Archaic Age (~750 to
~500
BC):
- Orientalizing Period
- What are the
various
aspects of
Greek civilization that this contact with the East changed and how did
these aspects change (social customs, food, religion, writing)?
- Ways/areas
literacy
changed Greek
civilization (literature, philosophy, historiography, medicine, law)
- Warfare
- What were the
changes
in military
equipment?
- What were the
changes
in military
tactics?
- Terms: phalanx,
hoplos, hoplite, Argive shield
- How did these
changes
affect other
topics listed here?
- The Polis
- What are the key
elements in the
definition of the polis?
- What is synoikism
and why
is it important to the formation of the polis?
- How was the polis
afftected
by the other topics listed here?
- Colonization
- What areas were
colonized? Why
did it cease?
- Steps involved in
colