'ntial toll could rhereby save a Corlnth and became a major power in the fif . h c3ntury
vo),age of several hundred miles. ncE.'Virtually all of these rowns came into con'lict with
the Phoenicians and Carthaginians who haC settled in
Tl're Agrl of Colonization (75F6OO ncn). The trou- Spain Africa, and western Sicily, In some cases they
blcd situation that gave binh to rhe tyrants als'r pro- 'displaced native peoples who took refuge in inaccessi-
duced the great age of Greek col<.nizarion. Good farm- ble regions away from the coasts. By 600 BcE, at least
land had always been scarce in Greece. Most farms were 500 new Greek poleis had been esrablished from Spain
srnall and practiced subsistence agriculture. This to thc Crimea on the Black Sea.
nlrans that the owners raised a v.iriety of crops, nearly Thc term po&i appropriately describes the new cities,
all of which went to support their own households. If for they were not'colonies in rhe modern sense, but fully
tl'rcy produced a surplus, they sold the excess crops in indcpendent states. City governments on the Greek
thc agora. Farm owners were, of course, full citizens, mainhnd organized the colonizing expeditions and ap-
and sonre of the wealthier townsnlen owned farms in pointed their leaders, but when the colonists arrived in

36 Chapter 2
 Sgltcnox FRoM Hrsroc
" 'l:^:' 'ni; :ii
Hesiod (fl. late eighth century acn) was one of the first Greek Keep a dog
poets and a landowner lrom Boeotia, a ielatively wealthy
area northwest of Athens. In this fragnient.from a long
poem, Hcsiod instructs his ne'er.do-well brother, perses, on your oxii aliij,our ruti
the life of a Greek landowner. Using the movements of the v? relt thcir:;*{!ry httg.
constellarions tn the night sky (Orion, the pleiades, and so
Wa.r, .9,r:r'$;nI 4"t
i 1i7r
on) to judge the seasons, he advises when to plant, harvest,
or pur to sea, as well as how to safeguaia property against ;i'siiii
thieves and damage, The poem is an trnforjdettable.{esaip-
tion of rural life in an age when farmers weit rb--iea to sell
*! fon

rheir produce abroad. Zephyr is the g'i'ioft"t}te.ioirrCr, :'aiarty tXi

na (iilt
itft,
Iremet!,
uemerer rne
the goddcss'of harve"ts, and Di_6ni;sustrtri'goa of 'Al
gooocss ol hal
.) 4wtitW'tne pii
wine. Note that Hesiod, liLe
t&

tl-reir nery homes, they governed themselves. For the llHn Roors oF GREEK CuLTuRE
ilrost part, goveming institutions tended to parallel those
in the older Greek cities. Some, like Syracuse, became Greek values as well as Greek literary and artistic inspi-
t),rannies while othen achieved a measure of der;rocracy. ration stemmed from two Lasic sources: the Homeric
Few tlf the new settlemeuts, however, maintai.red close
I'oems and the mytholcgy ,that had.grown up around
tics with their city of origin. Most o. them continued to the adventures of the gods. Together, these wellsprings
vencrate the divirle patron of their founding city and of the Greek tradition provided a rich fund of themes
sonre extended sp,.c.i31 privileges to cit.z:ns of the four^d- and morifs that illustrated in graphic terms what it
ing ciry, but "mother" cities competei with thcir meant to be Greek. The influence of that tradition had
"colonies" for trade and on occasion fought them. Still, all little to do with religious teachings as they are now un-
of these new cities regarded themselves as part of Hellas. derstood. The behavior oI tl-re gods-and of Homer,s

Ancient Greae to the Enil of the Peloponi)tesianWars 37

 The Grccks thought of irt:
the ir deitics in hunran tcrms, ,?,'

although thc gods wcrc inr-

mortal and p<lsscsscd super- ,gj
hrrman po,^r'crs. The advcn- t'
trri('s of thc gods inspired a ll

vast mythology that, to- ]{'

gcthcr with the poems of
Homcr, pnrvided thcmes for ;
tit
g
latt'r Greek art and litera-
ture. Myths are stories that
explain the distantly remem-
bcr:ci past or the existcnce of
natural phenomena such as
eartnquakcs. the seasons, or
astronomical constellaiions.
They reflect the values of the
soci :ty that prociuces them
and 'therefore play a vital
part in educating the young.
Because the gods' behavior
was often capricious and im-
moral, Greek ethical princi-
ples dt rived not from divine
precepts but from common-
sense notions of how to get
along with one's neighbors.
Greek religion offered lit-
tle. or no hope o.f personal
irnmonality, although some
heroes-was often highly improper, anC Greek religion believed that the dead inhabitqd.a dark. unpleasant
offered few ethical prescriptions. The ancient tales did realm beneath the ground. Perhaps as a result, some
nor preach, but even when they taught by bad exam- Greeks buried tneir dead and 'orhers cremated them.
plr rhey offered r precious guide ro values, social atti- Worship meant offering prayers and sacrifices in return
tudes, and condrrct. For this reason, each polis s.ought for tlre protection of the gods or to secure the goodwill
to encourage the arts to the best of its financial ability. of lesser spirits who ruled over particular localities such
They were tlle m.eans by which citizens were created as springs or fields. Ordinary men and womc'n per-
and con-rmon values reaffirmed. formed these rituals, often on behalf of their lamilies.
Public officials sacrificed to the patron god or goddess of
Greek Religion. The Greeks based their religion on an their city on specia! occasions. There was no priestly
extended family of twelve gods who were believed to in- caste, although indiliduals of both sexes sometimes
hatrit Mt. Olympus in northeastcrn Greece. The greatest lived within the grounds of shrines and temples and ded-
werc Ze us. rhe father of the Gods; his conson, Hera; and icated themselves ro their maintenance. By the eighth
his brotlrcr Poseidon, the god of the sea and of eanh- century BcE, centers of worship open to all Greeks had
qrr.rkcs. Hcsria, the gtddess of hearths, and Demetec the been established at several locations. The shrine of
gotitle ss of the. harvest who was olten associated with the Apollc at Delphi was home lL, the Delphic oracle. whose
c'arlicr Earth Mother, were his sisters. Zeus's childrerr in- cryptic predictions were widely soughr until Roman
clrrdcd Aphnldite. goddess o{ love; Ares, god of rvar; and times. Olympia, dedicated ro Zeus. and the shrine of
Apollo, god of the Sun, music, and pr etry. Athena was Poseidon at Corinth y,ere famous for athletic contests
gotidcss of wisdom and the fine arts and Hephaestus, god held annually in the gods' honor.
of lire and metallurgy. Hermes, with winged feet, was
tl'l('ir messenger, but he also served as god of commerce Olympic Games and the Competitive Spirit.
and ol olher matters that involved cleverness or trickery. Common shrines, and above all rhe Olympic g,ames,
Pelhaps the most popular of the deities was Artemrs, the provided unifying elements in a culture that would for
virgin nature goddess who symbolized crrastity and to centrrries remain politically fragmented. According to tra-
wlronr w()men prayed for help in childbirth. dition the first games were held in776 sce and involved

38 Chdptu 2
 isaw atlrletics as an csscntial c()l-nl)(rncnl <lf the good life.
, l'ltysical fitness prcpared them for war; but compelition
;lay at tlrc hcar: ol their conccpl of pcrsi)lral worth ahd
f athlctic succcss was sccn as alrnost gotlliktr. I
.k i..

rhis table shows the eslimared p<lpulations of ancienr Homcric Values. Thc cpic pocnt i attriDuted !to
cilies in thc fitth century scr, whcn ancient Greece .j.lolncr form.llre othcr: main sourcc ol Greek cultr_fral
was at its pcak. None of the cities is large by modern
ivalucs. Thc Greeks bclicved rhat in addirion rc'#he
standards, but a given city's size in relation to the oth- llrad, llomcr (ll. 850 r.cr; also wrolc The OdyssBy.
e rs indicates its degree of wealrh and manpower-as
Modcrn sclrolars suspcct that both were compiled fr$m
for example the two latgesr ,'iries indicate persia,s an earlicr body of oral tradition soon after the Gredks
power and resources. _'adrrptcd thc. alphabet and thar The Iliad and The Odyssey
had diffcrer t auli-lors. The two epics are certainly vqry
Cttv PoPULAT,TN rx 43O ncr rdifferclrt, but borh teach-moral le:sons that nermcat'id
,Creck crrlturc. The Iliad adopts a tiagic form appropriate
Babylon (Persian Empi,e) zfr,OOO
Ecbatana (Perira) 200,000
to a lale of war and heroism (see Document 2.21,
Athens (Greece) wl,ereas The Odyssey is an t,nrertaining series of adven-
15:,000
Syracuse (Greek Sicily, 125,000
ture stories that stress the importance of cleverness,
Colony of Corinth) cunning, and strength of :haracter. The Greeks valued
Memphis (Egypt) these pracl.ical talents as much as the qualities stressed
Fome lltaly) by. The Iliaa-courage, persistence, and dignity.
Canhage (North Africa, 70,000-100,000 ,Educated Greeks memorized long passages from both
Phoenician Colony) . epics as part of their cultural education. and themes
Persepolis (Persia) 70.000-100,000 itaken from both inspired much of the Greek literature
Corinth (Greece) 70,000 and art that would follow.
Jerusalem (Israel; 49,000
Sparta (Greece) 40,000
Argos (Greece) 40,000 LtrE rN THE Pous:
Tarentum* or Taras 40,000
(Italy, Greek Colony) ArHrNs AND SpARTA
Agrigentum (Greek Sicily, 40-000
Colony of Gelos) No two Greek cities rvere precisely alike, especially ih
Megalopolis (Greece) 40.000 their goyernrnen,ral instituticns, but most of the larger
Sidon (Phoenicia) 40,000 <.rnes probably resembled Athens in their economic and
social makr:up. We }inow the most about Athens becartse
"Founded by refugees fronr Laconia, Greece. Legend has it itwas the largest citf ir ancient Greece and produced
that they were the illegitimate children oI Spartan molhers
more literature than any of its fellows. At the other po-
and /relor fathers.
litical extreme wds Sparta, the great rivalof A,thens. Most
Questions: How does the size of Syracuse, a, colony (ireeks thought of Spana as an institutional relic of ear-
founded by Corinth, compare with the size of ir,s 'lier times. In.fact, its system of life and government
was
founding city? What does this tell you about the drive a response to historical circumstances that had few par-
for colonization? allels in the Grcek world. It is important precisely be-
cause it was atyprcal and because Sparta became a major
power during the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars.

trrrll'a foot race. In tirnc the Olyrnpics became a 7-day The Democratic Polis of Athens
event that ir-rcluded nin,' orhc.r evcnls. Thev were helc.l
every 4 years. The Greeks used ihese 4-year periods, or (c. 700-461 nce)
Olympiads, to date historical events. The games drew Although Athens, otr rhe Attic peninsula, became the
nren lrom every part rlf the Greek world and provided a cultural center of classical Greece, its initial development
pcacelul arena for the contpetirive spirit that was a great was slow. until 594 scr ir was governed by an aristocraric
iran of ancient Greek life until the Roman emperor council known as the Areopagus (ar-ee-op'-uh-gus),
Tlrt'odosius abolished them itr 393 cr. poets praised the which elected nine magistrates, or archons (ar'-kahns), an-
rvinncrs, and their grateful comnrunities showered them nually. Menuerslrip in the Areopagus was hereditary, and
with gifts. AII able.bodied Greek men panicipared in there was no written law. The archonsa who were always
sporls (wornen were not permiiled t() contpete). for they aristocrats, interpreted legal issues to.suit themselves.

Atrcient Greece to the End of the Peloponnesian Wars tg

 GnrEx MyrHolocy
Grcek myths became imponant not only to the ancient Greeks sytlem. Today. the irrfluence of Greek myths me y Ue moit ap-,
but to the development of Westem culture. Romans built their parent in the hi:iory of Westem art. For c€nturies, r.hese ancient:.
litcrature on that of the Greeks and, until the early twentieth stofies inspired Westem artists lo clpture the pp-rver, anma;,{
ccntury, Weslemers used the classics (as the literature of an- and, mystery cf Greek myths-as this seven eenth-century,
cient G. eece and Rome is called) as the core of their educational painting of the myth of Prometheus aptly illustrates. .
,Hffi .:

Question: What does the myth of promettieus reveal about

Grcek attitudes toward the intcntions cf the gods, the hope
of hurnan happiness, and the char,rcter of women?

The Myth of Promdheut

Prometheus (Proh-mee'.thee-us) was one of the 1inns. a race
ofgiant, divine beings. lhking pity on the bleak exisre,rce of
early n:ortals, Prometherrs stole fire from
-rhe gods and gave it to
mankind, Zeus was furious. He sent to Eanh the first woman,
Pandora, with a closed jar. When, out of curiosity, pandora
opencd the jar, hard work, gad, iolence, and diseae flew out to
subven lruman happiness. Zeus then sent Hephaestus (Ileh-
{ee'-stuss, Vulcan in Roman mythology), the god of metals and
blacksmith to the gods, to punish prometheus bv chaining him
to a rock at the furthest ends of the Earth. There, a giant eagle
woulct gnaw forever on his imrnortal liver. ln this painthg
(c. 1623), the Dutch anist, Dirck van Baburen (c. 1590-1624),
pain6 a purposeful Hephaestus chaining a horrified prometheus,
while on the right, Hermes, messenger of the gods, looks on
almost in delight, and the eagle hoven menacingly at the
upper left. For most G-eela, the prometheue myth worked
on many levels, none of them optimi: tic.

Agrarian and Social Crisis. AriSrocratic.dominance draccnian has'become a byrvord {or severity. However,
and rhe gradual depletion of rhe soil eventually pro- the agrarian problem remained. political tensions,i
duced an agrarian crisis. Most Ar.henians, like most remained hig\.until the election of Solon as the sole:
Greeks, were small farmers who grerv wheat and barley archon in 594. ncr.
arrd tried to maintain a few vines and olive trees. Wheat
yields probably averaged about 5 bushels per acre; bar- Solon's Reforms. Solon (Soh'-lun) canceled out-
ley, 19. Such yields are normal for unferrilized, unirri- standing debts, freed many slaves, and forbade the use of l
gated soils in almost any region and are generally a cit;zcn's person as collateral. He created a written cop-
enough to guarantee subsistence bur little more. When stitution and broadencd the social base of the Athenian
yiclds began declining in the early seventh cenrury BcE, goyemmenr by' creating a popularly elected Council of
Attic farmers had to borrorn,from the aristocrars ro sur- 400 as a check on the powers of the Areopagus. His eco-
vive. Inevitably, harvests failed to improve, and citizens nomic ideas were less successful. While trying ro encour-
wlro defaulted were enslaved atrd somelimes sold age commerce and industry, Solon prohibited the export
abroad by their creditors. of rvheat and encouraged thrt of olive oil. Consequently,
Dissatisfaction with lhis state of affairs, and witl.r the larger landholders, seeing profit in olives and other
the endless blood feuds among aristocratic clans, led cash crops, took wheat land out of production and
to a short-lived tyranny in 612 ncr. Eleven years later, Athens became permanently dependent on imported
a senrilegendary figure named Draco (Dray'-coh) grain, most of which came from the rich plains north of
passed laws against aristocratic violence so harsh that the Black Sea. ]'his lneant that, in later years, Athenian

40 Chapter 2
 w,ff rill;Y,!lf ill,T fiil,tHil$t{F tf '6I 0 5
"t,

lr) tf$lraclrc-.-r,rilc l',rrr tlrt,r,lty lirr t,tt ycarn wfilt.

'.t(,1 rr l r,il ilrtl
0il t t.lfl l-. .(Lil rll\,r.()l t\ oI rrrr;urltrtlar
'lir lxrlllleln q,f ,
,' . lrrrirrr.t, lrrrJrarti,rlity, rlre r.lly'n,,w cli ,sc nragjr-
;ll'rrr.rr (lrrrlpt'r.1rr(r Hrv('nrrrrg'lilr'rirlrl hy krr l'r0lrt a l,st
, .rl r lrr, w.r.(,rr.r ;tokl l'r, lltclt.grtthllr,rut,.
'.1'rrt(,(,r$
vlr't'.'l'lrr' t ir y clcr'l.rr its rnlrrrary t'rrrrrrn'rrcl.
'0lrly'rr rlrt'lrollr,l rrrr.rlr, lrr ari r.llort l{, clrriurc t)[e!ir'ril"
c0,ir-
r'|('rr'rrr r" rlrc Alltr,rrl.ilr\ riulll(,('l('rl olllt'lrrlri lrl rr cl t'lnggrtr
rfvir,w ol thclr dc'tlorrr 1t lht: cn(l ol caclr y"ar, pii,,,
/st,r,(,lr,rplt'r l) anrl r)tlr!it,:r wlto syrrrpdtltlZCd
Wlth aftl,
rtr;unti 2,6 Hawtstlng (Jldrrrs. l(lcracy l,urrd llre cnlire dcnr'cratic syslcm absurd, brrt
f
This vrse pelnilng shorvs Dt.riclrs and lris assot.i.rlcs irr
l,rilrrt,rr.harvsttlng 0llvei l0r rrllve rlil, a tlrc,gropular parry llbeiil_
rtapic curnrnrxllry lrr lrcd lt cvr,n f urlh(.r alrcr 46 | trr:rr,
llr(' M(..dtr(rruncon world, Ar porr of rris rcforins. Sokrn
t.tr- Atlrcrrs rcprcscrrtt'tr ari cxlrcrrrc rcvcr
tlrc,,gr0wlng uf rrllvt,s nr o cosh crop Innteod of cicmocratic
):ll:l"t:1
ottv('r an(l ollr,,.. oll rclntln 0 rrrajor Grcck llrirtrr, J3()v(,rnulrlrr, lrtrt rlrc lrrcadtlr of lts publlc'fpartlclpattbn
eiprlrt roday.
wrrs ir(rt rrrrit;rrt'. A nrrrrhcr,f 0thcr Gleek cltles adoptnd
dr,rrrocratic forms of g()vcrnmcnl, although In rome
e0sc$, rrl)rc$entatlvc lrrsiltrrrlorts tlrrlekly fell urldcr
\rrrvlval rcr;rilred conlr()r ,r' llre r)arrr.lncilt.s thc
llclhsl)onl, the nair<lw str.lit lllat sr.1,il16tes Eur0pc
or !o,tror .r trre wcarrhy ard bccalrrc oilgarchres. Although
Asia and providccl access [o thc (;rcek ports ol.rirr:
l,Ktrn witlrly criticizcd by yrlrilo,soplrcrs, dcmocracy in Athens
(lflnled. Solun lr.,d no Inlclltlon rvorkc<l rcrrrarkably wt.ll for almost 200 years and pro-
of se,.r,lng for lifc arr,l vldcrl rlrc trasis for local govcrnrncnt even after the crty
rt'tlrlrl ',?hcn hF hod ctx tplctr,cl lrls refornrs,
lost lts l'ccrl'rr.r ttt rlrc /r,laectj.nlarrs i.33g acu. At the
very least, der,rocracy guaranteccl inlense Involvcment
Ath('nlan .Tyrantc-plslrtratue and Hlpplas.
Sokrrr's social measures, although popular,
by.rlrc crrtlrc lxrpuralrrrr ,r rrarc crtrzcns In the lrfe of
the
falled to prc-
\ ('nr rhe emer1;ence uf pislsrratus (pl.sls,.rra.r,,*1, llolis. p.pularioll csti'latcs vary, but classical Athens
._'r probably had betwccrr r,0.C)00 and 5t\,000 male
lyranr briclly in 560 Bce and then from 546 scr to c.ltlzens
death in 527 sce. Using his nlastery of electoral
his ir. bclrh t<lwn and coulttry. Any one o them couta tle
nolitics part of its political, milirary, and judiciallrocesses.
within Solon's con$tltutlonal mcasures. plslstratus,
likc
rhe ryrants of other cities, worked tirelessly
to break rhe j.ife in the Athenian polis. In mater al rerms,
remaining power of the aristocraiic famiiies. rhe
Through Athenia.r way of life was rernarkably sin,1;lg. Athenians,
taxation and dues for more .rnd more.public
festivals, like other Greeks, ate bread garnished with oil, onions,
he weakened the aristocrats financially'urra
n" sent mag_ or garlic and drank wine that was usually watered and
istrates into the countryside to intedeie
in their legal dii- flavored with sweeteners. pine resin, or other suo_
putes. Public works flourished, and projects -stances.
such as tem_ Beans and various fruits supplemented ttris oth_
ple construction and the remodeling of ugo.u ,t. erwise meager diet. Mear; was expensivq and .rormallv
provided work for thousands. pisistrarul
*u, ,u.."Ja.J {r)Dsum€d in small quantities. Even the largest Atheniah
.

by his son Hippias (Hip,-ee-us), who became

a ryrant in houses, althnugh often ouilt of stone, were small
the more conventional sense of the word. fhe by
etirenians Egyptian or Mbsopotamian standards, but their arrange..
overthrew him with Spartan assistance i^r 510 ecn
and Inent was similar. Square or rectangular rooms sur-
replaced him with Cleisthenes (Klis,_rhuh-neez)
central counyard, which *ight.,r.rtuin a pri_
::::19.q,.
vate well. Some houses had'second stories. Merchanis
Cleisthenes and the Advent of Athenian and artisans ,rften conducted their business from rooms
Democracy. Cleisthenes laid the loundations of the
dcrnocratic system that lasted throughout
on,the street side of thei.r dwellings. Housing for the
the classical many poor, being more c reaply built, has not been well
age. He expanded the number of denrcs (deems).
or preserved.
ward;, which served as the primary units of local
gov-
cnunc.nt, and divided them into ten tribes instead
Iour. Tlre conrposition of these tribes is uncertain.
of Slavery. Athens probabll had ar least 40,000 to
tribe elected 50 members to a Council of 500.
Each . 90,000 slaves of both sexes who worked as artisans,
do_
This body nlestic servants, er labore.s. A large number workid in
(less than I percenr of the population)
prepared legisla_ the mines. As in rhe rest of the ancient world, slavery
tiorr antl supervised finances and foreign uff"irr,
but fi_ among the Greeks had begun with thc taking of cap-
nal aurhority over legislation and quesiions
of war and tives in war, but by the classical age, Greeks
peace rested with an'assembry of ail
male citizens thar
*.r. p,ri-
chasing barbarian (thal is. non-Greek) slaves from itin-
ntct at least forty times a The assembly
)1car. could also erant traders. Still, no great slave_worked estate;

Atriail Greece to the End oJ .he peloponnesian Wars 4t

 f
Tnr Olvnplc Gnrurs .1,

According to legcnd, King llitos ol Elis and nearby Olympia

asked Apollo's oracle at Delphi how to end the wars that werq
devaslating the Peloponnese. Apollo's reply advised lfitos to |*
.t;
rrst()re the "spons contests" at Olympia. Ifitos established the ':2
":
olyrnpic games and signed, along with Sparta's Lycurgu; and
Pisa's Clcisthsnes, the longest-standing ( 1,200 years) peace ac'
corrJ ir.r lristory-the Olymric Truce. Throughout the duration
ol rhe Olympic Tluce, fronr the sevtnth day prior ao thc open-
ing of the Garnes 1o the seventh rray following the closing, all
conflios ceased, allowing athleta;, anis6, and specarors to
travel ti, ulympia, participate in the Games{d retum to thcir
honrelands in safety. The city of Elis organized the games evcry
4 ycars during the month of July or August. Elean citizens,
chosen by lot, supervised the events and enforced theirelabo-
rate regulations and rules of sportsmanship. IrV'inners were
crorvned at the games with a wreath of wild olive leaves and
honored by their cities with poems, spccial privileges; and of-
ten high political office when ihey retumed home. At first,
DLsew ,mil JaudinThrowm. These red-figure vasej from
spectators (men only) watdled from the hillside, but the
c. 520-510 BcE portlay two Olympic evcnts. Ihe one on the left
Eleans eventually built a true stadium seating 45,000 l eople.
shows a discus thrower beginning his warm-up. The one on the
The games lasted 5 days and graduallT expanded to include right shows a javelin tfuower. Ancient illustrations of these
len events, most of which, like the javel'n throw, had military evenB indicate that they were prob3bly conducted in the same
applications. The Eleans also organized a separate set of ath- way as their modem Olympic counterparts and that the tcch'
letic games for women, who competed w,earing shon tunics. niquq,ysed by the attrletes has not dtanged.
:,.'*;
:tS,:.
-tiir .

|Horse anil Chariot Racing. Horse racing; which induded

several events, was an aristocratic sport. The Greeks loved .
horses, bur few could afford to naintiin-them. The chari<it
race was the most spectacular event and must havprequircd *J
gqcat strength and skill. Some of the most important historical
r$i
personages panicipated, driving their own ctrariots, wltile'
*
rvt:althy owners, some of whom were women, hired trqi4en, .rl;
l:1
riders, and driven. Then as. now, tbe hippodrome, or'race tradc"
rvas a place to display weaith and political power. This vase
r1
shows the lel&rippon or quadriga, an event lor f6ul-hsrse dr.ri-
ors that was introduced in 680 scr,

cxislct'l. and even the richest citizens seem to have slaves. As in M,,lsopotamia, killing a slave was a crime,
orvncd only a few Slave ar'.isans who toiled outside and the law guaranteed slaves their freedom (manumis'
rhcir uraster's home normally received wages, a fixed sion) iL they could raise lheir price of purchase.
portion of which was returned to their owner. This In addition to slaveb and free citizens, Athens boasted
pracricc tendcd to depre'ss the pay rates of free rvorkers a large population of foreigners. The city was a com-
.rnil e nstrred that manv citizens lived no better tiran the mercial center that, although located a few miles from

12 Chapter 2
 lifl
.'ii,,Pind,r\ Ode tu an Athlcte i
l
j, Following his Olympic success, an athlete's native city {ten
o
commissionid a poem t..t honor him, as was the case pith
i this poem. PinCar (c. 5l8_418 ecr), best known for his 6des
,; honoring successful athletes, ,ryas a native.of Thebes andone
of thc greatest lyric poets of ancient Greecc. As he does bhre,
''
Pindar often included a brief warning against hubis, thAf.a-
g tal pride t\at leads men rc challenle the gods.
5
.,..s
.,"For Phylakiitas of ,4egina,Winner in theTiial ::

: of Strength" :i

:';
'n In the struggle of the games he,has won

Wose hair is tied with thick garlands

, .For viaory with his hanas
l, I Or swiftness of foot.
Men s valor is judged by their fates,

But two things alone

' .;. ' Look after the nveetest gract of life
,' Amorg the fine flowers of w,alth.
' If a man fares weil and hears his good name spokn, ::

, Seek not to beccme a Zeus!

You have evenuhing, if a share
Of those beautdul things ur.rc to you.
Mortal ends beft mortal men.
The Foot Race.'In the biginning the games lasted I day and '. For you Phylakidas, at the Isthmus
featured only one event the fooirace-a 600-loot sprint A double success is planted and thrives,
called a stadion (he.nce our word stadiuml.. The event came to ', . And at Nemea for you and your brother Pytheas
include fhe diaula,4'1,20o-foot run. As this"vasi painting in- In the Trial of Strength. My heart tastes song.
dicates, the athletes ran naked. ..

'.,, Source. Hndar, The Odes of Ptndar, trans. C. M. Bowra i.

,lHaqmgndsworth, England: lgnguin Books, \96,9, p.47). CopyT.i€ht
I @ The Estatp of C. M. Bowra, lg6g. Reproduced by permissionicf
'' lenguin Books Lrd.

the coast, had a bustling port at piraeus. Unlike somc The Status of Women in Athens. As in other soci-
Greeks, the Arhenians welcomed foreign ideas-and eties, historical sources are apt to be legal documents or
capital inveslment. Although foreign resident: could not literary works written from the male point of view. Thcse
participate in public life or own real estate, they were documents do not always reflect the real experiences of
wcrr treated and many became wealthy. The merchants women and somerimes present a misleading image of
among them controlled much of the citv's cornrrerce. and even irrelevance. Thus, their true
powerlessness.

Ancient Greece to tlte End of the neloponnesian Wars 43

 r lllr'('l lr lltr' tlrr',rlr't, rvlrlrr'' nt{llr' t('lrlllv(rh {lt'('(}lllll{1.
nicrl ilrlrrt, lt ir tlrorrgltt llt,rl ttrt'tt ,tllo rlttl tltc sltollplttg
SulucfloN FRoM Ho-rvrur.'s Tun luap lo [1,1,yr llrr,ir wivl, nrrrl tl,rugltlt'tr ltottt t'rtttittg lttttl
( {}il1$('l witlr rltrrr}f{(,r's, Worrr,'il w('l(' ('v('lt cxp('('lc(l l(t
Itonrcr'$ grcal eplc of thc Trojtn War-f/r lliad-dcf'lncd ,rr rrltf lr,r'l,rif f rl(,il\ witlrirr lltt''lrrtttt'. 'l'ltc attdron,' a
(Jrcck volue$ and ldeols for latcr generatlont. Those valucs looln wlrcr.(, nlerr rcc'ivt'rl tltr.ir rttalc'gttgtts, was
arc lrurnonlsllc; thct l;, llortcrt heroet slrlvc for excrllencc strictly oll-lirrrits lo worrrcrt, attrl itt tttatty Grcck lttlttscs
ln trurnan rathgi thcn rcllglour rcrms, Bur undcrlylng qll it lrad n s('l).rr',llr ('nlrolr('s l() tlle slrc('1,
thclr actlons l$ t lense lhlq ever, for the'greateet of mortals. Ut;dcrlyirrg tlrcsc llra<titcs was lltc cot'tvlclion,'
lhc ordcr of the unlverue'k unrafe. Thls passage reflccts thc voict'd lrc<prcrrlly lly Grcck 1^ntcrs, thal womcn wcre
troglt sklc of Gitck conrdourness. Prlom, ilre aglng Klng ot irrcapabre oI r'ontrrrllirig tlrt'ir scxr"rality. A worttatt stts-
'lYrry, lravhrg rccn hlr mn Hcgor klllcd try thc Grcck wlrrlor l)c('tg(.i rrl lr;rvirrl.| a c'lrilrl l)y $orrlc{,n(: olllc'r lllan hgf
A1 lrlllcr, ltoet to Achlllcr to ask hlm t() nBrurn Heclo r's body l.rwfrrl lrrrsharrrl crrdarrgt'r't'tl tllc st.1tr,rs oI ltt'r olher
l,r' 11,,ttnt, r ltlleirt,n, wlro rrrlglrl locr' llrclr (lllz('n$lllt ll' chal.
\
It'rrgt tl ir'r rorrrt lry or, r'rrt'rtry', l'or tltis r'('(lsotl, lltc ltead
ltt rttttt |tud $t Achlller" thtnklng about hlt own lather and h u ,ghr
ol a farrrily lrarl tlrc rillllt to kill rrry nrarr wlro scduccd
Ithn h lltc tvtgc of team Taxlng thc old nnn\ hand, ha gently put
lris r ;'llt', tl,rrr6lrtcr., (rr .rny ol lit'r lt'rrralt' t'clal lvc uttder
l*n livttt ltlm: and owrcome by thctr memorlfiJhry both broke
lris protr'< l,or,, Ar onc ollcrrdcrl ltttrlrattrl salcl ltt a l'a,
tlolllr. lldant, Wu&tng at Acttlllals fect, t+vpt bhterly lor man'
nrous casc: "The lawgiver lSolonl prescribed death for
slayirt ntno, and Achilles wcpt lor hk fathn and then again for adrtltery hc<arrst: lrc who a<lricvcs his end; by persua-
Patroclus. Tht house was filled wlth thc wunds ol thelr lamenta. siOn thcrel,y corrupts thc rrrind as well as the body of
tion. But praentty when he had had enough ,f tean and reuvered
tlrc wrrman . . . ilrcl gains access t<l all a man's posses-
Irit t'onporure, the Gx€Qllcnt Achlller leapt from hh chalr, and in
sionb, ,rrrtl r.t5tt, (l(,ulrl ol Ilr r'lrlltlrctt'r l)dfenldgp,"
{ltnfdssio,t hr lhe man's grey head and grey beard, took him by
Tlte adultcrous wonran coLrld rrot, ltowever, be killed
the arm and raised him. Then he spoke to him from his heart: "You
because shc wirs lcgally and rn<lrally irresponsible. If
are indeed a man of sonows and have suffered much. How could
r.narried, her husband could divorce her; if single, she
you dare to come by younelf to the Achaean ships into the presence
ruired her prospects for finding a husband and spent
of a man who has lilled so many of your gallant sons? You have a
the rest of her lif -'as a virtual prisoner in the house of
heart of iron. But pray be seated now, here on this chain and let us
her father or guardian. Desp.te these sanctions, adul-
leave our sorrottt, biner though h?, ore, locked up in our own
tery may not have been as uncomuron bs scholars
hearts, for weeping is old omfort and does linle good. We men are once beiieved.
wretclled things, and the gods, who have no cares themselves, have
By modern standards. women of middle- and upper-
woven sonow into tke very patteru of our lives.'
class'families remained virtual prisoners. They were
Source: Homer, lhe I.liad,outtr-f. V, Rieu (Harrrondswonb married early, often at age l4'or 15, to much older men
England: Penguin Books, 1950). ', who were chosen for them by their families. Women al-
most never received.a formal education, although a few
Question: t{hatsultural values and attitudes is Homer upper-class women, like the sister of the statesman
rrying to convgyin tbil ligsaSeZ Cimon, were We]l educateC. Much of rheir time was
spent spinning and sewing because Greek clothing wds
simprc and could easily be manlfactured at home. This
does not mean, however, that Greek women were
without influence. They managed their husband's
slalr:s has been the subject of much controversy. hou.ehold, controlled the dornestic slaves, and raised
Nrvcrthcless, Gree'k wotren did nttt enjoy the same rc.- the childre,r. Their husband's economic survival de-
gal arrtl personal slatus as their Egyptian countcrparts. pended on their efforts, and literary sources indicate
Tlrr'tlrelically, even Greek vrontelt who hatl lreerr that the nren of the iamily consulted them regularly on
irorn lo citizen farnilies had no politica) . ighrs. Men ex- both buiiness rnatters.and on tlre political issues of the
crciscd w()men's judicial rights for tlrer.n oecause female day. Child-rearir-rg made them, as in most societies, the
sralLls \vas that of pcLnldn(]llt legal nrinor. Wonten did guardians of societal values, not only for the children
liavc dowries, which protecred then- to some extent if but for tireir husbands as wrll. In Greece, as elsewhere,
tlrey rvere divorced or widowed, but divorce.seerls t() a propertied widovz might enjoy considerable influence
have treen rare. The Athenians, like most ancienr if she did not remarry.
Grecks, made extraordinary efforts to segregate the .From a modem perspective, poor and foreign women
scxcs. Respectable women of the citizen class stayed at led more interesting lives. Many worked rrr sold goods in
tronrc cxcept for occasional attendance at festivals, sac- the marketplace, activities that \vere essentiiLl to the sur-

41 Chapter 2
 I:tt;rtttt:2.7 Plnn oJ a Grcck
I-lousc, This ltorrsc wati part ol a rt,si-
ricnlial bhx'k ()n tllc south skrpc ol tlrr.
n rc()[)a,jus irr Atlrcrrs. Judgirrg lry irs
size arrrl krcaliorr n(.ar lhc tr'rrlcr ol
l{r!vrr, it l)r(,l,al)ly hckrrrgcd lo a l)r()s-
lx'r()us lra(lesrnan. Tlrc drawirrg orr thi'
lclt shows ils location rclativt to ()thcr 1\

I
l,uilrlirrgs in lhc block and t<l tltl agrrra. i
l'lrc stalls of thc ag.rra are shown ar llrc
is
li
t()l) l(,ll,cthcr with thc sloa, or covcr cd
Jrortico, lhal pr(rtcflcd thcm frorn sun
arid rain. Thc drawing lo th(, righl
shows lhe probablc fulrctron ol thc
I
rtxrrns. Thc shadcd arca was uscd only .
3
t)y rne n. Note that the men,s and
rv()m(.n's arcas of .thc h,ruse I ad scpa- /
ratc cntrances {arr()ws) and tltal no in----
lcrior acccss appcars hclweer,t thcln. l 1

1
.rl
I
Ir-
E$.
o 'P-
IT :
j:

&

*
i?.

vival of their families ancl that guaranteed them a free- arrangemenrs were widely accepted. The Greeks, how-
dom of ntovement unknown to their wealthier sisters. ever, did not view homosexuality as an orientation tha;
Sirch women, however, normally lacked the protection of p:ecludc"d sexual relations with women or a conven-
an economically stable and politically privileged famili.. tional family life. Funhennore. homoselual promiscti-
it1 could ruin a man's repuration or lead to exile, arid
Prostituti ln. Segregation of th6 sexes led.to an ac_ many regarded it as inlerior to married love.
ccplance of male extramarital relations with slave and As in many other cultures, Greek men and women
foreign women. prostitution was common, and at the may have belonged in ef.ect to separate societies that
higher leVels of sociery, Athenian men valued courte- met only in bed. If true, this would also acc,tunt for the
sans. or hetairai (het-eye'-ree), as companions at ban- widespr:ad acceptance of lesbianism. Greek men may
qLlets and other social occasions from which respectable not have cared about sex between women because it
wonlen were excluded. Courtesans were often highly did not raise the rSsue of inheritance. The term lesbiat'
educated. Some-such as Aspasia, rhe misrress ritne cones from the Ionic island of Lesbos, home of Sdppho
lifth-century statesman pericles-achieved consider- (c. 610-580 acr), a \voman and the greatest'of Greek
able fame and could hold their ovrn ip intellectual dis- lyric poets. Euiopeans of a later age found her erotic
c()urse, but they were still regarded as prostitutes. poems to other women scandalous (see Document 2.3),
Asllasia ended 'rer.days as the madam of an Athens and their renown has perhaps unfairly eclipsed thr.
lrltltheI. much wider range of her work in the minds of all but
the most determined classicists.
Homosexuality. Hornosexuality, too, was regarded Although Athenians, like other Greeks, were re,-
lry rrrany Gieeks as normal, and in some cases praise- m4rkably open abour sexual matters, they did not
\vonhy (see Greek Attitudes Toward Sex and lvtarriage). abandon themselves to d.-bauchery. Self-control re-
Soldiers, for example, wcre thought to fight more mained the essence of rhe ideal citizen, and the Greeks
bravely when accompanied by ttreir ntale lovers. Many admired sexual resrrainr as much as they admired mod-
ol tlrese relationships formed in the gymnasia, where eration in the consunlption oi food and drink and phys-
nren of the citizen class trained for war or aahletics. It ical fitness. A man rvho wasted his wealth and cor-
was nol uncontmon for a youth to b(.come sexually in- rupted his body was of no value ro rhe polis, which was
volved wilh an older man who then s3rved as his men- always at risk and demanded nothing less than excel-
tor in intellectual as well as athletic matters. Such lence in those who would defend it.

Ancient Creece to the End of tirc Peloponnesian Wars 45

 i
t
I

GnErr Ar:rrruprs Townnp,sux AND ^l\Innnlncr

i,:
Crcek at.titudes toward sex and marriage arosc oul of thc our.home and children. Now if God rcnds us children, vrc shell
irrlrurc's pcrception of wonten as morally and intellectually think about how best to raise them, Jor we share an interest in se-
infcrior to mcn-a perception we see clcarly in Xenophon,s curing the hest allies and support for our old age."
t
:i:
Oeconomicus (Household Management). In plutarch,s Dialogue on
M7 wife answered, "But how un I help? What am I capable i3
'3.
l.ove, lhe character Protogenes uses the same perception lcl
of doing?It is on you that everything Cepends. My dury, my 4
rlcfcnd homosexuality, bur rhe dialogue shows that rhe mother said, is to be well behaved."
Creeks w€re as conflined about tbis iss ue as are the cultures :Oh, by Zeus," said !, "my father said the same to me. But the
ol today. Sappho's poem to her lover Atthis (see Document besl:behavior in a man nnd wom;tn is that which will keep up
2.3) is a tire examplc of lyric poetrv and a graphic ill,r51ys- lheir property and increast it as Jal us may be done by honest and
rion llrar. although the law tolerated lesbian relationships, legal means. . . ." .
\vonlcn could rarely be masters -iffin
of their emotional fate. "It seem: to tue that God adapLJ .yomen's nature to inCoor and
mali's to outdoaor work. . . . As Nature has entrusted woman witli
Xenophon\ "'fhe Roie of the Athenian WiJr" guarding the house,'rcld supplies, and a timid nature is no disad-
vantage in such a job, it has endou ed women with more fear than
from Oeconomicus (Householil Management) man It is more proper for a ucman to stay in the house ihan out of
In this excerpt, Ischomachus tells Socrates how he'began to doon and less so for a man !: be indoors instead of o;J. . . . you
rrain his l5-year-old bride., Like most. Greek husbands. m.u!:t stay indoors and send out the servants whose work is outside
Ischomachus would have been far older than his wife. His and'superise those who work indocrc, receive what is brought in,
parronizing views reflect conventional Athenian thinking. give tut what is to be spent, plan ahead what is to be stored and
for
luell Socrates, as soon as I had tamed her anC she was relaxed ensure that provisiotts for a year are not used up in a month. . . .

enough to talk, I asked her the following question: ',Tell me, my

Mary of your duties will give you pleasure: for instance, if you te:ach
dear" saiC I, 'do you ,mderctand why I married you and why spinning and weaving to a slave who did not know how to do this
whm you got htr you double ys2.7 usefulness to yourself.-
)'lur parents gave you to me? you know as well as I do that nei-
ther of us would have had troubl,'finding someone else to share Fronr Xenopho,, "Oeconomicus" in Julia O,Faolain end Lauro
our beds. But after thinking abcut it carefully, it was you I chose Martiles, Not in God's Image: l+,omen in Histo4, from the Greek to the
and ne your parents chose as the best parttierfwe could Victonans (London: Temple Sntirh, l97i).
find for

The Military Polis. of Sparta

earlier society. Under. a dual monarchy in which two
(c. 700-500 ncr) hereditary kings exerted equal powers in war and reli-
Sourh of Athens, in-a remot: valley of the peloponnese, gious rr^atters, rhe Spanans displaced an earlier ruling
la1, 5,',onu-u polis very differenr from, ancl one-founh class that was prot ably Dorian as well, allowing these pe-
the size of, Athens. Sparta produced few poers and no rioikoi (per-ee'-ee-kee) ro retaln property and personal
phikrsophers. Its unrvalled capital, built on a raised freelonr within their own communities. The original pre-
rrrtlur-rd to keetrl it from the floodwaters clf the river Dorian inhabitants became sens, or in Spanan terrns,
Ertr()tas (You-ro'-tas), was said to resenrble an overgrown helo';s (hell'-uts). Bourrd ro the properties o n which they
villagc. The Spartans engaged in no cornmc.rce to speak of worked, they differed fronr slaves only in thar they do not
arrd lii,cd almost entirely fronr tlte proceeds of agricul_ seem to have been sold as individuals. Arou td 725 scn. '
Irrrt,. Lone afrcr othcr Greeks had adopted coinage, they Sparta conquered the neighboring polis of Me.;senia and
ctlrrt itrtre d t0 trse iron bars as their only crtrrency. Because reduced its inhabirants to serfdom as well.,_li:tots now
llrc Sparrans wrote little, we kn<tw them chiefly through putnun-rbered Spartar-rs by a pr.obable ratio of l0-to-1.
tlrt' rvrilings of forcign political tlteorists. By all a, counls, The conquest o{ Messenia and the serfdom of its inhabi-
Sparta rvas a ntilitary state-grim, poor, rigidly col-lserya_ tants nade Sparta agriculturally self-sufficient, a siruation
livc, and distinguished only by its rnagnificent army and almost unique antong the Gr.'ek states. It even provided
tlrc sirr6ilc-minded discipline of irs cilizens. a mrdest surplus for exporr) a,though Spanan citizens
were forbidden to engage directly in trade. Unfortunately,
Early History. The first Spartans were probably a band their success forced the Sparrans to live as an armed mi-
ol Dorians who established their polis on tle ruins of an nority surrounded by a hosrile popularion. In rhe Second

46 Clnpter 2
 I'!:::;;cl.'s Dialogue on Loue lAfter mwch argument, Dayhnatus responds:l ,'lf we exawine
Dcbatcs (or dialoguesl over thc rclalive mcrits of homoscx- the truth of the matter, Protogenes, the passion for boys and for
r.ral anci hctcroscxtral
trcmcn derives from one and the same Love, but if you insist on
love wcrc conrmonplace in ancicr-rl
disunquishing between them for argument,s sake, you will
Crcccc. Plutarch, uris dehate,s aLlrlor, lived in the firs1 ccn- fnd
lury cE. Hc was an avid p'opagarrdist for Hellen jc valucs, that the Love of boys dces not comp )rt himself decently; he is like a
l,rte issue, born unseasonably, illegitimate, and shady, who drives
arrd his works arc thought to rcflcct the attitudes of thc age,
out the elder and legitimate love. It was only yesterday, my
FIerc, Protogenes, who believes that wrrrnen are incapable of fiend,
ar lhe day before, after lads began to strip and bare themselves
tnre feeling or inteltect, argues thet love is almosr hy dcfini- foi
lion homoscxual. His friend Daphnaeus, who exercise that it oept surreptitiously into the gymnasia with its al-
apparen.ly
rcpresents Plutarch, vehemently disagrees. Iurements and embraces, and ,hen, littte b.y little, when it had
Ie dge,J its wings fr,;il in the palaestras, it could no longer be held in
" Do you call marriage
and the union of man and wife clte:k; now it abuses and befoub that noble conjugal Love i,rhkh ,

"hame-
ful?" interposed Daphnaeus, ,,there can he no bont mlre sacreLt.,, assures immortality to our mortal kind,
for by procreation it rekin-
"Such unions are necessary dles our nature ..uhen it is extinguishcd.
fa, the pfopgation of rhe .ace,',
said Protogenes, "and so our lawgivers have been careful to endow "Protogenes denies there is ple,zsurein the L,,ve of boys: he does
them with sanctity and exalt them before the populace. But of true ;o out of shame and fear He must have some decent pretext
for ail
Love the women\ apartment has no shred. For my part I deny tachment to his young beauties, and so he speatcs :tf
fr,iendship and
that the word "lovc" can be apptrcd to the sentiment vou exce llence. He coverc himself wilh athlete,s dust, tal gs cold
feel for baths,.
women and girls, no more than ,love, raises his eyeb-ows. and declares he is chastely pl.,tosophizing_to
Jlies can be said to milk, or
bees h ney, or victualers and Zoolcs can be said to have oulward view and because of the iaw. But when night
amorous falls and
feelings for the be eves and fowl they fatten
in the dark . . .. A ito_ all is quiet then 'sweet is th; fruit when the keeper is gone., ',
ble love rvhich attaches to a youthfu.'
[male] spirit issues in excel_ Sorrrce: Plutarch, -Dialogue on -ove,- in ed. and trans. Moses
lence upon the path of
friendship. Frcm these desires for women, Haclas, On Love, the Family,.and the Good Life: Sekcted Essays of
even if they turn out well, one may enjoy only physical pleasure Ptutarch (New York: Menror Books, 1957, pp. 307_30g).
and tlrc satisfaaion of a ripe body.,'

Messr nian War (c. 650 ncr) the helots of both communi_
the councillors for life. Unlike Athens, Sparta restricted
ties rose against their masters and; with rhe heln of some citizenship to thosc who'owned land. elihougntfr..itl
rrciglrlroring ciries, came close to destroying the Spanan ilen assembly voted by acclamation on all important
state. The survival of an independent Sparta required a
inatters, the ephors usuaLy negotiated the decisions in
corr])lere reorganization of their society. advance before presenting them to the r teetings for ratr
ification. There seems ro have been little of the vigorous
Lycurgus and New Spartan Government. The public debate that characterized Athenian society.
Sparrans artributed their reorgar"tizarior.t to the leg_
cndarr' figure of Lycurgus (Lic-kur,-gtrs), but rhe new Life in the Spartan polis. The aristocraric character
Pr.rclitt,s alrnclst certainly cvolved over tin)e. By the o. Spartan government st"uck Greeks as old-fashioned,
IiItlr ct'.tu11,BCE, thc nr'narcl-ry,s influer.rce had bec.r'e hut they adurired its effectiveness and stability. The so-
sr'\,crcl)' linrired. A Council of Elders, conrposed of cial system over which tLe government presided was
rrvcnrr'-eight lnen over the age of 60, advised thcnt and stranger. Fr0m the sixth century BcE onward, everything
scrvcd as a kind clf appellate court in reviewing their le_ in a Spartan'-; life was subordinated to the security of thc
{al decisions.Tlte ephors (rlf,-ors), a cornmirree of five, polis (see Document 2.4). Infants who appeared physi
ran ll)e govcrnrrellt. Thly cor-rducted foreign policy. cally unfit were killed. At age 7, males were taken from
n,atcheri ovcr the helots, and could, if necessary, rtver_ their mothers and trained to fight, endure pain, and sur-
ridc the rnilitary t'lecisions of the kings. Bc,th gr()ups vive y7i15nut supplies in a hostile countryside.
rvere clected by an assembly composed of all Spartan
At age 20,
tlrey entered a phiditia (fid-ish'-ee-a), a kind of barracks
nrales over thc agc of 10, the eph<lrs for I -year renrs, community where rhey would live for most of their

.ltrient Greece to the End oJ.the peloponnesiatr Wars 47

 SnrpHo's "Tol

In this lyric, Sappho, a poetess {rom the island ol Lesbos, roses and your sapling throil
larnents her parting lrom a woman she loved. It is evident neckle$ of a hundred blossoms;
ftat the families 9f the two women, or some other third your young fksh wa ich with kingty
party, perhaps a husband, has forced their separation. as you lean( near my b,rgasts on
sofi couch whery deliwu girb
So I shall never see Atthis apin, ".
rl all that an tonian uull defire; :
and really I long n be dead,
we,went to evgy hill, !.|k:,i
although she.no cried biturly
when she left and said to rns,
holy place; ant|.when early tpring., ,::,
I.
"Ah,what'anighilarewesuffercd ,' :" . i. . ., :; ,
Ithe woods with noises oj blrds , ,1

a choir of nightingales-we"twti
I sytear I go unwiliingly.'
Sappho,
And I answered, "Go. and be nappy. if:'in soliude were wandeing therti."
.--
But remcmber me, for sure\r you :. ..
*,i
.';:r{!
. S,ffce: Sappho :To Arthis,l in lvillii Barnstone, Greek Lyrit
know how I wonhippedyou. If not, : (\brv york santarn Bools, 1962). By permission,of VJillis l

then I want you to remember all Barnstone. . .

the exqiisite days wc shareC; ; :. '. .,#i:

'ffit.
how when near me ycu would adorn Q;gestion: What point does Sappho make about the situa-
your hanging lock with vbks and tio-n of women in Greek socic'ty?
: is. "

lives. The phiditias dined in public or-r Hyacinthian Street Spartan Foreign Poiicy. The constant threat of
in thc same mess tents thcy used in rvar. These rjinners, helot insurrection made Spartans wary of foreign en-
ral her rhan the life of thc' agora, provided Spanan males tanglements, and the Spartans followed a policy thal
rvith lnost of their social interaction. was traditionally ciefensive and inward-looking. This
Although allowed to marry, younger Spanans could changed in the course of the fifth century ncr, when
visit their wives only in secret, and family life in the or- the Persian invasion and the subsequent expansion of
clinary sense was discouraged. 3ecause the Spartans Athens lorced them to take a more active role. They
rvrote little, we know nothing of their attitude toward would eventually be drawn irrto a fatal rivalry with the
homosexuality, but, as Greeks who found them odd in .rrthenians, whose army was inferior but whose supe-
every other respect did not mention ir, it must have been rior navy and greater wealth made them formidable an-
similar to that of th: Athenians. Their neilitary obligatiorr tagonists. The story of those struggles forms the politi-
ended only at the age of 60. To the Spartan, etemal vig: c;il b,ackground of thb Greek'classical age.
iiance was the price of survival. Unrike most Greeks. rhey
periodically expelled fortigners from the state as a secu-
rity precaution. TIade bnd agricultural work were forbid- Trtr PEnstnN Wnn
clen them; fitness, discipline, and courage were prized.
(499-479 scE)
The Status of Women in Sparta. Spartan women
Greek isolation fronr thc turbulent politics of the Asian
\vere renowned throughout Greece for their indepen-
land mass came to an abrupt end with the, advent of the
clcrrce and assertiveness. They appeared in public. rode
Persiarr War of 499479 scE. The tiny :.tates whose
lrorscs, and said what they thought. Because the Spartan
competition with one another had tong ;ince beconre
rvarrior paid dues to his phiditia from the proceeds of land
rvorkc'd by the helots, that work was supervised to some
traditional now faced the greatest military power the
world had yet known.
cxtent by Spartan women. Althorrgh not e:ipected to
Iight. women received extensir e physical training on the The Persian Empire. The Persians were an Indo-
theory that a strong mother produces strong children. European people fron'r ,the Iranian highlands who
Spartan women dressed simply and wore no jewelry. €rrrerged in the sixth century BcE as the dominant
They could hold land in their own right and were capa- pCwer in the vast region between Mesopotamia and
ble of dealing with hostile and rebellious helots. Their India. By the end of the sixth century BcE, the ruling
c()urage, like that of the Spartan men, was legendary. elite had adopted Zoroastrianism, a religion preacheci

48 Chapter 2
 DrscRrpfloll oir n Spnnrarq CHtLpHoop \ ' :. ;:
XENc)r HoN's :_

r:RoM THr CorusrrrJTroN oF THE I,ncrp,ulnoNlANs", .li:,f ii.,;t

;4 i ,.,.',_ .,.t.,p;
Thii from Xer:cphon is or.e of several descriptions of ii, ,t * rhe;.would thus be bett:r prepafga
passage
n ho 4ramg*'ii;iii
Spartan values as perceir ed by other rlreeks, many of whom i: uld. As ro rhe
food, he required tite prefei u O;rinS-with'iin
were bolh attracted and repelled by them.
D9P altractecl them. 't moderate amount of it thttt
thrtt thc bryiwiuta nerrr-ifrriAi,
sufu
the brys woutd never froi';
In other Greek cities, parents who profes to give their sons the best 'o Y o:o .*!tld. kttow, what it wy to .qq with tleir hlngd un
cduution place their boys under the care and control of a mual ru- "l (!;f' n, 31*a that thosc who undemv':nt this ,"i:A_! \
tt:r'i : ro *1Y*.wo1k1w onyl i*p,t
tor as soon as the;,can undersrard what is said io ini^,
rhem ssiaot 1o tesrn tetters, musk, and the exerckes of ""ithe '* o* \,!eulr i!t: Yry*{
allow.dffy::f-fy:!":!!"i!!,I!lr'::,
:::,y!:
!,'q
gfvins He tl'efi u alleviau their
- :t'., It was not on acaunt of a difli*dty'ln
wrestling ground. Morewer, they soften the chitdren's feei Uv
them sandals, and. pamper their bodi:: with changu Aornins, '\:
"f :-' enuuraled them t0,,t .
nrt,l it is customary to allow them as much
food as they can eat 1et their,foo! bl'cunninil'''
I-rw1sus, on the contrary, instead fleaving ,a prnir",i)t- ,-; malplay wJto iyends tu y,Ini*irO .li;:iiiA
point
nt a slave to acr t .tt,/. gave
act as tutor, thp iu,tt
dnvp the mnttn,tua the
nf controllmg
du,y of .a ,tl":, ana
and PMy Ine
t ^i a
tt " bcys ,^ tfu decelver"t" lie y
and t:e ambush h di
in qll
",#,!!o! n make lecslver
gapture, he my$.
memper d the class from which the highest ofires are
fitkd, in fact '
7

to Lr..
Lv the 'Wardm"
rrutucn aJ he 6
as ne called. ne
is cauea, give tn6
ae gave pe60n authonty
this-penon to ';;...----l-
authority t0
doubt then' that allthis edug1rtil;
n-,a-k
":.-
punkh
,them severely in cnse of m, sandud. He also assigned' to him the boys more resourge;ful try
}
a staf of youttu provtded uth whips to chastise them inen ;. fighling 'nefl'' ' :.: ' r: ,;:''"r+$j''Y-l: :l
ne&sstry. . . . rnsteoA oysopni; ;;; i;;;t-';;;i';';; ,'- -;E
,o,,,.., x.oopi,o,, ,r. .j#ii;fitfui
quired them to harden their fea by g"tng withot t shoes. He ii"ori.i."i cr"rrdi
believed .'. soip,
i '-"'
thatifthishabitwerecaltivateditwouldenable:hemtoclimbhilb,-UniversityPress,l925).
.l '"
more easily and descend steep stopes with tess dange ;; r;;r;;; ,f
..

letting them be pampered in tlu matter of :bthing. he introduced Questio4: What was the purpose of
the custom of wearing one garment throughout the yea4 believing
,..;,.
scilbed ih dris passage? ;r '; ." :

't,-;a !
lj:: ',
. ..i;tr :r:
:'i,
I

by the prophet and reform.. ?,r.our,.r (sometimes the Great conquered the kingdom of Lydia in 546 scr.
called Zarathustra). A dualistic sysrem in r^,hich Ahura Located in southwestern Asia, Lydia was heavily influ-
Mazda, the god of light, truth, and goodness contends enced bri Greek culture and famous .or its wealth. The
eternally wirh Ahriman. rhe god of darkness and evil, Lydians are credited with the invention of modern
Zoroastrianism conderrrned images of the gods and coinage. Under the fabulously wealthy king Croesus
maintained the highest of ethical precepts. Its radical (Kree'-s.rs), Lydia estaolished a'loose dominance ol'er
distinction between good rnd evil influenced early the Ionian communities'of thi western Aegean. When
Christianit_v, and Ahriman has been seen by some as a Lydia fell, the Persians assumed control of its Greek de-
protorype of rhe Christian Satan. pendencies. ln'499 scr, several Ionian states rebelled
Under Cyrus I "the Great,, (c. 595-529 BCE) the against local ruiers bacl<eo by persia and asked main-
Persians conquered Babylon, together with Egypt, Syria, land Greeks to help. Sparta, worried about the intelhal
Palestine, and rnosl of southwest Asia. Like the Assyrians, threat of helot rebellion, refused, but Athens arid the
the Persians used cavalry, rlany of thenr armed with 'Euboean
city of Eretrii (Air-uh-tree'-ya) sent twenty-
bows, to pin down rhe,ener.ny's infantry trntil their own Iive ships. Athenian rhetoric stressed their city's ancient
inlantry cotrld destroy tlrer.rr. But trnlike the Assyrians. and senri'nental ties to lonia, but the Athenians also
Pcrsian goventnteltt of colrquered pcoples -,vas ger-rerally feared a threat to tlreir vital supply of grain imported
bt'nign. It avoided atrocities, excepl in casc,s ,of ou.tright frorn the Crimea if Pc'rsia controlled the approache-s to
rcbellion, autl asked only that new subjects pay rribure the Black Sea.
and provicle troops {or the arrly. Because tlte persians In a short-livcd triumph. the lonians and their.allies
typically preservetl local ir.rsriturions, many parts of the managed ro burn Sardis, the Lydian capital. persia soon
lonller Assyrian Erlpire welconred them as liberators. reestablished control over southwestern Asia and in
190 ucE dispatched a reraliatory expedition against
Origins of the Per:sian-Greek Conflict. Greek in- Eretria and Athens. The Persians destroyed Eretria, but
volvemenl with the persian Empire began when Cyrus Athens fought and defeated the persian ilrmy; 3s

Ancient Greece to the Etrl of the Peloponnesian Wars 4l

 jj
.t ilrr'lnl lfr0w l(|r r0lllllllll[|,
Alt llttrtllll lat' lttlttlt'lttr to !'ar'
licr pallcys, I rlrclllcli wcrc
r,ipcttrlve , ottd ottly lltc dls'
(()vrfy rrl licw sllvcr rlcptttiltt, 3
*l
nl l,ottrch)ll itr Attlt'n tttndt' $
t I rt'ir trrttslrttt'tkltt 1lossllrlc,

Arllsttti tt('('tlcd tlrc sltlltti ftl

bct'attsc Grcck dcfc'rslvc
rlr'.rt{l{y w.lli CtiltclltlAlly tt1

rraval. But llrc lrlallt Pcrtian

anlry was ttrarcltlng south
roword Alltctls along thc
Lrrrollcan slttlrc aller crttss'
irrg thc Dardanellcs 'fr<lm
sorrtlrwc,t Asia. Tltc arnty
depcnded {or its suPPlies on
a llccl of pcrhaPs ?00 lri'
rcnles manned bY Persia's
Phoenician and Ionian al'
lies. At the narrow Pass of
Tlrc'rrnclpylae (Thur-moP' -
uh-lee), Themistocles hoPed
to delay the Persian land
forces long enough for ad-
Persian War battles
verse v/eather and a naval
f1
Invasion route of Xerxes's armY
action at nearbY Artemi-
sium to dePlete the Persian
Invasion route ofX;rxes's navy
fleet (see Document 2.5).
The Spartan5, under
their king Leonidas (Lee-a-
rrye'-duss). coordinated a
heroic defense at Thermo-
pylae but fell rvhen the in-
vaders found a u'aY to flank
the Spartan Posiiion. Off-
shore, the Greeks iought an
Marathon. The marathoR as a modein Olympic event indecisive naval battle with'a Persian force, that, as'
coiltnlerlcrates the achievement of a courier who Themistocles predicted, had been weakenedrry a series
broug,ht the news to Athens, 22 miles away- This vic- of eanier storms.'Still, tllese actions provided time to
tory, achieved in the absence of the feared Persian cav- evacuate Athens and take the Greek fleet to a position
alr1,, gave rhe Greeks confidence in their ability to de- near the island of Salamis. Thc Athenians and their al-
fcat an enemy who until then had been regarded as lies hoped that by forcing a sea battle in the narrow wa-
irrvirrciblc. ters belween the island and the mainland they could
compensale for the greater sneed and maneuverability
The Persian Invasion of the Greek Mainland. of the Persialr fle,'t.
Tlrat confit'lence was tested in 480 sct, whet' the new
Persian entperor, Xerxes (Zurk'-seez), launch:d a full- Battie of Salamis. Xerxes's arlrly entered the de-
scalc invasion of Greece by land and sea. It was a n"easure serted city of Atherrs and'burned it. Shortly thereafter
ol Greek distrnity rhat only thirty-one citi('s out of several the Greek triremes dcstroyed half of his fleet in the
battle of Salamis (Sal'-a-mis), one of the greatest naval
hrrntired attempted to resist. Sparta and Athens took the
engagements in history. As Thenristocles had foreseen'
leatl. Themistocles (Theh-mis'-tuh-cleez), who domi-
the Persians crc,wded into the narrow strait and could
natctl Athenian politics at the time and advocated sea
powct u;ed his influence to build a fleet of 200 triremes not maneuver properly. The Greek ships, although
ilr anticipation of a Persian attack. The trireme was a slolvgr, carried more fighting men and found it easy to
lalgc, contplex warship with three ranks of oarsmen and ram' and overwhelm their opponents as they came in'

50 Chaptu 2
 a

> frrc;t,nti 2.8 Pcrsian. rrat sca. Grecce was now rjiviclcd into two-increasirigly
()uard of thc Period qf the
ii €()nrt)ctilivc alliancc systcms. i
I)arsian Wt rs. Part ol a largcr
r
lrit'zt' rnarle ol polychrorrrc
glazctl bricks rlcpi<ring rows ol
The Delian .,nd Pcloponnesian Leagues. The'lizc
.j'ol
grrards, pcrhaps tlrc "inlnor-
its flcct rnadc Athcns the drlrninant partner in thc
tals" who nradc rrp thc king's )clian Lcague, and although rhe Arhenians initigll,;r
pcrsonal lxrdygtrerd. Fror the maintaincd the rhcroric of friendship, they used thb{a}-
Paface <rf Darius I 1522486 Iiarrcc to further thcir own purposcs. Undcr Cimqn,s
iic':) at susa. ' leadcrship, Athens sor"rght to control grain supplies iny.he
,r, Aegean and to improve it; access to shin's timber Fnd
'.1, precious metbls by seizing lew territory. Heavy tribgtes

swelicd the Athenian tre?sury. Some of the conquftcd

land was distributed ro poor cirizens of Athens. flnd
i, wealtlricr Athenians acquired prop!'rty in allied cilies
r withour regard for local
law. The true nature of '$he
league was revea!'jd wheri ihe island of Thasos tricrJ to
' withdraw from it in 46\ ecr. Athens treated the vrritn-
, drawal as a rebellion and laid siege ro the island fcr 2
Salamis marked the tum-
; years. League members and some Athenians begarr to
ing point of the war. Wi,h-
.l think of the leagrre as a I Athenian ernpire.
out the support of his ' . Corinth, Arhen's chief commercial rival and an allv of
fleet, Xerxes could -not : Sparta, had long argued against what it saw as the
supply his troops. Leaving
Athenian imperialism. Now hoth Delians and pelo-
a garrison to winter at
Donnes;ans began to fear that Athenl sought nothing less
Plataea in Greece, Xerxes than political lregemony over the Grerk world. As long
and the main portion of
as Cimon, an aCmirer of Spana, controll _.d Athenian pol-
his army returned ro icy, every effori was made to avoid open c,rnflict with the
Persia. The Greeks de-
Peloponnesian League. Bu: he, too, war: ostracized in
feated this garrison in the summer of. 479 ncr and the 461 ncr. arrd war followed immediately,
Per sians fled, never to return. At the same time, a fleet
under Sparran command dislodged the trnemy from
the Ionian coasr in the battle of lvlycale (Mik,-uh-lee).
Pericles and Further Democratic Reform in
Athens. The removal of Cimon coincided with a fur-
ther democratizarion qf Athenian government under
THr PuopoNNEjrAN Wnns the leadership of Ephialtes (Ef-ee'-all-teez) and his
'younger colleague Pericles (per'-i-kleez) (c. 495429
(460-404:scr) . rcr). The Pi rrslan War and its aftermath had for the
$rst
r time involved large numbers of poor Litizens in combat,
The Persian threat had been repelled but not extin- -,.especially in-the navv. nlthough theoretipally equal; in
guished. Under the direction of Themrstocles, the ', practice the poor were barred from holoing office pe-
Athenians began to rebuild their city, forriiying its port .- cause they coulci not affold to live without payi while
at Piraeus and construaing the Long Walls that pro. ;serving on,uiies or in the Council. After the wir, ttleir
tected the road connecting the two. After Themistocles
was ostracized in 472 BcE (the great enemy of the i clainrs to full panicipatio:'r in civic life could no lorfter
be ignored, and Pericles, who would play a dominant
Persians ended his life as a persian governor in south- 'role in Athenian politics for more than l0 years, built
west Asia), his successor, Cimon (Kee,-mon), continued lris career on changes that further liberalized the system
,
the work. Then, in the winter of 479,477. scE, Athens, , created by Cleisrhenes.
as the leading Greek naval power, joined with a number r Rea,izing that most people could not afford to serve
of its allies ro form the Delian League (taking irs name the polis, ,he reformers adopted the policy of paying men
from the lonian island of Delos), an association dedi- for publicservice, from deme . reprel;entatives on the
caled to protectint the cities of the Aegean from Corrncil to members of a jury a measure paid for by the
Persians and pirates. Although Sparta had led the war rvealth accumulated in Cimon's day. Citizenship,. which
on land, it did not join, preferring instead to concentrate 'now became more valuable than evel was restricted lor
on the helot problem and on strengthening irs own the fint time to nten with two citizen parents, but by z;50
Peloponnesian League. By 467 scE, the Athenian sca Athens had becon-e a participatory democracy in
navy and its Delian allies had secured the coasts ol which every male citizen could play a role. Some have
southwest Asia and achieved unquestioned dominance ireld that this deinocratization contributed to the tremen-

Anciart Greece to the End of the Peloponnesian Wars S!

 ': ' ' ""., '.rri .*

A TnlnEME-A MoPrnnt "

$, ,

s:*
Thc trireme was thc basic Greck warship of the Persian and {.-l
.&.
Pcloponnesian Wars. A developmenl from earlier desigtrs, its 's::
.ff
distinguishing feature was the addition of a third rarrk of ',tr
.z
rowcrs, seated nearest the watet who provided greater s
specd and ramming power. The Tfireme Trust reconstructed $
thc trireme Olympias, shown here in sevcral photographs, on
*
E
F
thc basis of ancient evidence, and the Greek navy commis- l

sioned her to service in 1987. i+

.$
t;: .

Thc.Ram. This image shows rhe formidable ram at the bow

(froni) oI the ship. When enemie't reinforced their hulls
against the ram. as they did during the Peloponnesian Wars,
the oiremes began to carry marines; using grappling irons to
pull an enemy ship alongside. thc marines boarded it and
fought hand-to-hand with javelin and sword' The painted eye
is found on many vessels in the Mediterranean today' In lolk'
lore, it helps the ship fi,rd its way and ward off danger'

The Olympias. Like triremes at rhe batrle of Salamis, the

olynpias is propelled by 170 rowers arranged on three vertical
decks. Ancient sources indicate a rowing speed of 7 knots (c. E
nrph), but this speed is not sustainable over long distances.
Square sails rigged on two masts supply the power for long k
..*
l/oyages. The trireme was meant for battle; its advanta;e dur-
ing the Persian War lay in.its rowers' abilitr' 'o guicklymaneu- K
ver the trireme, ram the wooden hulls of Per;iatr ships, and f:
abandon them to sink. 'fhe triarch, or commatrder, sits in the
stern (back) behind the'two tillers that control the rteering Tke Anongr*att'. of the Tiireme's Ocrs.''This photo
oars. There is one steering oar on each side of the ship, and at from the shB's side shows how the three tiers of oars were.
full power each steering oar retluires two $eersmen. One can arrarrged. The top rank ol rowers sat on benches that extended
imagine the coordination among commander, rowers, and outboard lronr the hull. Most rowers on Greek warships were
steersmen that success in battle would require. not slaves, but free cttizens of the poorer classes.

dous flowering of high culture in the classical or Periclean Persian allies, but when several Delian alli.1s rebelled
age (sec Chapter 3); others havc lreld that it fueled the in- against the arrogance of Athenian leadership, Pericles
creasingly aggressive and reckless character of Athenian agreed to a 30 years' peace. He balanced his skills as an
lxrlicy. The two arguments are not incompatible. oiator and .popular leader with prudence, but the
peace, which enabled Athens to recover its strength and
The Beginning of the Peloponnesian Wars. ln reorganize its empire, lasted only l4 years. In 435 sce,
rhe First Peloponnesian War (450445 BcE) the Delian war broke out between Corinth and Corcyra. Corcyra
League defeated both the Peloponnesians and their was a former Corinthian colony in the Adriatic that had

52 Chaptn 2
 ' ':llt lion in'nsn-
under: 'nrn9
r, ir:
@ttur!
ti::i''. 4Eif.ho.4',qtil,
't"y...t
i'lratuiff;eltk,
rclnedthgm; S
it{;';--l::.-' '.*

been neutral in the First Peloponnesian War. The and killed one-third of the people gathered rhere. The
Athenians feared the l()ss of their naval dominance if historian Thucydides (Thoo-sid'-uh-deez) described the
Corcyra's powerful fle et fell jnto Corinthian hands. symptoms of the disease in great detail, but they do not
When Athens allied itself with Corcyra, Corinth correspond precisely to anything in modern mediciire.
protested to the Peloponnesian League, claiming again An enraged public drov: Pericles from office. They re-
that the Athenians wanted total hegemony over all the called him. but he died soon after of the pestilence, and
Greeks. Attempts at negotiation failed, and in 431 scr rhe city eventually abandoned his defensive polir.ies.
the Spanans invaded tlLe Attica peninsula. , '.The more aggregsive stratggy
advocated by Cleon, who fol-
The Second Peloponnesian War. Realizing that 'lowed Pericles as leader of
the Spanans could not be defeated on land, Pericles the popular faction. at . first
allowed them ro occupy rhe Athenian countryside. succeeded. The Athenians
People from the rural demes crowded into the city. fomented popular revolu-
Although the Athenians mounred cavalry raids tions in a nun:ber of cities
against Spartan garrisons, the major thrust of its pol- and supporteC democratic
icy was to launch amphihious expeditions against factions within them while
Sparta's allies. Pericles reasoned that because Atnens the Spartans predictably
was wealthy and its fleet conrrolled the seas, the ciry backed their opponents. The
could survive on imports for up to 5 years before fur- Athenians then fortified
ther tribute had to be demanded from members of Pylos on the western coast of
the Delian League. Spi rta's Peloponnesian allies were Messenia and defeated a
nrore vulnerable and would, he thought, sue for Spartan fleet that had becn
peace within 3 years. sent to drive them out. Mole
than 400 Spartans had to
The Plague at Athens. Unfortunately, a grear plaguc' take refuge on a nearby is-
struck Athens in the second year of the war (432 ncr) land. This was a significant Pericles

Ancietrt Creece to the End of the Peloponnaian Wars 53

 'F

j.:l::: 'tS: Whcn Clcon dicd in the uh-

jr':if;.i lfp*.w^*
(43fSo4 rcn) succcssful attcnll)t to relieyc
Amphilxrlis, Alcibiades (t.l-
suh-byc'-ah -dcczl, an un-
scruyrukrus young aristociat
'ryho had lrccn a pupil or tpe
,lhilosoJrhcr Sor rates, stft-
cccdcd him as the domina.,rl
voicc in Athcnian politrcs.
Under his guidance, Athel,s
supported a Persian governor
and his'son in their revcilt
against the king. Persia; whictr
had remained neutral, norv
had reason to back Spana ;f
hostilities resumed. Then tn
415 scr, Alcibiades convince.l
the Athenians to mounr a
greilt expedition against
Sicily. It was a brazen attempt
to acquire rlew resources by
sp"rr. and its allies
broadening the scope of the
L war, and it failed. Syracuse
I erl.n, and rs allies
alone proved equal ro Athens
l.@] P".rirn E.pir"
in wealth, population, and
ffi *"u,r",,
naval preparedness, and tl,e
rest of Sicily backed Syracuse.
The areas rhat supporred Athens (tne Delian League) and The Sicilians, with their supe-
those that supponed
s-parta (the Peloponnesiarr League) are shor,rm in contrasting
corors. rq;ither with rior cavalry, .disrupted the
the areas that remained neutral. The inses shows Athens, its po4%t Athenian siege and defeated
6aeus, and
the 'Long Walls" that protected the road between them.
their a:my on land. In 413 ncr,
they destrol'ed the Athenian
fleet. The Ath:nians lost 200
ships, more than 4,500 of
portion of Sparta's fighting elite. Withour a navy and their own men, and perhaps 20,000 of their allies.
faciug yet another helot revoh, the Spanan, *"r. d.r_
Ahhough Athens rebuilt its fleet and c.rntinued the
pe rate to.recover their men and sued
for oeace. struggle, its allies deserted'one by one., fhe Spartans,
Once again. overconfidence betrayed tire Athenians. cked by Persiarr 'money, raunched a series of naval
b';
Dreaming of total victory, they refused to negotiate.
campaigns against them. Most were unsuccessful,'but
Instead they attacked the nearby city of Megara and in 405 BcE, they desrroyed a newly rebuilt Athenian
then invaded .the rich agricul.ural region of Boeotia fleet at Aegospotami (Eg-goss-pot,-a-mee). Lysander,
(Bolr-ee'-sha). Both efforts failed, and several of their
ttre Spartan commander, cut off his enemy;s grain sup-
allies went over to the Spanans. Thus strengthened, the plles by seizing'the Dardanelles. Faced with starvation,
Spartan general Brasidas captured Amphipolis, the the Atheniahl'lsurrendered uncondirionally in 404 sce.
nr()st in)ponant Athenian base in tht. northwestern The Peloponnesiarr Wars were over.
Acgean. When relief efforts failed, it was rire Athenian;s
tun) to ask for a trtrce.

The Sicilian Expedition and End of the Wars.

CorucrusloN
The resulting peace of Nicias (421 ncr) accomplished lit- Bearing little resemblance to the civilizations created in
tle, in part because several important cities on both the river valleys of Egypt or Mesopotamia, early Greek
sides of rhe dispute refuse,l to accept it. Hostilities con_ seciety did not oevelop out of a common effort to mold
tinuetl, although Athens and Sparta remained only in- a hostile environment. Nor did it ever achieve true eco-
directly involved. Both sides attempted through diplo_ nirmic or political unity. Greek society rested on d corrlr
nlacy to lure away .each other,s ailies, but internal non culture rooted in Homeric values and devoted to
laclions and instability hampered Athens in its efforts. the survival and life of ti.e separate and independent
54 Chapter 2
 f1
!.
;xrlir;. llut whilc tlrc p rlis Irccarrrc thc silc of rhc first ! For Further Study
rltnrocmrics, ils ilrsrrlar, crtrrrpt'litivc psyclrokrgy rnadc
it rlilliculr. il rrot irrrpr;.,sibk', lor thc Grccks to unilc or Readings :f
Io livt. at pcacc with onc arrothe r. Evcn whjlc <lrivin,r Davics, J<rlrn l(cnyon, Dcmotraqt and Class,tcal Greeca,fi.nrJ
oll tlrt, I,crsiarrs, lnrrclr ol tlrr, Grcck world ha<J si<lcri cd. (Carnb'idge, MA: Harvar(1, l9g)). Covcrs polqtics
t.jtlr tltc crrclny <trrt ol rivalry witlr cilhcr Athcns, :i and nrorc lr<>n 479 IrcE to llic strugglc bclwccn Altrens
sl)arta, ()r (rr)c of tltcir allics. Thc failrtre of Athcrrs_rlr and Tlrt'Irr.s.
Slrarta-to krrgc an cffcctive panhcllcnic alljancc crc- , Carlan, Yvon, Slavery in Ancient Crcece , trans. J. Lloycl
att'<l a powcr vacLlunl that wruld cvcnlually bc fillcd by (lthaca, NYl Corncll, 1988).
tlrc Maccdonians, a ;lcoplc wh<1, although relatcd t<l thc : Just. Rogcr, Women in Athenian Law t/e (Nrw
Crccks, did nor sharc thc ctrllurc <lf the ptrlis. As a re_ ' York: Routledge, 1988). A comprelrcnsivcand trealnreru,
sult, tlrc indcrcndcncc of the polis would bc gravely Oslrornc, Robin, Grete in the Making, 12004791 tct;
cornllr<lnriscd. Athcns itscll lell under the conlrol ol.thc (Ncw Yrrrk: Rourledgc, 1996). Thc origins of Greek5o_
Thirty Tyrants, a group of c<lllabrlrators ,,vho ruled with ciety from the time <lf tle migrations.
SJrarlan support. The Athc,nian enrp!re disintegrated Sarrsone, David, Greek Athletics and the cenesis of Short
ar::j i1s rrade diminished, allhorg{r it remained the cul- {Berkeley: University of Calitor:nia press, lggg).
trrral lrcan of the Grcek world for centurles t() come.
As the next chapter revcals, ancient Greece slands at
Websites "
http ://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook.html :
thc bcginning of Western civilization. Its aestheric ideals
The Ancicnt History Sourcebook. The section Ancient
and its commitment to human self-developmenr, com-
Greecc contains information on every aspect of Greek
pctition, and linear thought transformed everyrhing ir
. life from the Minoans to phitip II of Macedon plus,
touched and laid the fuundations c,f the first character_
complete texts of the ,najor ancienr Greek historians,
istically Western culture. The struggles of the fifth ccn_
including Herodotus and Thucydides.
tury BcE coinci<ted with thc greatest intellectual and
h up : / / home p age.m ac.co m /cparada / G M L/ index. h unl
artistic achievements o. classical Greek crvilizatir_rn. but
Greek Mythology Lir'rk by Carlos parada. A vasr
they also marked rhe b:ginning of its end.
compcndium of text. irnages, and maps. Terrific
', scholarship and resource.
Reuiew Questions l
t
.:,'

. Based on the Documents in this chapter, how did I InfoTtac College iddition
'.
Greek mythology and the poems attributed ro Visit the source collections at http://infotrac.thomson
Homer influence the developrfent of Greek culture? learning.com ar.d use the search functiorr
"wirh
the fol-
. Using Athens as an example, how would you de_ lorving key terms.
scribe the development ()f the polis from its ori_ Using Key Terms, enter the search r .rms:
gins to the emergence of a democratic svstem of Greek history Peloponnesian War
government?
. Why did Spana develope,i into a conservarive mili_ Using the Subject Guide, enter the search term:
tary state? Greek mythotogy
. How did the Delian League become a kind of
Athenian empire, ar.rd how did this development
contribute to the coming of the peloponnesian Wars?

Ancient Greece to the Enil of the peloponnesian Wars j;5

 *
.i}\3
4.

ll^|{l,YClrr|:Cl1nNt)|.I.sN|r|C|-|l]o|{s '4,
-!: '
Tltc Eastcrn Mc<litcrrarrcap linkc<l thc ancicrrt world arxl provitlcd a matrix for thc growlh of civiliz;.rtions in Grc'ccc antl thc ;s
M irl<llc East. Noticc rhcir simultarrcous cvcntsj-thcir bcginrrings, conqucrls. and migrations. Thc rcasons bchind the conncctions,
]I
,\
aswcllaslhcirrelationship.ifany,tothcbcgirrningsofthe lronAgc,rcmainunclcar NolicctoothcctlmpetitionbclwecnGreekc
.rrrtl Phoenicians frrr colonics, . nd Phocnicia's hcad slarl. In Grcccc l)roper, thc lottg period oflcn rcfcrrcd to as thc Grcck Dark Agcs
crrrlctl in rhc cighth ccntury with thc inlnrduction of tht' alphatrct (lhc beginnings of Grcck litcraturc) and the Hoplitc phalanx.
T

] 500 scr -ll-- l4OO Bcg-'/y'- l2O0 sce -#- 8OO scr 7OO sce 60O scr 50C sce 400 acn
G nrece
*Bcginnings of Mincan Civllization on Crete
rMycer.aean Conquest of Crete (l4OO) - +
Greek JJark Ages (c. f2UF8{X))
5:DGffiM
ET
Dorian and Ionlan
Migr-tions
H'
Phrygians Defeat.Hittites
'Introduction of an Alphabet
*flomer's The lliad (fl. 850)
.
nffiitl
Hoplite Phalanx f ntruduced
*Hesiod's Work and Days

Age of Greek Colonization

*First Greek Colony at Naples Ope Is
*Sappho's Poems
*Greek Colony Founded at Marseilles
*Spartans Conquer Messenia

Age of the Tyrants

*Second Messenian War at Sparta .
*Cleisthenes Makes Democratic
Reforms at Athens
rThe Persian lYar
n
The Peloponnesian Wars
(,'r5(F404 BcE)

Mtpprr Eesr
:
'e1
*Begirrnings df Egyptian.€ivilization
*Beginnings of Mesopotamian Civilization

56 Chapter 2
 #$etptn 3
Gnrrn CurruRE Ar{p Irs
F{ rlui\TrsTrc DrrrusroN

r,/
f,.-1h lZl Rce, ar Baclra in whar is now Uzbekisun, Alexander rh,: Great
,{ maried Roxana, a princess from Sogdiana, dividing a loaf of bread with
her according to the local custom. Al'eran.lcr had never been mucb interested
rn women. Hc had led his army ol Greeks and Macedonians to the-furthest
Iimits of the known world, conquering Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Lre persian
Empire. This marriage had nothing to do with love or even with politics in
tire normal dynastic sense. It wa: to be a visible symbol of the unity between
cast and wesr, a r,nity that Alexander believed necessafy if his con<;trests
were to be preserved. By?ll acct,unts, the wedding ceremony offendeil
his Greek followers without greatly impressing his new Asian subjects.
.\lexander died 3 years later far away in Babylon. Shortly thereafter, his gen-
erals rnurdered Roxana and their infant son in an effon to simplify the prob-
lem of Alexander's inheritance; although this piece'of political thea; r ended
badli,, ir was nor enrirell, without meaning.
For all its violence and insecurity, the age of the penian and pelopcnnesian
Wars had been for the Grecks, and in panicular for Athens, a tirne o! unparal-
leled creativity. The inrensity of life in the midst of almost perpetual crisis
called forth rheir best efforts, not only in wdr an<il politics but also in a.rt, litera-
ture, and philosophy. The conquests ofAlexander s-tread Greek culture anC
values to the limits of the known world. The process, however, was one of dif-
f usion rather than imposition. The peoples of the Ivliddle East retainc"!-
their
rlar';:r
own identities while adopring
Greek ideas, and the Greeks
changed through contacts with
ancient siyiliznllgn5 whose :ul,
t ural norms di{lered' radically

from their own. The result was

a rich and cosmopolitan fusion
that is usually referred to as the
Ilellaristic Age.

,t',
 i'j..
lal)lcr 3 bcgit.s witlt a discttssiott ol llrt' art. lilcraltt'e,
rrtl tlrorrgltt protluccd by Crcck civilizaliort at ils l)cak. lt
d
liEl
rS
tlrcrr describcs how Philip It tll'Maccdon look advanlagc i!'

ol Grcc'k distntity lo lay th('ftlttnclaliotts ol a Maccdtlnialt .E

Irrpire, ancl ltow itis son Alcxal.dcr tltc Grcal cxltant'ctl ::6

llrat crrrrlirc to thc ltordcrs of India. li crtrr:'ludcs wlth a {I

dcsrriJrtion ol thc tltrcc grcal Hcllcllistic ki lgdorlrs ihat
wcrc crealcd altcr Alcxandcr's dcath antl ol the vibrant
ctrlt u re tlrey prtlduccd.
I

Artr AND Lt'rrnn'ruRu l,

I}J CLA.SSICAI GNI'NCN

$3O-32O ncr)
Greek Drama. Npwhere were Grcek valttes, social at-
titudes, and conduct more evidcnt than in drama.
Flcunt 3.1 The Theater at Epidaurus. The best pte:ierved
Greek thearer is at lipidaurus in the northeast cornef ol the
Plays, likc athletic contesls, accor,tlxrtied many reli- Pelopon:resian Peninsula. It was built to provide entertain'
gious festivals. Actors who were oiten paid by the city ment for rhose who visited the city's fatrous temple of
performed the plays during the day irr open-ait am- A;clepius, god of healing. The stone seats are built into the
phitheaters that had been donstructed at public.ex- side of a hill. A low sill of white limestone marks off the or-
pensL. Men wbaring masks played all of the roles, both chestra and 5tage, but no attempl has,been made to restore
nrale and female, and spoke their lirtcs in verse. A male the backdrops, stage sets, and other structures behind it. The
acousti:s are so good that, withour raising his or her voice, an
chorus provided explanation and cotnnlentary. In.fifth-
actor,@n be heard irl the rear seats.
century Athens, as many 10,000 people mighi attend a
single performance. The first plays were tral3edies, a I

dranratic form thought to have been inventetl by the

Atlrenian Thespis around 530 nce. The thcmes o' Attic the third century BcE progressed, comedy lost its public
in Atttca,
tragcdl' (the form of tragic drama developed-exceptions
with
tocrs'tno ,rrn.i
o love stories and domestic'situations
or the region of Athens) came rare
whosdplots continue to inspire' modern scriptvwiters.
from niythology or from Homer and drew their dra-
matic. power frcim irreconcilable conflicts. often be- The lnventiou of History in Classical Greece.
twcen the demands of the gods and those of the state or The Gieeks may' also be said to have invented history.
fanrill'. In these plays, the hero. who might be either Earlier peoples preserved king lists and inscriptions that
male or female, sometimes prevails, althoug^r only after recorCed the doings of royalty. The Hebrews chronicled
great suffering. More often he or she is undone by an their ihistory to illun:inate God's pur'poses, but the
-literature. The first
unsuspected personal flaw or by hubris, the pride born Greeks made history a branch of
'of overconfidence. To the audience these dramas pro- writg to do this was Herodotus (Huh-roc!'-uh-tus, c.-
vided not only catharsis, a Grt'ek word meaning emo- aga42O ncE). whose history of the Persian War was
'tional release, but a warning to the. arrogant and to written specifically "to presen'e the'memory of the past
/,'those rnsho would make in-rportant decisions without re- by putting on record the astonishing achievements both
.'gard to their moral complexity. of otrr own and of the Asiatic peoples; secondly, and
Anrong the greatest of the Greek dramatists were more particularly, to show how the two races came into
Aeschylus (Es'-ki-lus, c. 525456 acE). whose tragedies conllict.' The result is both history and anthropology-
are rhe first to have been preserved, and Sophocles an entertaining tour of the aircient world, its cultures,
(Sahf'-uh-kleez, c.495406 ncr), whose Antigone, Oedipus and its myths. The story of the war itself comes only
Rex, Elcctra, and other works continue tb'inspire modern towdrd the end of the book. However, his portraits of
authors. Euripides (You;rip'-uh-deez, c. 484 406 rcr) individual leaders are unfor5'ettable, and he deserves
was nlore popular in the fouith century BcE than in his his title, "the father of history."
own rirne. His later plags diluted the original tragic for- Th,: history of the Peloponnesian Wars by the
mula and led tl"re way to more personal and u:'theroic Atherrian Thucydidds (Thoo-sid'-uh-deez, c. 4604O4
thenrcs. Comedy displays a similar progression. The plays pcr) is,different. Exiled for his role as a naval comman-
of Aristophanes (Air-iss-toff'-uh-neez, c. 45G-388 ncr) der in the ill-fated attempt to relieve Amphipolis,
and his contelnporaries, usually known as thc Old Thucydides was determined to trnderstand the past be-
Comedy, provided political sati;e with a razor's edge. As cause he believed that human nature was constant and

58 Clnptu 3
 rhar lrist,ry tlr.rcrirrt'r('r)(,als itscrf. Ir r;;rc krr'ws
trrc
rrasr. ir rh.rrl<l bc lxrssillk' l, av<li<J sinrilar ,risrakcs in
thc. Irrlurt, (scc Docrrrrrr lrt 3.1 Other culturcs
1. had be_
licvcd that history ntrjvcs in cyclcs ancl that, as
thc lrib_
lical arrtlror of Ec. lcsiaslcs said irr a nolablc
<icparlure
l.r' .lcwislr tradilion, ,,tllcrc is n' new thing trnde r the
sun." Bur rlrc Grccks, beginninli wirh Thucydidcs,
used
rhis ancicnl r.totion to jusrtly the systematicstrrdy
of his_
rory. lr was am()ng thc nr.sl their.achicve-
tr)cnts. Marry of thc beilcr Roman 'riginaihislorians
'f studied
Irisr.ry t, av'id the milakcs .,f thc past, and
the idea.
rcvivcd dr rirrg the Retreissance, remaincd
influcnrial
rrnril wcll inro the lwentieth, century.
Architecture in Classical Greece. Greek arr, 1oo,
scrvcd. public purloses. .{lthoug}fa
fine aesthetic selrse
cxre nded ro eve ryday objects such
as je,welry, armor,
and dec'rared pottery, thc greatest
artisiic achievement
of ancient Greece was its monumental
sculpture and
architecrure. The Greeks builr temples
to the gods who
protected thc polis or tc house the
oracles wlro n trrey
c,nsuhed on all important occasions.
These structures,
r.r,hose function was as much
civic as religious, were
subrle adaptati(r;)s of earlicr Egyptian
or Minoan ideas.
Consrrucrion was basic porr_*d_tintel;
the g-,nius lay
in rhe proportions and the details. an
lnner sancruary
'l::: l:orrsed the statue of the dei,y fo.med the
heart of
the temple. It was surrounded Ly a
colonnade sup_
porting a sloped roof with triangulir
pedimenrs ar each
end. Greek archirects made thJcolumns,
which might ttatrs. {e*
or might not have decorated .rpi,t;,
dle and tapered them genrly to*u.l
;j;er at rhe mid_
the top rf, counter_
acr the optical illusion known as p6t,,//ax,
therebv mak_ does Thucydideb
ing them appear straight. The frieze,
,tr" ."oul"irr",
and the p€diment; were decorated
with sculptured re_
liefs of gods, goddesses, and hero:s.
Sculpture in Classical Greece. Greek sculpture was
concerned almost exclusively *il
,h.;;-,rr"yat of the
hunran.figure. Early statues had a formal,
abstract qual- tastes. Like the conventit.rns of Greek architecture,
ity, with a power and dignity that reflecred they
jecs: gods, goddesses, heroes, their sub- have been restored to tenirorary a"*r""r,..
and athletes. Male figures Uy classic re_
were almost invariably nudes, a preference 'zivals in more modem times.and remain
that reflected an underlying
the Greek_willingness to appear naked oart of the Westem visual tradition.
in games and on
thc battlefield and that non_Greeks found
;;;C;; - Unfonunately, rhat vision may be hisr ,rically mis-
leading. lvlost of Greek arr-was destroyel
the early, or archaic period, fe male by the early
figures were invari- Christians, who saw ir as idolatrous if noi
abll' ,:lorhed. Gradually, during the s]xth obscene, and
cenrury BcE, modern raste has b.,en fornred largely by Roman
sculptors began to work toward a copies.
nore lifelikc image. Painting, which to ntany ancient Greeks
By the fifth century BcE, s(ulprors such as phidias *u, *or.-i*_
(Fid'-ee-us) had achieved a level lorqnt than sculprure, iras been lost enrirely. The
of skill that has never Greeks loved colot and sr'attres preserved
bcen surpassed. but realism war not only in their
their goal. Faces and un{ecorared state were once brilliantly painted.
figures reflect an idealized vision Some
of t rmai b.auty rarely even had pre<.ious stones for ey-es. The overall
seen in ltature. Female nudes, reflecting impres-
a sensuality sion must have bee n very unlike the serene
hitherto seen only in the portrayal of menlbecame appearance
nron. The aesthetic conventions developerl
com_ tliat later generations associated with classicism,
by phidias and
and. rhe. fourth-century BcE master praxiteles the more refined modern critics of tt e eigh
(prax_sit,_ eenth and
uh-leez) trecame the basis of later Hellenisticand nineteenth cenruries would orobably haie
Roman
found the
statues gaudy.

Greek Culntre anil lts Hellenistic Dffision

uni
,l j
 $

t
lh c'msclvcs prinrarily with :!i:
T:

thc physical wqrld. Most of

thcm bclicvcr! thar the
t
r{
scnses provide an unreli4ble
!:
gr'idc ro rr''lity and there-
fore tried to look beneath
appearances l.o discover the
trLtc ,basis. oI matter. With
onc excepti()n, thcy believed
that basis to be a permanent
and unchanging element or
elements. The opposing view
of Heraclituq (Hair-uh-cly,"
tuS, 'c.. 500 ncr)-that the
univcrse was in ? €unStaflt
state of movement-at first
found few supporters. Some,
Iike Thales, argued that all
matter was ultimately com_
Ftcunr 3.2 The Parthenon,.on the A*opotis of Nthens. The most famous--;and
posed of water; other: be-
largest-temples constructed inancient Griece, one.f rhe lieved thai
tfre panhenon *"r i.r,g;.d by the archirect the basic element
Ictinus in pannership with callicrares and dedicated was eanh. Eventually.
in 432 scE to Atheia parrhenos, the pa- Empe-
tron goddess of Athens. Spana invaded Athens docles (Ern-ped'-uh-cleez) of
in the foilowing year u, pu* or the second
Peloponnesian war' The use of tl,e Doric crder
is unusually gru."tut. The magnilicent sculp-
tures that once adorned rhe pedimenrs were carried
Acragas (c. 490-430 zcnl
a*ay Ly'ttr. aritrstr ano nray now be named the four basic ele-
seen in the British Museum.
meitt,; as earth, air, fire, and
water. Later accepted by
r {ristorle. this theory served
Gnntx TrroucHT FRoM THE as tha basis for scientific invesrigation of tfre physical
univcrse unril the scientific revolution of modern
Pnr-SocRATrcs ro ARrsrorr,E times. An alternative view, prtposed at about the same
(c.55O*322BCE) time by Leucippus (Loo-sip,-us) of Miletus ,rnd his

The earliest Greek thought concerned the nature

'univep5,', of the
physical or physics, and was formulated jn
terms that suggest Egyptian or'Mesopotamian
influ- .nci
ence. According io tradition, the sixth_tentury
philosopher Thales (Thay'-reez) of Milerus
introduced
geonr€try and astronomy to Greece after
visiting Egypt.
He may also have encountered there the idea
that the
universe was based ultimately upon water. But
Gr.eek
thought developed differ",ntly front that of rhe
Egyptrarrs rn several importanr respe(.ts.
From rhe be_
gi'nirig, perhaps because of the stru*ure of their
ran-
!ruagc, the Greeks sought lo dernonstrate in the clearest
yrossible way the logical connectior
between srare-
nrcnts. This in turn forced theur to confront the prs[_
lerrr of epistemology, or how we know
wh.t we
know. Can our physical senses be trus:e d, or
can we
understand rhe world only through the inrellect? FlcuXt 3.3 The Architectural Orders, The capitals ar rhe top
Logic,
epistemology, and physics rentain among of a Greek column were always rnade in one of three
the central designs
concerns of Western thought :o this day. or architectural orden. The Ionic :rrder is shown at
the lefi;
the simpler Doric in rhe middle; and the Corinrhian,
with its
The Pre-socratic philosophers. The pre- Socratics decoration of acanthus leaves, on the right. The
Romans
(the philosophers who preceded Socrates) adopted these orders as the European i,ichitects from
the
concerned Renaisr;ance to the present did.

60 Chaptu 3
THg EvolurroN or Grurx SculpTuRE
Crcck sculpture clranged .lranratically during the Persian and have become three dimensional and natural, althorrgh fiill
Pelo;ronnesian ',Vars. Works from the sixth century BcE are idealized. Sculprors still sought to ponray perfect beauty ir a
generally rt ferred lo as Archaic. Ihe figures usually appear in sercnc, atmosphere. Womer were often ponrayed in the nutle.
a full frontal pose or in profile and have a static, {or,nal look. A century later, in the time of Alexander the Great scrqity
Male figures normally appear nude or nearly so; womcn are has been banished. The sculptors of the age used their tect,ni-
Iully clothed. By the middle oI the fifth c€ntury, rhe figures cal mastery to show emotion and violent movement.. .

,*
) The figure on the left is a
kore (masc. koros| Irom the
.'.:1.-ni rn acropolis, c. 52n
ece. Figtrcs of this kind
were used as tomb markers
or votive statues and are
one of the most common
forms of early Greek seulp-
ture. Although more deli-
cately modeled than most,
this piece is still formal. two-
dimensional, and somewhat
abstract. On the righr is a
Roman copy of tlre famor.s
Aphrodite by Praxiteles.
Although the sratue reflects
a certain classical serenity,
the sensualiry,is, by earlier
Greek standards, renrark-
able. In archaic times, only
male figures rvere portrayed
in the nude.

pupil Democritus (Dem-nrock'-ruh-tus), held that oeople who lacked a moral code based on divine reve-
evcrything was conposed of atoms, invisible particles lation. Pythagoras (Pirh-ag'-oh-rus), who founded a
tlrat combined and separated to produce the various school at Croton in Italy around the year 500 scr,
forms of ntatter. Like the arguments of Heraclitus. it taught ethics based in part on his belief in the religious
found little supporr. cult of Orpheus. In the course of his studies, he discov-
If these early philosophers speculated on ethical ered the mathematical basis of musjcal harmony and
rllatters, their writings on the subject have been lost, decided that the fundamental organizing principle of
but the proper conduct of life was vitally important to the universe was numerical. This idea, like his theory

Greek Culture anil I* Hellenistic Dffision 61

il
 i;ii.

llt,tt fftt, lidltlt ft'vnlvt'rl dfttttrrrl rlt(, lr1tr, wpttltl p1.v.

;
\klrlf ol Atlrcnrr, n kitrtl ol ill\tllul(, lol irrlvrrtlt,rl tlrttllgs ltt '
ir rlr'fr'\t llg tn Inlur llrlrrkt,rs, r, rallr(,r r r,r t ir's, t l lr, pl tyr, lr ol sr ir"lr rccs,
rlkrsoplty, o r trl pl
fllotn lr.rrl lrrt,tr 0 tilu(l(.nt ol'Sor'rnlt's nrttl rrrarlu hltn :;r'
"t lte Sophlf,tt$. tl1 thc llltlr ((,nrury ltcti, ntost pt,nplt' tlrc lcarlirrg ('lrala('tcr lrr a scr;cs ol l'anrorrs dlatogueS* T'
rvt'rt' lc*rr'trilt1; llle J)rofl1('al nrts ()l fllutoric irnrl ltrtrsrrl- pltil{rsopl ricirl argrrrrrcrrls irr rlrarrr rtic lorrrr-t hat lrcc;inrc ri
siorr, as wcll os cthlci, f rorrr lrc Sophists. Tlrcsc irirrcr.- .r rnrxk'l ol plril<ts<lplric writilrg li)r cclttrtrics l(, c()lilc. The
f.
.urt t(,fl('lrlF{ fltorgcd hlglr lccr lol llrcir $tlrvle.r's lrrrt ol. r'lr{f0r'llr Sot'r',1(,!i rcllccts tll(, itrtlll(,r'$ vicws, Witlr tlrc "1

lr'rctl rrrlthilrg lcss lltan o ltrcsr'r'iptiorr frlr srrccuss irr ('xcql)tion ol tltt, 'lltna,'rrJ, .r lale r rllahrgrrc tlrat dcals wltlt ,
llri\,iltr nrrd putrllc llfi., Thclr tt'.rt'lrin1;s votlc(1, brrt rrrosl rrrsmokrpy onrl rrr.rlllerrratits, rrrosl ol l'lalo's cliakrg,ttcs 1;
rvrr(, fulrJecllvlefr, As Protirgrlror, tltc lDrr$l l'0rrrorrs cxp,irrc rpr(1,tlrrlrs of cllrlci, r,rllrdtlorr, t{ovcrntil(.rtl, 6fld r
0l ihcrr,r, said, *Man ls the measure., He mcant that iltc rcfiglrrrr. Tl*' Republlc describes thc idcal slare, in which
individual's pcisonal experience, however imperfect in philosophers rule accordinll to tltc highest principlcs of *
an absolule sense, is thc only conceivable birsrs for wisr,rrn, whcrcas the dialoguc 'Prllagzras argues aga;nst ';
knowlr:dge rrr judgnrcnr. Everylhin3 is relative to lhe' the felativi.rrr of thc SoJ.l1i.rr. '
individual's percepti0n. i.
The implications r,f this view we;qprtrfoundly dis- Platonic rdealism. Tlre irrrderlying principle of
turbing. Exrreme Sophists held that truth was objectively Plato's dialogues is the theo,;y of forms (see Document I
unknowable. Law and ev.cn the polis were based on con- 3.2). Plato argued :hat the form of a rhing has an objec- ;
vention and mutual agreement, not fundautental princi- tive rcality of its own. This "universal" or idea of a thing l
ples. Some went so far"as to claim that jusrice was merely ,
exists.apart from any objecr perceived by tlre senses and ,'
the interest of the strong and that the gods had been in- can be -undcrstood only by ,the intelle,,'t. ,B.rcause the
vented by clever men as a ryleans of s<lcial control. senses are deceptive, understanding can be achieved
only through the k.lowledge of forrns. When extended
Socrates. Socrates (Sock'-ruh-teez, c. 470-399 zca) to srrch universal qlaliries as justice or beaurlr, .he the-
wrote nothing. Wandering the srreets of Athens, he ory of forrns becornes the basis for absolute ptandards
asked questions intended to revcal the responder,s un- that can be ap1 rligi to hulnan conduct, botl, public and
derlying assumprions about human values and.institu- priva'te. To Plato; the relativism bf the Sophists was an il-
tions. Using logic and irony, he would then qUes'ion the lusign. Platonic Idealisrn (als<l known as Realism, be-
validit , of those assumptions. cause.it affirnts tltr: reality of ideas) was one pole of the ,
His purpose, unlike that of epistenrological debate that wrrr-rld occupy iv.rt.rn phi- '
the Sophists whgm he other- losophl' {or cenruries. Sulijectivism was the other.
wise resernbled, was to {ind BecaLuse the argumenr dealt with what was real and
an objective basis for ethical whdt n'as knorn: able, the position of philosophers on
and political behavior. He epistemology influen'ced and in some cases determined '
made no promiser and took theil view of everything else,
no fees, but his qr,tesrions
wqre rarely ope4-enJed and Aristotle and the Study of Logic and Science.
made people feel foolish. Arigiotle (Air'-'-rs-srot-uhl. 38.t-322 nce) was the mosr :

Socrates tried the patience famous of Plato's pupils. After studying at platd's
of the Athenians severely. In Acaderny until,Plat-o's death, Aristotle served as tutor to
399 scn, they executed him the future conqueior Alexander the Great. In 336 BcE, '
for corrupting the youth of Aristotle established his own school at Athens-the
Athens and inventing new Lyce^unr. His followers were known in later years as the.
gqds. The charges were Peripatetics after the covered walkway or peipatos un-
Socrates
largely speciclus and rt fle.cted der{whiclt th('y mel, Most'of the enormous body of .

Athenian wariness of chal- wot'k attribured to him appears to be deri ,zed from.lec,
lcrrges to the polis-Socrates, although himself of hum- ture notcs and other nraterials collected'by the
ble origins; {avrlred arislocracy as the ideal form of gov- Peripatetics in the course of thgir studies.
crnment and mocked democratic notions then in favor. Although he accepted Plaro's theory of forms, Aristotle
rejected the notion that they were wholly separate from ,

Plato. As a young man from an aristocratic Athenian empirical reality. He relied heavily upon observation, es-
fanrily, Plato lPlay'-toe,428-i47 acE) toyed with the idea pecialll, in his scientific work. Flis basic viewpoint, how-
ol a political career unril the aftermath of the Sicilian ex- eveq remained, like Plato's, te,leoiogical. Both thinkers, in
pedition and the execurion of Socrates convinced him that other rvords, believed that things could be understood i

ptllitics was inconrpatible with a good. conscience.' Around only in relationr to their end or purpose (telos in Greek). To
the year 387 scE, he founded The Academy on the out- Aristotle, for example, action"; must be judged in terms of ,

62 Chaptr 3
 l.

The par:rble of -hc cave describes

in graphic terms t}'s difference be-
tween ser se perctptions and real-
ity, which can be perceived onrT
through thought. The caye is a
metaphor for'the world of sense
rr ' impressions in whi& nothing
is as
,.",1,1 it appear5, and to plato all people

; are prisoners within ft. The author

'i' is speaking tohis friend Glaucon.
"Piauiirten dweA*g in a sorr of
subterranean cavern with 4long en-
"i trance gpen to the light on its entiri
j':, :i':" ;;;.-;;:,
. . .. wath. Conceive off',:;;';;;;;
llqqn as having
tleir legs and nicls fetterea gon "hitdhood, so thit they reruain
in the ume spot, able to look forward onty, ana pr*eitla by the .

pinure
Itter fron turning theirlwads. further ttn ttgt t 1ri^ o
fire burning hlgher up and at a distanu behind them, and be-
tween thcfre and the pisonen and above
them a road along
which a low wall has been built, as the exhibiurc
of puppet-shows
have partitions before tru men themserves above
which thn show
the puppeu."
ti'
-,,r.". ,

tire resuh rhey produc., un .thicJl principle rhat in

rne- rensively on brology, phy;ics, and human psycholcgy
dieval rimes would form the basrs of natuial law.
In poli_ and was responsible for collecting and tiansmittiig
tics, this. led him to an impassioned defense
of the poiis as mucir of what is known about the pre-socratic philoso_
the best form of social organiz-ation. Although theie
con_ phers. His method was to observe natural phenomena
tributions to ethics and
-rolitics *.r. .rror.riously impor_ and to understand them in terms of what he called the
tant, Aristotle's greatest influence lay elsewhere.
'four causes.- These were not causes in the modern
.sense but rather aspecrs of a problem that had to-oJ
Logic. The process by which statements are formed
considered in its solutioir. The four causes are the mat-
,and relate to one another. that is, logic, was central to
ter our of wbich a thin; is made (material cause), its
Greek discourse. Aristotle was rhe fiist to analyze
this form or shape (formal cause), the purpose ,it is in_
process and, in so doing, codified a logical
method that tended ro fulfill (final cause), and the force thar brings
dominared formal thought until rhi twentierh cen_
it into being (efficienr cause).
tury. Irs basis is the syllogism, an argument that in
its These causes are di:,covered by logical inference
simplesr form says thqt if all A is e anO all C is
A, rhen from empirical observations. Aristotle made no effort
all C nrust be B. A tradirional example is: .All men are
nr<lrlal. Socrates is a nran. Therefofe. Socrates
to create predictive muthematical models based on
is these inferences and did not artempr to verify thcm
Morlal.- Aristotle wenr far beyond this, and his six
through experinrent. His method was therefore unliiie
treatises ol logic, known collectively as the
O.rganon, rhat of modern science and produc.d diff....rt results.
describe many types of syllogisms, the formarion
and Scienrists no longer believe that the process by which
categorization of statements, and the nature of lan_
a physical change occurs can be fully explain.d Uy it,
guage irself.
final cause or teleological purpose. Since the seven_
teenth century they have asked different questio;rs
Science. In the physical sciences. Aristotle,s influence
and have rejected most of Aristotle,s conclusipns
dominared thought until the scientific revolution
of about the behavior of matter. Still, Aristotle,s observa-
the sixreenth and seventeenth cenluries. He wrote
ex_ tions and hypotheses set the agenda for more than

Greek Culture anil Its Hellenistic Dffusion 63

 folpwing the passages from the trachea throughout the ': " ,6
w4-tte lungs. Si
11S. -
ffirlunl has more blood than all the other parts, for the whole d
lup is snoW, and through ea.:h perforation brancfus of the ' :*i: tl
ggept vein proczed. ?hose persons are deeived who say that the '?
lgils are empty, drawing their unctuiions from disseaed ani- 'i,
which all blood has escaped.'Qf all thc uiscera, the ',I'i' '*
K!,frt*
frf;rt ako ontains blood, and in the lungs th.: blood is not in ,t $
th(iungs themselves but in the vehs.by which th ry are perfo-
'&i
rutcd, But in the hea.t itself the btood is In each uf the uvities; ,1,
but.the thinnest blootl is in the mil.dle caviti'.
ii
.1.
5. Bgneath the lungs is that division o.f the tninkwhi:1.,is called
tlQiliaphragm, It is united n the ribs, the hypoch.,,tdriac re-
gttil', and the spine. In the center is a sfiooth membranow .l
.?
ffifr
.:
and there are viins enenaing through it.
'.':
FromAristotle,'History ol Animals " in Source. Book of Mediul ::
-.
-"i
Hbuty, ed. Logan Clgndenning (New lork: Dovcc 1960, pp.
tt 7,l.
.i
.i.
,i:
Quection: How does Aristotle's refusal to dessibe how
this rinatomical system actually worked reflect the basic
stancb of nearly every Greek scientific philosopher with the
excepdon of Heraclitus?

1,000 years of speculation, while his teleological bias

The Decline of Greece
and preoccuparion with qualitative descr:ptions (the
material and formal causes) was a compelling. if not al- The Theban Hegemony. The end of the pelopon-
ways productive, influence on later thought. His insis- nesian Wars had left the Greek states under the politi-
tqnce on careful observation.a.nd logically gonglrycted cal influence of Sparta. The Spartant;, like the
argument remains a part of the scientific tradition to- Athdnians before them, soon made themselves hated
day. No other thinker has had such a powerful impact by interfering with the interSral policies of their alliei.
olr laler generations Athens and Thebes combined against them, and in
371 rBcE a fheban'army undei the command of
Epaininondas (Epp-pam'-in-on-dus, c. 4I0-162 acr)
TH r MncEpoNrAN CoNqursrs defeated the Spartans at Leuctra. Sparta's role as a ma-
jor power ended, and'a new cra oi military innovation
ro 325 sct began. Epaminondas had given careful thought to a pe-
culiarity of hc plite warfare. Hoplites carried their
Aristotle lived in the twilighr of classical Greek civiliza- shields on the left. In combar they shifted toward the
tion. Although he probably did little ro inspire them, right, away from the point of impact. This threw the
the exploits of his pupil Alexander of Macedon, known phalanx out of balance, but the consequent strength-
as Alexander the Great, changed the prolitical struc- ening of its right side meant that the right frequently
ture of the Greek world and spread Greek values ancl won. the bartle. Epaminondas took advantage of this
ideas throughout the Middle Easr. Inevitably, those val- oddity and weighted his phalanx heavily to the left.and
ues were changed and diluted in the process, and the held back the right. This unbalanced formation, sup-
culture that emerged from the MaceConian conquests porteC by cavalry on his right flank, enabled him to
was at the same time more cosmopolitan and less in- crush the Spartans at their strongest point and envelop
tense rhan that of the ancient polis. them. Ihe use of deep formations, effectively supported

64 Chopter 3
 #l
\

,\
,, irr Mcst)lx)lanlia wlrcrr rhc schcmcs ,rt'rheir a'irrio,.,
' utrploycr nriscarricd. A lcadcr of lhc cxpeditior$ tht
Alircrrian
' (c'. $1-350 writcr antl military lhcorist Xcrro+phrlrr
Hcl) lclr a riviiJ a(.counr of thcir march b tht
lllack Sca coasl ar)d salcty. Xt,rrophon a rcl rh,e care'br ot
,,. [lltarninorrdas slrow t'rat Grcck fighting nren ha{, losr
nolhinll ol thcir skjll and valor. Thc arristic. and intcl.
-, lcctiralaclticvirlcnts ol the fourth ccntrlry scr denron.
stralc ti)ai rhe culture was alivc and well. But forall its
cvidcnt vigor, Grcecc had bccome a political uu.,i,,rn.

Philip II of Macedon and the End of Greek

Independence. Thc Macedonians filled that vacr, um.
Ancient Macedonia octupied the broad plain at tht
hcad of the Thermaic Gulf in northeasteri Greece. It:
peoplc lpoke a dialect of Greek, but their sclcial and po_
litical instirutic,ns Ciffered from those of the pcleis. ihe
population was almosl entirely rural and, by Greek
starrdards, widely scattered. Rich pastures encouraged
tlre raising of horses. Macedonian society y,,as therefore
dominated by a landholdrng arisrocracy that fought on
horseback, usually against the neighboring hill tribes
whose raids posed a f_.onstant threat to ttre couritrv,s
borders. Heredirary kings tried ro rule with or *iti,oui

FlcrrRl, 3.4 The Theban Forma;iort. The rop drawing shows

" coopcration from the aristocracy, and internal strife was
thc rraditionai patiern of hoplirc warfare with rhe shicld
I contmon. To other Creeks, the Macedonians seemed
of cach lirrmarion slowly giving way as the battle
side : primitive, but their l-rorneland was rich in timber, min_
develops.
Thc lrolt<tnr drawing shows how Eparnin<lndas weighrcd
: erals, and agricultural res()urces. Many believed that iI
his
roflratiOn "t Leuctra t() crush the Spartans al their str()nsesl Macedon could achieve stability, it would one day be-
point (the "weapon side,', or right). a major power. ,
' corne ,'
Philip tI (382436 nce) achieve.l that goal. philip
was a younger son of the Macedonian :oyal family who,
while a hostage at Thebes, had observec' the militarv re_
for rhe first time by cavalry would be greatly expanded
forms of Epaminondas. His brother dieo in 359 ncl and
b1, rhe Macedonians.
left Philip as regenr for rhe yourhful ,heir, ,{.myntas IV.
Although supported by the relative wealth of Boeotia,
Cunning and energetic, philip used his-position to re_
Theban hegemony lasted no longer tharr thar of the
move political rivals and suppress rhe loial hill tribes. In
Spanans. The Athenians h.rd revived their alliance . 357 through 356 scr, he. seized Amphipolis and 1hen,
svs_
tem in the years immediateli before Leuctra and, fearing
Mt. Pangaeus with its ricl deposirs of gold and silver. At
Tl-reban ambition, soon turned it against Epaminondas.
about this time he also usurped his nephew,s throne.
81' 362 BcE, the peloponnesians had also reconstituted
With his political I ase sicure, and fortift.a Uylir.
thcir confederacy, and although Epaminondas defeated
wealth of Mr. pangaeus, philip noved to extend his
thc combined forces of Athens und Sprrtu at Mantinea,
lre tlied in the bartle. Deprived of his ieadership. Theban
r power over Greece as a whole. Through warfare,
, bribery, and skilled oiplomacl,, philip piayed upon
nrilirary power declined. Without rhe stimr,rlus of
fronr Thebc.s or Sparta, the .seconcJ.'Athenian Empirc
rhreats the disunity of the Greeks. The Atrreniin o.ito,
Demosthenes (Duh-malts,-thuh-neeze) tried to rallv
crlllapsed and Greece revcrred to rs tradirional
starc t,f them with his philippics. a series of speeches attacking
tlisorganizaIion.
Philip as a ruthless barbarian, but by this time it wai
too late {or them to mount an effective resistance. In
Economic and political Decline of Greece. A cen-
ace, Philip defeated a poorly organized army of
trrry of warfare had brought economic decline and :.38
social , Thebans and Athenians at Chaeronea and became
lcnsion to the Greek cities. The Carthaqinians encroached
master of the Greek world. For rhe most part, philip
trpon their ovenieas markets while the Greek cokrnies
in , wore -ris new authority lightly. He secured u
Itall,becarne, of necessity. more self-sufficienr. As exports ' of acceprance -.usu.L
not interfering in local politics, but
dinrinished, thousands of Greeks sought employmenr ' his plan to leadbythe united Greeks ,rgainst persia did
.as nrerceltaries. One such group found itself stranded not marerialize in his lifetime.

Creele Culture and Its Hellenistic Dffision 65

.f
 I
ilitary t-cgacy of Philip ll' I'lrilip ll lcfi a formi- crrpcr<tr'Daritts a1 Isstts in prcse n''day Syria opcned the &

bk'lcgac'y. Nol only did hc t:lritc tltc Grccks, but lrc way to Phocrricia and Egypt. When'Ilrc and Gaza f'rll to J

r t rcatt'd lhc army with wlrich ltis son Alexandcr lll, tlre sicge engitr':s tlf thc Grecks, ligypt surrcndcred and
lrc (irc'at," wrlrtl<l c()r1(ltlcr trtttsl ol tlte ktrrlwlr world. Daritts offcrcd hinl evcrything wcst of the Euphratcs
rc lrc'art ol lhc Mac"clottiatt arll)y rclllaincd sonlc Ilivcr in rettlrlt l<lr lrcace. Alcxandcr, nrlw pharaolr tlf'
,000 cavalry arntcd willt swrtrd alrtl spcar, the so-callerl Egypt, rclused. Aftcr establishing a ncw Egyptian capi-
of thc king. Thcy wcre supported by in-
Irrrlrarriorrs tal, wh[ch hc named Alexandria aftcr hi;nself, he in'
nrry (lrawn up in the Maccdonian phaianx, a forma- vade d Mesopotamia.. Anothc'r victory ovcr the Persians
iorr rlrat dillcrcd substantially frotrl that of rhe hoplires. at Gaugarnela in present-day Iraq (331 ucr) opened the-
' t)casanls of Macctlonia cLruld not afford hoplite way ltr Babylon and ultimalely t<,' the Persian capitals of
iqrriprncirt, and lhcir geogrdphical isolation made in- Susa and Perseryrlis (prescnt-day Iran), whcre he was
Irsivc training difficult. Philip solved these problems by named Fmperor of Persia. After Darius was assassinated
rrarrg,,,,o 1,,., nren in deep formations and arming them by one of his own governors, Alcxander spent 3 years
irh spcars krnger than those used by the hopiites. l"y fighting in the east beforc his army lnutinied and forced
g,lrring in tightly closed ranks, the Mac-edonians could him to turn toward home. By this time he had pcne-
thcrclry prcsent an almost inipcnetrable front withottt tratc'd into wltat is now India.
hr: nccd lor highly specialized combat ;kills. . Nearly all of Alexander's maj<lr battles, on the
' lioplitcs were added to the Macedonian ranks as Granicus in Asia Minol at Issus in Syria, at Gaugamela
Philip's system of alliances grew. He also rt cruited mer- on the iipper Tigris, and on the Hydaspes in lndia, were
cenary hursemen from Thessaly, whic-r bordered brilliant cavalry actions in whi:h the infantry played
Macedon on the south, and supplemented his infantry only a secondary role. His sieges were consistently suc-
ith slirrgers, bovvmen, and javelin th,'owers. T\e ge- cessful, and his ability to hold a multiethnic army to-
nius of Philip (and Ale.xa.nder) lay in the ability to co- gether on hard campaigns in ur'familiar territory attests
ordinatc these varied elements and to make even the to an €xtraordinary capacity for leadership. Even after
cavalry fight as a disciplined tactical unil instead of as the Macedonians mutinied and demanded to return
individual champions. But the Macedonians were home, he preserved their loyalty by officially making
equally atlentive to the problems of siege craft. Philip them his kinsmen.
introcluced 1<l the Aegean world the techniques and His purposes, however, are not entirely cleat.. Many of
siegc engines developed by Dionysius, the [rant of his contemporaries sarv only personal ambitior. Arrian,
Syracuse, and used them successfully against lerinthus the chlonicler of his campaigns, said, "if he had'lc'und no
and tsy'zantium. He was planning an attack on the one else to strive with he would h,ave striven wiih hittr-
Persiarr Errpire when he was assassinated in 336 scr' self." Others, inciuding Plutarch,, detected mr"re noble
possibly at the instigation of his wife. nrotives \see Alexander the Greatl . Alexander's publicists
encouraged the notion of a vast state based on universal
brotherhood. He pro:laimed the equality of all subjecrs
Alexander the Great regardless of religion or ethnicitl and gave this policy
In 10 years \134424 rcE). Philip's son Alexander used tangible form by marrying Roxana,. a princess from
this formidable army to conquer the Persian Empire and Sogdihnh in central Asia.
extend his authority from Greece to Egypt and from H.jotuy also h-ve hoped to spread the benefits of'
Egypt to lndia. Alexander's Hellerfic culture, but Jre seems to have stressed this only
military exploits have rarelY in dealing with Greeks. Not all Greeks were convinced.
becn equaled, but his charac- They resented his acceplance of loreign customs and his
ter rc'ntains sonething of a tendepcy to claint, divine attribut:s when dealing with
mystery. After putting down a castemers. His idualism, if such it was, was accompa-
rebellion anong the Greeks, nied by utter ruthlessness and by a casual brutality ag-
the 22-year-old Alexander gravatcd by heavy drinking. When he died in 323 scr
marcl.red rtrlo Asia Mirior at at the age of 32, he left'no successors and only the most
the head of about 37,000 geneial plan for the governancc of his realms.
men. In ll4 scE, he defeated
the Persians at the Granicus
River in what is now TtrrkeY, Tnr Hnlr,rNISTlc KtNcPoMs
and in the following year, he
gained control of the Ionian
(323-330 scl) .

citics of the eastern Aegean. In The Division of Alexander's Empire. Alexander's

l3l, his victory over a supe- death led to a prolonged struggle among the Macedonian
rior lorce under the Persian Alexanilq generals. Although Roxana was pregnant when he died,

66 Chaptu 3
 dorns dillcred widely fror
3.1. THs CoNqursrs oFAT.S>InNDER THE Gnrnr (SS+SZ4
scr) ANn rHr Hrr,lgNrsrlc Klrlcpoaas fHnr for.1oweo
0nc arr<l1lrer. If 1he l<inr
. dorn:; slra.cd a certai, v,
sclcuc,.l rnonrrchy f
nccr ol Greck culturc,; tltt,
@l l,rr,lrnraic monarchy
,-, ,,, ,!n" ,,( n$uc | ,r",,,,,uu r*ugua llrotllerrrs wcrc Unique ar
! 1,"rg,,,,,"n" molarchy
I nnrigonid rronarchy
lor rrtorc tIr.tn it cehtu,
lhcy rrraintained a rivalr
that sornctimcs degencratr
lnl() ()l)cn war.

Foreign Policies of th
Hellenistic Monarchie
The chief foreign policy go
of the Ptolcmies was to prr
tect the Nile delta from fo
eign invasion. This require
the maintenance of a larp
navy and; from the Egyptia
point of view, control ovr
Phoenicia and the STria
coast, which supplieC th
Alexander's armies marched several thousand miles in the
fleet with timber and navr
coruse of his conquess. The stores. The Seleucids resiste
Hellenistic kingdoms founded by his generals remained
under the control of their de- Ptolemaic claims to Svr,a bt
scendants until the rise of Rome iq the first century
BcE.
cause they needed th
Mediterranean ports t
maintain rheir trade with th
tncre was ncl immediate successor. The commanders at
west. After a series cf rvars, the Selerrcids ultirnatel
first divided the empire into governorships, wirh the in_ gained control of both S1,ria and palestine, but not befor
tention of preserving it for the conqucror,s unborn heir,
the Antigonids, too, became enran$ed in the neb t
but they soon fell to fighting among themselves. In the Ptolemaic diplomacy. Fearing an alliance between th
civil warr that followed, Roxarr-a and her solt, rogether ' Seleucids and the Antigonids. the ptolemies supporre,
rvith several of the generals, were murdered. Tlrree main
the growth of pergamum as a buffer state between th
successor states under Alexander,s generals A ntigonus. . two kingdoms and, whenever possible. stirred up ..nri
Seleucus, and ptolemy emergecl from the sharnbles.
Macedonian sentimenr in Greece. This usually m_.an .

l\lacedon, much of Asia Minor, and a dominant position

support for one of the two leagues of city_states tha
in the Greek alliance fell to Antigonus (3g2_301 acE). formed in third-centrtr)/ Greece: the Aetolian League ir
The descendanrs of prolemy (d. 2Sl scr) ru,ed Egypt as
the west central part of the'Greek peninsula and thr
iis Thirty-Third Dynasty until the dearh of Cleopatia in
?n Bc:, while Seleucus (d.2gl
Achaean League, headed by Coiinth, in northen
ncr) establishecl an empire Peloporrnese. Eglprian policy collapsed when, in abou
based on Sl,ria and Mesopotanria.
AIi three dynasries, the antigonids (An-rig,-o-nids),
. 230 BcE, the holemies also formed an alliance vzitl
Sparta. The frightened Achaeans turned to tht
rhc Ptolemies (Tol'-uh-meez). and the Seleucids (Se_
.Antigonids for help. and the ptolemies, under attack b1
Ioo'-sids), are called Hellenistic, as is the er.rirc period
the Seleucid king, Antioc\us III, -the Great," could dt
from their founding to the death of Cleorrarra VII of nothing to prorect the A.'tolians. In the end Antiochu:
Egypt in 30 scn. The term itself v,as coined in rhe nine-
conquered Syria, phoenicia, and palestine, and tht
teenth century and seems to havt implied a clilution,of Aetolians allied themselves with a new power ther
Greek values, I)articularly those o. rhe polis. If so, it is
emereing in the west: Rome.
unduly patronizing. Thc Hellenisric period was one of The struggles amcng the Hellenistic kingdoms, al-
tunprecedented cultural borrowing and transrnission.
though occasionally dramatic, seem ro have had littlt,
Icleas, religions, and artistic morifs from Egypt and
the impact on everyday life. The most important social ancl
l\4iddle East fused with those of rhe Greeks and spread
economic effect was a periodic influx of slaves into tht,
throughout the Mediterranean rnrorld. Science. philoso_ labor market as one side or the other succeeded in tak_
phy, and the ans flourished. But the term is unfortu_
ing large nunrbers of captives. As a result, slavery be-
nate for another reason. It implies a uniforntity that did
came increasingly important to the Hellenistic econ_
n()t exisl. Politically and socially, the successor king_ omy, forcing free laborers into marginal occupations or

Greek Culture and Its Hellenisttic Dffision 67

 ALExqNDEF, THE Gnmr
Alcxarrtlcr's character and motivcs ntystified his c,rntempo- Iogethc; from every land, ,ombining) as it were in a loving cup,'
raries. 'l\ayo very differcnt picturcs of ti,c conquerorican
be thair livcs, customs, mar-iages. and manners of tiving. . . :
Io,rnd irr w<lrks by the same author, It is n<lt impossible,
of For he did not cross Asia like a robbe:,., nor did he have it in
corrrsc, rhat thc sclf-indulgcnl violencc'described by rrind lo ravage and a 'spoil it for the booty and loot presented by
Plurarclr in his Life of Alexander could coexist with rnotjves of
such an unheard-of stroke of fortune.. .lnstead.he conducted him_
thc highesr kind. But was Arexander's devotion ro universal self as he did out of,t desire to subject all the races in the world to
brorherlrood a pr<-,paganda. ploy Jesigned to funher his per_
one rule and one form oJ governmen4 making all mankind a single
sonal arnb rions? Those who knew him could not be
sure. peopla. Had not the divinity that sent Alexa,der recalled his
soul so
soon, tircre would have been a single law, as it were, watching over
A Positive View of Alexaniler\ Conquests all mqnkind, and all men would have looked to one form of justice i
as ilrcir ommon suL:rce of light. But ,tow. that portion of the wuild ri
Plurarch, who wrote the important Life of'ffixande4
believed that nytr'beheld Alexanier has remained as if deprivzd of the sun.
in rhe conqueror's..civilizing" mission and dedication to the ,;

unjversal brotherhood of humankind. In this Oratio 'i

lspeechl From Plutarch, "De Alexandri Magni Fonuna ast Vinute, Orario I,,
he makes the best possible case for his hero,s motiyes. in Sounes in Westen. Ciilization: Ancient Greece, ed. and trans.
Trues{g$ S. Brown (New york: The Free press
Alexander did not follow Aristotle's arlvice to treat the Greek [Simon 6 Schuster],
as 1965, pp. 199-2001.
a leadet the barbarians as a mastq, cultivating the as
former 'i
friends and kinsmen, and treating the latter as animals or plants. :::
Had he done so his kingdom would have been with warfare,
Alexaniler Murilers a, Friend
filled
banishments and secret plots, but he regarded nimself as divinety
Plutarch was well aware of another side of Alexander,s per_
senl to mediate and govern the world And those whom he
failed sonality. In this extract from his Life of Alexander, the con_
Io win over by persuasion he overpowered in arms,
bringing them queror appears as violent, drunkea, and superstitious. lt also

outrigl-rt unemployment. By the end of the third cen_

IuF\/ the ciiies of all three kingdoms were struggling
BCE,
The Seleucid Monarchy
rvirh rhe social problems created by poveny. The Seleucid kingdom absorbed most of these ambitious
folk. Alexander had esrablished almost seventy Greek
Creete under the Antigonids citiesin what had bee4 the persian Ernpire. He sought
to provide homes for his veterins and ior those fleeing.
In the Antigonid kingdom, life wenr on largely.as be_ overpopulaticln in their native lan j. He also hoped to es-
fore. alrhough without the endless warfare of Greek tablish'trustworthy cenrers of administration in a vast
againsr Greek that had characterized the classical pe_ region populated by dozens of different ethnic and reli_
rioti. Under Maccdonian rule the states retained their gious groups. The Seleucids greatly expanded this policy.
separate identitiel,, but loss of control over foreign and The new cities rrieC to Cuplicate as far as possible the life
nrilirary affairs blunted rhe intensiry of their political of the polis. ln the years after Alexander,s death, the
lifc. N<lt even the formaticn of the Achaean and wealth extractcd front his conquests paid for the con_
Aetolian leagues could restore it. Economic decline struction of renrples, rhearers, atrd other public buildings
conrinucd. Poor yields as a result of erosion and soil ex_ in the Greek sryle. Greek law and Greek political insti_
harrslion forced l;,ndowners to compensate by experi- tutions were inrposed, but these cities, for all their mag_
nrcnring with fertilizers and new agricuhural tech- nificence, rentained ctrltural hybrids thronged with peo_
niqrrcs. These methods were modestly successful, bu, ple of many cuhures. Ur-rlike rhe citizens of a polis, ihey
for sntall farmers their cost was prohibitive. Large es_ hacl neither gods nor an.cestors in common.
lales, nrany of them worked by slaves, became more
contnton. For thousands of Creeks. service as nterce_ The Greco-Macedonian lllite. The Seleucids re_
naries or as administrators in the other Hellenistic kirrg_ spected the cuhural and religious sensibilities of their
donrs rentained the most promising route to success. subject: but preferred to rely on Creek or Macedonian
!
68 Clnpter 3 i;
r,l
s
fl
 *
.,4&,

rcvcals that the tension

belwcen the Macedonians and
Alexander,s ncw Asian subjeos 'tl'e Macedonians and not pay ,.oh,
,""r'lrr'rr.uter than thc for ir?',
pay for it,', Cleitus retorted...Jusr
but we Macedonians drd
Oratio seems to suggcsr,
our eJlons . . .,. [After much more
rhink of th;rr*";r;;;;;;r;l
After the wmpany had dru.nk of thi;] Atex;t:,ii, ,ou{ ,o tongb
r good deal somebody began afirol his rage: he hurled one of ti, opitu
lhe verses of a man named pranichr, to sing on ,i, hit him, r,.
make fun of some Macedonian
. .-. *i,ri io been witten to
then tookd around
for hk.aagger one ,ii,, uii"ro,
"Otr, . . .
had,,;
defeated by the barbariat
ammonden *io"i)o ,rontly been already.removed it ou,/ oJ nara?
way. and the other crowded
,;^ and bess,:d him to he quiet . ... n, iirii,,iiirrn*a
fenseat,iir..,tr,i',r]r;::::it;f:::;:r:ll:#:,;#r{ |yi.1
tlve way . . . Alexander seized a tnen, *)_
with obvious pleasure and
bld the man ,o rniinoi.' cpn*, .reitusa"r,";;;*r';::,;':;:n;r::;,;{y;r1#i*f " ^_^ -rr,;
had atready drunk bo much
nature, beume angrier than
*no
a,d w4s ,r;;;;;;;,'r,-tempered
by
h!:nthrough. with a roar of poia
ona a groon.-wn)
::
ewr and shoutd that it was (c;me tu himself
and saw his friends stariing
teU*naul ,
Maedonian; not right onouni nim speechless
for to be insulted in,o, prrur* rii^iiono,u:tnd he snaxhed thc u,eapon
emies, even en_ out of th; dcad body and
if they had me plunged it into his own would have
tlan ;0" t;
t hwe ;;;' #;,:;:f;# f;Ii;:;::Xf ff: by seizins a, n",*
throa-r ir,n,
ii ",,,)-],-l',"--1."i
:il'Ii;:;Tfrhad
notfo.stailed.hin .
{,ot,::was tryins to disstyie coiarai or;,;;rr,
. There he spent the rest of the
pkading his own case.
Aithis ckit^ **ri ,l'irrfe;
he must be
,:.{,
rirn,
o:, in an agony of remorse.. a, ur, "na
*, _ili'i'i[r'8,,o*_
back, 'ya, it war my cowarai" ana shouted n, ui ,liotrrua
tnot ,orri"rririii.'1", ut:prtlg by srief,
groans but unable rc speak
yourcelf
.the
son of the gods, wneu
who cail
you were tuming your
.deep
ak:rmed at hk silence,
a *ri,'*i, ni, friends,
Spithridate's sword. And back to forccd thri, iay into'iir'r#, u, poia ro
it k the hleer' sy 111ese Macedonians ,:
ylli! .f(t you so great that you disown your
.. .
:y::: yh:: :ry of them said, except when eiianaer the di-
inaae
ctatm,to be the "own father and
son of Ammon (the ngyptAn
goili:-' ::;;f;;::,'l'i;,;!!,i,'!i'i,iiifol"::i#:beenor-
These words made ,llexander
yriiur. ,,;;-;**,.
he c.ried out,
"do you think you
can keep on speaking From Plurarch. .Life of Alexander,-
of me like this and stir up in The Age ofAlexander trans.
Ia.r Scott-Kitven (Harmondswonh,
trK. p."irii nrrt.
"iltr,,

solcliers and adnrinisrrarors

for the
,l gover.ing. The Greek poprruil""day_to_day blrsiness mained neglgible. Village
tie cities, rein_ socicties retained their tra_
torced unril rhe second
..;;t;.;fi,,rn,g.u,ion
"rt ditional strucrure even.when
from tfr"y U...r.re part of the
creece. formed a dominanr, royai domain and naid taxes
hesive, elite. Their.own
ufihough,rr,; especially co_
Royal grants allotted,o*.
ai...riv-i" the crown.
origins *.i. alu.rre and
their of tfr._-;;. cities while
perspective essentially orhers became leeally ,uur..t
rional ries ro their new
caree;st. rn.r r.r*.0 few
emo_ landholders. The iorms .land
i.;'u ;"#r, .oi. privare
ho;nes of tenure, taxation,.and
pared ro go elsewhere
if ";;,;;;; usually pre_
oppor,u"iiv^trr*ked.
provincial a tlm.inistration
were t igfrf V il".rr..
Syrians. persians. and
nabydrii;;;';i"^*ade up The the
The Seleucid Emnire survived
tor nearty 300 years,
bulk of the population, adopted Iargely because its cities
urro p.oui.r.";;;
clrsro*s whire retaining their
, f"* ii."t ideas and basis for resisrance to the common
o*n .uirJJ idenrities. ""
..o*rr,-u.rJ bl*_uur"_u.rtit
the coming of the Fomans_it
faced no serious outside
Seleucid Societv. The-result thr3ars. The conflios with
tfre profemie,;;.. palestine
was a cosmopolitan so_
ry.lreld togerhei rargery and syria and with the
cie
by mirirary
-f,inrln'aing
force, The cities Antigon;;;;;; pt.r,rrions of
rcrnaincd unsrable amalgams Asia: Minor wt re lar
,,i erhnic t^t':,,t-tj:lqo bt ll-t. eilrly second
cenruly scE. Border
;i;;;: lfi:,ilx ;'.:i'j':'l# ,ill:i:
illl^r:,1,'""s sroups. rn+ nuo ,r,.i,
rrons and popular assembiies
sessions of rhe king and
admi,nisrra_
uu, *.r.]i.g"ily the pos_ "# and.in A,i,
royal adrninistration
had to o"ri*iiiiim through
enrissaries ro prorec their empire ra ir ed to ;;;,:,1f1:::iil
rnon. Koine, a universal
interesi;. ;;;;were com_
cosmcpolitanism "offered
:?T::ffi .i:.,li:
Greek dirt;.;";;;lved as at least'ro_.--of them in-
language of rrade and.admini;;;;'b* the creasr-d opportunities for
profit.
displaced Aramaic or the never fuily
Middle Easr.
o,t., ,*g""", ,n. ancient Ttade and the Economy.
In the countryside, Gleek"iinfl,,ence Untir the disorders of the
re_ first c..'ntury acr, the eastern
empire enjoyed ,relative
Greek Culture and lts ttril*irti, D!ffus;ion 69
 *'
".i
i,
'.:
t'4

s
1,
vcrgblly adntirc<i. Among thosc who rcsislcd it tnosl pcr-
sistlrrtly wcrc thc Jcvrs. Thc dispcrsiotts of thc sixth cen- ?
n Hnr,r.tNisiidffi*t""; corrrnic:r turl ri( t: lt,r<l crcatcd a vast Jcwislt cxilc population. The U
largcst ttl lhcsc ctirnnrunirics'were in Alexandria and$
rhis marriaie contract, dated 3ll ncs; between Heracleides Bal.rykrn, but ,rirtually cvcrY city irt thc ancient world'h
and Demetria, n Greek couplt from the island of Cos on the had Jcrvish rcsidcnls. Most wcl c artisarls or stnall trades- n-
shores of fuia Minor, demonstrates how the status of women m(:;). Whilc somc evclrtually assimilaled to tltrc dcgree$
hacl improved srnce the days.of classical Athenian law. It not or anothcr, oth('rs gJthercd togethcr in closc-knit com-'
only mentions Demetria's mother but also takes the infideli' r.nunitics to J)rcscrve their rc,igious and cultural identity. $
ties of the husband as seriousiy as those oI his wife., In lsrae l artd Judaea, a remnant o[ impuverished l
p€SsilIits hcld on. reinforcco aftcr the Persian conquest i
Heracleides lakes Dcmctria of Cos as hk law!'ul wife, He receives
of Bairylon by small numbers of the dcvt;ut wh<l sought
he rfrom herlathet Wtine! of Cos, and from her mothen to l'etLl n to thcir homcland. In 516 IlcE thcy rcbuilt the
Philotis. He is a free man and she a free woman, She bings vith
Terlple at .lcrusalem. Not as grand as the Temple of '

her clothes and jeweh worth 1000 drathmas. Heradeides will pro'
Stilonr<ln, it served a) the center of Jcwish faith and as-
wde Demetria with all the requireniens of'1free woman,
,They pirations rrntil the Roman: destroyed it in 70 cr.
shall live il: whatever place seem: best to Leptines anil Heradeides'
If Demetria is four,d n lave rlone someking liliicti diigril$ hcr The Talmud. the glue that held the many Jewish'
husband, she shall bse everythtng she brought ri'i1(.hei..ln'd " cc,nrmunilies together was the teaching of prophets and
Heracleides shall amtse her befor e three ,nen chaien,by llr.p(r of dcvotion to the Law. as syrrtbolized by the gradual evo-
111" t t'Ier4stgi/ss shall not be permitted to wrong Denctria by lution-of th: Talmud from rhe fifth century BcE on- ,

keeptng anotircr woman m hauing cltildrer. by ot6fl1iry"t+6tnan, nor ward.'The Prophets, many of whose writings have been
to harm Demetria in atty uay under any pre&..lf ,H.lqkles k prcserved in the Bible. exhcrted the Jews to remain,
found n have done'such a thmg, Demetria shall auux him before {aith{ul. The Talmud is a collection of commentaries by
three men whom they shall have seleaed t tgether. Herarkides shall rabbis (the Jewish word for teachers), who sought to
then pay Demetria back the I00A drachmas she brought as dowry uncovcr the full meaning of thre Mosaic Law and apply
and a further 1000 dradtmas in Alemndian tilrll 6 recomPeflse it to every conceivable circuntstance. This process of
cornrnenlary. rvhich continlles t<lday, was celltral to the
From Pr€aux, Glaire, "Le Statut de la femme i l'€poquc hell6nis'
rique, principalment en Egypte,'in Julia O'Faolain and Iauro developlnertl <tf mature Judaism. but certain aspects of
Manines, Not in God's Image:Wonen in History from the Greek a the it iryere not unopposed. The biblical books of Jonah and
victorians (London: Templg Smith. 1973). of Rutir nray be veiled Prt.,iests agairtst what many saw
as an increasingly narrorv and overly proscriptive faith'
Question: What are the major differences between the le-
gal status of Demetria as a married womet.ald lhaq of the The Maccabee Revolt. In general, the Hellenistic
Athenian women aeicriUea in Chapter 2? ',:.:" monarclries followed a policy of toler;nce and granted
;' 1..,.,"r.'1 I ;..,..:r.;:. r:.:.:. t:.-i:itii{j:j.tfi,-.i}i!.,',,tr'.' Jev,ish cornmunities a lneasure of auto,nomy that al-
t'\ lowed thern to govern themselves by their own law.
'L'he conflict betw.'en Hellenism and Hebra'i5m was nev-
'erheless fundamental. A life lived accordin.l to divinely
revealed law was incontpatible with the ,(ireek lov€ of
prosperity. The Seleucids imposed no internal lrade bar- speculation and with aesthei.ic standards based on the
riers and guaranteed the safety of caravans a5 a matter beauties of natuie and the perfection of the human
of policy. Even when its leaders were fighting over body. That conflict became violent when the Seleucid
Alexander's inheritance. the entire Hellenistic world mrnarch. Antiochus IV Epiphanes (c.2l5-164 ecr), vi:
had been open to comnerce. ,\ merchant in Damascus olated the principal of tolerance by introducing the
or Babylon could trade unimpeded with Greece or w'orship o{ Zeus to the tenlple at Jerusalem. A revolt led
Egypr.The more adventurous sent their goods into India by the Mac cabees, the five sons of the priest
tlr traded with Carthaginians and Romans in the wesl. Mattathias. rc'sulted in the restoration of an indepen-
Pcrhaps the mosl enduring of Alexander's legacies was drnt Jervish state.
thc creation of a great world market in goodsiand ideas. Pharisees and Sadducees. In later years the dynasty
This, more than anything else, led to r hat traditionalists
forrnded by tlre 1436s3lrces ernbarked upon a policy of '
called a dilution of Greek values. Under the influence of
expansiotr and forced con\iersions to Judaism. This was
S),ria and Egypt, Greek legal traditions and even the sta-
opposed by the Pharisees, who sought a return to the
tus of women began to change (see Document 3.4).
law and to trad tionalJewish values. A bloody civil war
The Jews in the Seleucid Empire. Hellenistic cul- between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, as the sup'
ture, for all its richness and sophistication, was not uni- porters of the dynasty wert: known, ended only with

70 Chaptn 3
 THr )lwtsH Srnucc[E AGArNsr HnlluNrsM uNDER THn Srlrucps
Thc First anci Sccirnd Book of Maccabces tells the slory o[ The Reuolt of the M,rccabees
thc struggle againsr thr hcllcnizing policies of Anriochus (1 Macc. 2:2i-27, 42-45)
Epiphanes from the standpoint <lf cSscrvant Jcws. Thc
books arc not found in the Hcbrew Bible but are acceptcd by
lAfter Antiochus ordered that the people of a Ji uish ,o*n.roirtro
Catholic Christians as pafl of the Biblical canon and by lo Zeu::l a Jew went up before the eyes of all o{ them to olfer sacri
ProtestaDts as part oI the Apc:rypha.This translati<tn is raken
fice as the king commanded . ., . And Maltalh:as saw him and wa
fr.rm the Apocrypha. Although each book has a dif{erent au-
Jilled with zeal, ar d his heart was stirred, and he was very Wop-
thor, they follow roughly the same chronolo;y.
erly roused to anger, and ran up and.slaughtered him upon the
altar. At the sa,ne time he Lilled the king's fficer who was tnting
The Hellenizing of Jewish Cu!:ure to compei them to saoifce,,an t he tore down the altar . . . Then
(2 Macc. 4:7-15) Matlathias cried out in a loud voice in the town and said 'Let
everybody who is zeaious 1r the Law and stands by the agreimer

Jason obtained the high priesthood by corruprion, promising the come out afi:r me. i.
king in his petition 360 talents of silver and gtt talents from other Then they were joined by a company oi Hasiileans, warlilce

revenues. When the king had unsentcC and he hqd taken ofice, Israelites, evety one a volunteer for the Law. And all who ha.l fle.

he immediately brought his countrymen over lo tl,e Greek way of to etcape harsh treatment joined them and reinforcea them . ;.

living. He set aside the royal ordinances :specially favoring the And Mcttathias and his friena:s went about and tore down th| al

Jews .t, . and abrogating the tawlul ways of tiving he introduced

tars. and fo' cibly circumcisad all the uncircumcised children frlgy

new customs contrary to the Law. For he willingly established a found within the limits of tsrael. And they drove the anogan4be.
gymnasium right under the citadel, and he made the fore them, and the work prospered in their hands. So they rejqte,
finest of the
yc;mg men wear the Greek hat. And to sttch a pitch di,l the cultiva- the Law from the hands ofthe heathet and their kings, and'
tion of Greek fashions and the coming-in of
foreign customs rise . . .
would not let the sinners triwnph.
,

that the priests were no longer earnest about the services of the at- From lre Apocrypha, rrans. Edgar J. Goodspeed (New york: l

tar, but dkdaining the sacrifices, they hurried to tal<e part in the I Random llouse, 1959).
unlau,ful exercises of the wrestling school, after the summons b
T
i
i.
the discus fhrowing, regarding as worthlesslhe things their Question: What was the cause oI the .rewish revolt again
forefa-
thers valued, and thinking Greek stunTards the the Seleucids?
finest.

!
Roman intervention in 64 ncE and the abolition of the long been regarded as rhe properry of the king. a Lrg
moriarchy in the following year. Although political inde- and efficient bureaucracy.mdnaged royal monopoligs i
pendence was lost, the danger of .Hellenism had been essential goods and collected rhore than 200-diff,-irer
avoided. The Romans made no effort to interfere with taxes. The most impor'tant of these monopolies was i
the Jewish faith, and the pharisees emerged as rhe dom- grain. Roydl offlcials distributed seed ro the peasarits i
inant faction in religious lifc.-both at home and in the return fcr a subsrantial percentage of their yields. Tht
scattered communities of thc dispersion. I then srored the grain and released it to the export fna
ket when prices were high. Grain was Egypt's leadir
E3;,pt under the Ptolemies expon, and th: profits from this trade were immens
The crown also held a cc,mplete monopoly on the,prr
Egypt trnder the Prolemies co-rrrasted vividly with the duction'of vegetable oils (which it proteoed with.i t
decentralized ernpire of the Seleucids. Egypt was a far percenr duty on inrported olive oil) and partial monol
nrorc homogcneotis society than llrat of the old persian olies ou virtually every other commodity from meat r
Enrlrire, and Prolenry I (d. c. 282 rce) had lirtle difficulry papyrlls. Policy was based on extracting the maximur
irt subslituting his ou n nrle for that of the pharaorrs. amount of wealth from the country. By the middle ,
Altcr rcaching an accommodation with the c()untry,s re- the second century BcE, many peasants had becomc ,le
ligious leadcrs, he established a royal despotism that perare, but be ing in a narrow valley surrounded I
reachcd into every corner ol Egyptian life. With the ex- desert, they had nowhcre to flee. The ptolemies contit
ccplion of three Greek cities, only one of which was es- ued to pile up a great treasury until the fall of thrr d
tablished by the Ptolernies, all of the country,s land had nasty in 30 scr.

Greek Culture and lts Hellmbtic Dffusion

 s,.

,a!
9i..

'hust llrcrcfore bc thc c/:nter around which the

The Cily of' Alcxandria. Thc Plolcmics lavislrcd srrrr '*,"
Eartlr ancl plancts revolvcd. Eratosthenes (Air-uh-
.Sr

rrrrrclr of that wcaltlr ()n lhcir capital at Alt'xandria. s

T'lrc tity lracl bcctr fotlltclcd ott thc sh(,rcs of tltc talrsl-lhuhn-eez.) of Cyrene ((.276-194 ncnl, a mathe-
Mcrli(t'rrarrcarr by Alexattcier, A causcway connectcd niatician wlro slrcnt mosl of his life as ltcad of the
llrt' rr;u row ,1f l5lrorc island of Pltaros to thc mainlatld, Library at Alcxandria, foundcd mathcnratical geogra-
lorrnirrg two spacious lrarbors, onc of which w,rs phy..lrrmong other things, he calculated the circtrmfer'
lirrkc<l lo ncarby l-akc Mareotis l:y a canal..A sccond cnce. of thc Earth to within 50 milcs of modern esti-
carral conncctccl tlrc lakc with lhc wcstern branch of n:atei and devised a calendar that used leap years'
tlre Nilc. Tlris cnormous port sottrt formed the nuclcus Likc much of Hellenistic science, these theories t'rore
ol rire Mcditerranean's largest city. Under the first and little fruit until scholars reviv'-'d them in the sixteenth
sccorrcl Ptolemies, rhc populatiotr of Alexandria gre'w cenlu:y. Roman and medicval scholars accepted the
to rrerriy 500,000 Greeks, 'Mrccdonians, Egyplrans, viera'of Ptolemy of Alexandna (fl.1.27-145 cr), who
3y161 llr,r,s lts people drerv tlreir water supply from believcd with Aristotle that the Earth was the center of
vast cisterns built. berieath the city, .rnd a lighthouse. lhc universe. The authoriiy of Aristotle in Roman ind
said ro have been more than 400 fgg tall. was con- medieval timcs was too great to permit the acceptance of
structed on Pharos. aheriocentric, or sun-centereri, universe without inde:
Thc cosmopolitan nature of its ;opulation and the pendent pr<-rof, and the telescopes and navigational in-
patronagc of the Ptolemies rnade Alexandria the cul- struments needed to support the theories of Aristarchus
tural and intellectual center of the Hellenistic world. Its and r,ratosthenes had not yet been'inverited. In physics.
center !,.as the Museum, which was a kind of research cosmology, and biology, where Theophrastus (d. c. 287
institute, and a libra:y that collected rtaterials from ecr) us.ed the methods of Aristotle to classify plants and
every literat€ culture known to the Greeks. The crown anirqals discovered in the east, the inspiration of
Hellenistic science .,vas largell, Greek.
ruscd some of its vast revenues to subsidize these insti-
tutions as well as the scholars who attended ther,r, and Physics. The achievements of Archimedes (Ar-ki-
tlre learned flocked to Alexandria from all over the mee'-deez) of Syracuse (c. 287-21 2 ncr) stand at the
j\lediterranean basin.
beginning of modern physic '. Archirrredr:s, who studied
at Alexandria and who was'a friend of E'ratosthenes.
spe-rt most of his life in his native city. A close associate
F{ r,r.LENrsrrc Scte Nce .,
anC perhaps a relative of the ruling dynasty,.:re was val-
I) rtt r.osoPHY, AND RELTGIoN ued'for his work on catapults; compound pu,leys; and
the screw of Archimedes, a helital device for,lifting wa-
(j2 5-1OO scu) rer out of wells, mineshafts, anci the hulls of ;ships. Most
of these devices had both military and civilian applica-
Tire encouragement of the Ptolemies and the i^rtellec-
tions, but Archimedes regarded them as little better
tr-ral foundations laid down b1'Aristotle made the third
than toys. He is oest knor,r n for his work On Plane
cerltury acr a period of extraordinary achievement in Equilibriums. which descrit,es the basic principle of
science, mathematics, engineering. and navigation. Ieveys, and.for his discovery thqt solids can be weighed
Nothing like it would be seen again until the scientific by measuring the amount o^ liquid they displace.
revolution ol the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
IV1edicine. In medicihe, however, two ancient traditions
merged. The GreeKHippocratic tradition was b.ased on the
Hellenistic Scienre and Technology i teachings of Hippocrates, a semimythical figu,e who is
Mathematics and Cosmology. Sonre of the work supposed to have liveC on the island of Cos in the fifth
donc at Alexandria was scholarship-,he compilation century scr. The Hippocratic Oath attributed to him is still
arrd transmission of earlier ideas. The Elements of rev€yed by doctors (see Document 3.5). The main feature
Geometry, composed early in the century by Euclid of the Hippocra'tic tradition was the theory of the humors.
(Y()u'-k'id), contained little that was completely new Until late in the eighteenth century most doctors be-
trut becarue the basis of geometric instruction until mod- lieved that the human body contained four humors:
crn tinres. Hellenistic speculations on cosrr'ography (the blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm. Good health
study of the universe) and physics were more original. dep,:nded <,n keeping these humors in perfect balance,
Aristarchus (Air-is-tar'-kus) of Samos (c. 310-230 and nedicatiou was tlpically prescribed if one or more of
uca) disputed Aristotle's theory that-the Earth was the therrr were either deficient or present in excpss. An excess
center o{ the universe. He reasoned, without benefit of of blood, for example, could be reduced by bleeding. .
relescopes or other instruments, that the sun was larger The Alexandrians added Egyptian surgery and
than the Earth and that the planets were far more dis- anatonry to the Hippocratic tradition and passed their
rant fnlm one another than Aristotle had imagined. The findings on to the Romans. They also passed on a fun-

72 Chapter 3
 Documrrtr 5.5
,f,iillf,if,,
. i;. " :,i
THr Hrprocdimc Oars
ri;*,.

The origins ir'. l'#''

"t "ipil.ratic
oath are unclear..Hippocrates ,*,
brothers, and to ,et ch them ro,, i,i
,}1 upon his siudents, "#r'^,
;i,
ii,nno,t or indenruo, ,o i*pon precept, "*;irf i
il::,:T:""1:1,:",::::-yr-:1T :1,n
'r,"
nrrt ..n- q';r;';;;;;;fee ;;;i;
,1*i,*yo,yupik
;: ;r':,#'r:;:ff: r:r::' :lW
orat

:K::til:JffJil.'ffiHil :::ll-'lj,o,:11':":::::: '3

text : ,'r,:;;;ii
appear throughout the Middre Ages. The firsr parr
who have takn the pnvsiaai'sbal
,ririi);i;;.;;;;;;;r**r;;;:;:;::i;,:#:;;j
of the

;t:j:.#:::tj:'"*,:::lJT1Tjl1.-1,T":,er
. eand appren and judsment, but never with a view;i rnjury and
n
points mentioned do not accord with ancient
,n, "*iiri.
tice. The second dears with medicar erhics, bu' "1;iii *rii.it'i';;;;;;r:r:;;;r:T;:;W;;:,'
ro'n.'ot
?'ro
Greek practic r. di ,o, ro, will I suggar such a uuite. siitarty I will no
othcr Iiterature anributed ,o uippo"tui.r i"a irr sioot -
be ,, ) ,,rin*on n n,.<na, ta ta,,aa ^L^a:^- i--,i.)-:rt ,,.,'r: {:. '. "l

diJ not object to suicide. some schotan berieve rr,ul

,r,.'_. f;"
;,";;;:;i;;;;;;'r;;;,'ulri',iii,,?,"{i,#T:#!uyi
oath-aftsr the appearance of $i;craftsnun therein.
::T:::t:::: ill":::j ll i,l',
ctt11{li!r,1te qa$ taren by nLodern physiians ar their rnto whctsoever hoases r inkr. iwitt mtet

jn yo rnqonani respects. The prohibition against iexual j{ .;_

lations with.patients is more clearly stated, i"
and the distinc_
tion between medicine and surgery has been
abandoned.. il*i,i ,il,iii!fffff:#itrifig#a;
Undl the r..ineteenrh c€ntury, surgeons were ^*, if it be what shrr,o
a separate_ divulge,holdingsuchthingstoUr,^ii"*i..*r*:;ffiffi.i
and inferior-profession. The names in the - ." --y*''.
invocalion are this iott nnt! hron!;t s^r q-., t -^:- e-- -.--,,
those of dre various gods responsible for
hearth and .;;';;';;;;;"iiii;ff
healing.
r-' "'J -
I swear iy Apollo Physician, by Asclepius, "r
panacea, the opposite uf"it ^t
by Health. by
^rv'cw'' i"Tu""!{:
"ii,i::,t:;r;ffiy;r#;irffi .
and by al1 the gods ard goddesses, making tlrrm
ty wituesses, that From
I will carry ouL according to my abitity and judgment,
this oath -The
Hippocraric oath,. in Logan Clenden ,rr, ,o;rij,l ,0r.,.,,
, Book of Medicai airtoy lNew york: Dover, t96o pp. lG-15).
and this indtnture. To hold my teacher in this l
;rt equal to my
own parcnts; to make him partner in my livelihood;
need of maney to share mine
when in
he is Questions: How does the oath protect tbe medical proiir-
tsi,on?
with him; to con$ider his farnily as How does it prorect the padent? . : ,-, ,-

danrcntal difference of opinion that would

bedevil the fanrill nrartered. The arts reflected this new indivicru-
Western medicine until the nineieenth
century. By 2g0 alism. Hellenistic drama abandoned the great thbmes
PCr, the physicians oJ AlgXandria had become eirher of
tragic conflict in fa'or of domestic comedies that,dealt
Dogmatics, who studied anatomy in the hope
of un_ with ltrve stories and other events o., parro.rul_f.""i.
derstanding how rhe body wor<ed, or fmpirics,
stressed the practical arts of diagnosis
who "
The rvorks of Menander (c 300 acE; are.typical of this
and cure. A third qenre. Pocrrl', much of i: written by
group, less reputable to modern cyes but popular and to.'*o*.r, .*_
in plored personal themes in elegant short verses known.as
thc'ir own day, practiced magic.
epigranrs, rlany of n,hich were collected in antholologiis.

Hellenistic Literatut e and ,Lrt Hellenistic Art. painiing antl sculpture flourished as
Literature. Greeks of the classical era had never be'fore. Ancient comntentators claimed that
derived painring esllecialll, rcached unprecedented levels of
much of tl'reir identity frorn tlre polis and assurtred ex_
that cellcnce. Orving to the perislrable nature of the colors,
the gtxrd life could be liveci only wi.thin its
social frante_ all of ir has been lost. Irr sculprure, ;nuch of which has
ivork. In the great er.trpires of llellcnistic tinles,
that br'en preserved in Roman copies, m,rny of the best
lranrcrv<trk no l<lnger existcd. For the Greco_Macedonian
artisrs abandoned rhe serene classicism of phidias and
clite, cut off frrlrl their homelands and living
essentiaily Praxireles and sought to express emotic,rl through
as n)crcenarirs, the grarifications of private the
life gradually dranratic arrangentent of their figures, ai;onized facial
replaced those of the organic cornrnunity.
For the non- expressions, and exaggeratid muscular
Greck masses with their long history of subjection te nsioh. The ta_
to mous statue of Laocodn and his sons is an ouBtanding
alicrr cnrpires, there was no issue: only
lhe individual and exanrprle. Others chose humble figures from everyday

Creek Culture ard Its Heltcnistic Dffusion 73

 I)h,<tcnic iarr Cyprus, Zcno cslablishcd a school at'
All:cns narncd the Stoa aft,:r thc l)ortico in thc Agora
whcrc his disciplcs rtct. Thc Stoics, as I ley wcre
callcd, bclicved that living in harrlony witlt naturc was
('sscillial. Tlrcy idc.ntilicd naturc wirh thc divinc prirr-
cipfc <rr logos. lach human Llcing and each olrjcct hacl
llrc logos witl-in it and actcd according 1o a divine, pre-
delernrirrcd plan. This plan, althorrgh good in itself,'
rright not always work in the Lcst interests of a partic-
ula'r individual. Sickness, death, and misf<lrtune were
all part of a providential order lhat could not be es-I
caped but on y endured. : ,..

Those rvho believed in thi; theory f,,rund it para- i'

doxically liberating. To rhe Stoic, only moral qualities,.
such as prudence, courage, folly. and intemperantelf
we,re good or l-ad. Weal.th, plcasure, beauty, and
health were morally indifferent because they were es- ,

sel tially srares of mind-the producrs of feeling or

passion. The wise person, regardless of condition,
should realize rhar it is not vvhat happens but how
one reacts ro ii that determines the good life. The goal
of wishom wls therefore apatheia, or indifference to
what is morally neutral, coupled with ethical behav-
Flculll, 3.5 Laocoijn and His Sots.. This monumenral
scuiplrrre lronr Pe rgantunt is ar, example of the way in which
ior and.the cultivation of personai qualities that are
I{cllenistic artists used f<trmal arrangcment, exaggerated mus_ morally good According to the Stoics, anyone could
culalrrrc, and ag<llrizcd facial exprcssions to portray ernotion. achieve this goal. Men and women, slaves and
Thc' scre nc classicisnt of praxireles ancl his contemporari,:s has pri irces, all possessed the same divine sparli. Although
lrc.r aba'rl.rrcd. E'c' rhe thentc, an episode |rom The Iliad in the conditions of th.-'ir Iives might differ, they were all
rvhiclr tlre .r;ods senl scrpeltts to destro), the Trojan pne:t inhcrently, equal.
I-aocoiin arrd l'ris children, is choscn for irs emotional impact.
Unlike the teachings of rhe. Cynics, Sroicism was
l'he work as shorvn is probably a Roman c_opy.
based on physical and epistemological principles derived
at sonte distar.rce from Aristotle. It offered not only an
ethical code but also a nteans of understanding and ac-
life and portrayed thent in syntparhetic detail. What_ cepting an often-hosrile universe. Of all the philosophi_
cver rheir subjecr, the artists of rhe Hellenistic age . cal schools of late antiquity, ir was the most popular
achieved new heighrs of technical virtuosity that would amf,ng ed'lcated people. It lrecsms the dominant belief
astonish and at times dismay the critics of a later age. among rhe Ronran upper classcs and would strongly in-
flu'-nce the development of .Christian theology.
Hellenistit Tlrcuglfi at,d Religion
Eplcureanism. Stoicism's chief rival was Epicur- :

Philosophy. Hellenistic philoscrphy, roo, reflecred rhis eariism. Epicuii rs (Ep-i-cure'-us, 341-270 ecr) was born
shift in values, abandoning political theory in favor of to an Atlrerrian fanrily on rlle island of Samos and es-
individualistic prescription3 for the good life. The philo- tablished a school at Arhens known among other things
solthic school known as the Cynics carried this ten_ for being open to women. Epicurus argued, as
rierrcy further than auyone else. They argued that the Lerrcippus and Democritus had done, that the universe
bcst lile was lived ciosest to nature and that wisdom lay wa:; contposed of atoms that combined and recombined
in abandoning worldly goods and ambition. Diogenes in an infinire variety of parterns. Growth and dissolution
lDyc-ahj'-uh-neez, d. j20 BCE), their mosr effectivc were inevirable, but Epicurus rejected the kind of provi-
spokcsnrau, delightc'ci in exposing the folly and vanity of dential order clair.ned by the Stoics. In the absence of such
others. Popular legencl has it that he lived in a tub anil an order, rhe greatest good from the human point of view
carried a Ianrern wrrh whicl: he lroped-unsuccessfully_ was pleasr,rre, and the search for pleasure should be the
to lind an ltouest nran. philosopher's primary goal. By pteasure, Epicurus meant
peace of rnind and the absence of pain, not the active.
flre srni65. Artrong those attracted to the teachings of pursuit of dissipation. He sought a quiet life, removed ,

the Cynics was Zeno (c.'335-2$ scr). A nat:ve of from the troubles of the world and governed by the

74 Chaptu 3
 l;rr; uHr. 3.6 Al cx andrr
artd l)iogenas.'t-lris painrirrg
lr1' I lrt' rrinr.lt.t'rrlh-r.t.rrt rrry
I'rt.n< lr pailrlcr Nitolas Arrtlrt;
,\1()nsi.-)u illustrat t.s a faltrorrs
\r{)ry tllal rr.rrrairrcrl .t poJlrrlnr
rrrlrjt'tl lrrr ((. ttltri(.s. Alt.xarr,k,r
llrc (;r(.at, c0rrrlrrcror rrf llrc
rvorlti, srrJlposcrlly wcrrt to lltt,
(.i,r)i( t)ltilos()plrt.r anrl askcd
lrjrrr il lhcrc was anythinli lj(
rorrld tlo for lrinr. I)iogcncs,
rvho lrad no horrlc and lived by
lrr'!.lgirrll. sai(1, "ycs, you coulcl
slnn(l a littl', lcss tlclwccrr nrc
,rrrd rltc slr." Thc talc illus-
tratcs lllat p0wt,r is uscless to
rir(,rruly ethicai pcrson, al lcast
,rs "crhical" was defined by
{.ynic philosophy.

l)lincil)le of ntoclr:rarion in all tlrings. Even the gods Because rhe Romans adopted most of these religions
should nor be feared, bu. enrular..d in therr Olympian
they are discussed ar greater length in Chapter 6.
detachurenr front tht, things- of this world.
Epicureanism, roo, had its followers, but detachment
from tire world did not always.recommend itself ro
those rvith practical responsibilities.
(loxc t-us toN
Unlike rhat of the Jews, the culture of ancient Greece
Helleni_stic R$igion. Like all philosophical was profoundly humanistic in the sen:e that Greek
schools. Stoicism and Epicureanism appealed piimar-
rhinkers emphasized the cultivation of viltue and the
il;' ro rhe educated. Thc mass of 'peopt. 'in tlr" good life within a social insread of a reilgrous frame-
Hellenisric world found solace in retig-ion. This in
it- work. Greek artists concentrated almost :xclusively og
se lf v'as a relatively new development,
at leasr among th" hurnan form, rvhile poets found inspiration in thE
tht Greeks, for the gods of Olympus had oflered littli heroic dignity of men. and women in the face cf
to rheir worshipers beyond i, conditional protection
tragedl'. This in:ense concentration on the human ex-
lrom rheir wrarh. In tlre classical age, while rhe pe rience was coupled with an'extraordinary
lcarned rook refuge in philosophy, ordinary spirit of in:
men and quiry. Other ancienr socieries, notably the Egyptians
\v()nten had resorted to supc.rstition and a helpless
arrd. Mesoporamians, harl rich speculative traditions,
rf'sr!lnation to Tt'che, or fate.
but the Greel s rvere unique in insisting on a rigorous
For urarry in rhe Hellenistic kingdor;-rs, Tlche re_
feirm of logic in which the connections between each
tairrctJ hcr p.wcrs, lrul .lhers emtrraced wirat
are cailcd p,rrt of a staternent had to be made perfectlll clear.
nlystqry religions. Mysrery rcligions claimed to guar_
These habits of thought, rogerher with a mass of
rllrce pcrs()nal intnrortality, often through the inter_
learnir:g and specuiation dra.,vn from the nost diverse
v('nli()n o{ a god tlrgoddess who cartre to fanh
in htr- sources, were rhe Greek legacy to Western society. Fiom
nian frlmr and suffered for tl.re sins of humankind.
the beginning the Greeks were borrowers. They had a
Most, although r-rot all, had eastent r(x)ts. Among
the rare ability td absorb the ioeas and beliefs of otheis with:
nrorc inrportant were the cult <lf Serapis, encouraged
lry or'lt thrcatening their own sense of what it neant to be
Pttller 11'1, ancl the far more ancicnt veneration
<lf Isis. Greek. When, in the Hellenistic age, they penetrated to

Gteele Culture and lts Hellnistb Diffusion 75

',.
 tf

,I riv
ff
.',9\
'
'#l
:. S!
tlrt'r'rlgcs ol llrl
krrown w()rl(1, lltis lt'rrrlclrr'r act'lt't-alcrl. 'l.kryrl,:i. l:. lt., (; t('(l; \(i(n&'
alttr Arislotlt' {Nt:w York',
\
lrlt'rrrlrrls lrolrr t'vt'ry arrr'it'rrl ('ullUt'(' wcrt' .r, ''rplt'rl arrrl Njrrton, |()7.]). ,\n oulsl;rnrlinrl lrrir'l srrrvt'r ol arr itng: \
lr.rrrslorrrrt'rl a<r orrlitrg to tlrt'ir owlr rrct'tls arrrl lrrr,cor p$r'tarrt lopit., 1,, i

( ('l)lir)ns. Irr so rloirrl.l llrt'y irrrposcrl a kirrrl ol ilrlt'llcctrral 'liSlrarJrlt's, ii. W., ,\lttir.s, l.lritttt't;tttl.t. Att,l SttptiCs. A$
rrrrity tlr.rt, il it distortt'rl sotrrt. tlrirrgs arrrl tr('!.ll(:(l('(l ()llt- liitroltrttiotr. to I lt'llani\tit t'ltil.,\0|h, {l.orrrlorr. ltoutlctlgcf, i
('r'\, \vl\ passt:d orr,inlatl to llrc llorrrarrs and lr()nl lll(' 1.e96). A r'lt'.ir cxlrla nali()rr ol llcllt'rristit llrotrrltl irr I5i ',

Iloln, rtr lo tlrc rrto<lcnt W('st('nl wrrr-l<1. For gootl or ill, lia.rgcs.
tlrr'.rtrricrrl rvorltJ is vicwcrl 'ltr'()ugll (ircr.li cycs. .iwallrarrk, f. W., 'l ltc llcllctti,ttic Wot lJ, rcv, .,t:
-llrc slanilard
(rlarrrlrrirl!.le . MA: llarvarrl, l99li. strn,cf.
rr.,l llrc IIt'llt'rtisli. cra. {
Ilevie.ut Questiotts
.
e
a
,11
What Jrrrlrlic Jrrrr l)()scs w'cr(' Grcck ar1 arrd litt'raturc , InfoTrac College Edition
irrtc'r<lcd i() 5crvc? Visit llrc s0tirLc collc(lir)ns aL ltllp://inltttrac thontso4
r Whal ltrndanrt'rr1al qrrcsliorrs raix'd try altci('lrl le,rtrtrittq.r'ot: arrd usc tlrc' ,car<lr furrcliorr rvith thc f<ll-
(,rt'r'k lllrilo.olllrcrs rcn,.tirr :ntl)ortanl ltlrlay'/ lowing kt'r' tcrrr:".
. I-Iorv did thc Hcllcnistic agc achicvc rhc partial irrrc- Using l(c1,Tcrrrts, cntcr 1hc scarclr tcrnrs:
graliorr ol Greck and notl-Grcck culturcs in both Creek ltiston, Altxander lhe (iraat
politics ar)d rll()Llghr'? A rL h int,'d,,\
. What was thc tlasis oI thc conflict bctrvccir Jrrdaisnt
and l-lcllcnisrn? Web Siteq
tnuv.[o rd h a m. e du / h a I s a II/a n cie n i / asbo o k.h nn I
hrtcrrrct Arrcicr.rt Histor; Srlurcclro<lk. Maintained by,
For Furt|rer Study I
.:Ft;rd|l.tI-ttUnivcrsit1,,thissite()ntaill5seCti0n5on
Read ings I ' Grcek art, lireralure, and trre Hcllcnistic cra, as rvcll
Boardnran, John, Greek Art,4th cci. lNerv York: Thantes .' as a qrlocl
se lectiolr ol cloctrnrents and literarv soLrrces.

arrci IJtr<lsolr, l9()6). A classic. rvt+,rv.rtIttt .rrih .got'/li,tttl /11reek/ inde x.htm I
IJarrilt<rn, J. R., Alexander thc Grcat (Pirrsbtr rqlt: Ur.ri- , Grcck Mcdicine is a site nrailrtaincd by, the National
vcrsirv of Pitisburgh Prr-'ss, 197) 1. A gtlod, acccssi'.rlc ' Litrrarv ol Meclicinc and tne \ationalrlnstitutes of ,'
lr iortra lllry. Hcalth. It corrtains nraterial <llt Greek nredicine :;
Lrskr,, AIbin . llistorv of Greek Literanrre, trans. .1. Willis ; fronr earliest timcs through the Hellenistic period.
and C. cle Hccr (Nerv Yt'rk: Crorvell, l9(;l). Srill rlrc irlcltrtliIrgHippocratcsandtheHippocraticoatlr,
standard trearrllcnt of a r crv broad subiect.

Visit the Western Civilization Companion Web Site tbr resources specific to this textbook:
. http :
|
/ history.wadsworth.com/ hause12 /

& The CD in the back of this book and the Westem Civilization Resdurce C,jnter at http:llhistory.

s wadsworth.com/westent/ offer a variety of tools to help ),ou succeed in this course, including ac-
cess to quizzes; images; documents; interactive simulations, maps, and timelines; movie explo-
rations; and a wealth of other sources.

7(t Chapnr -l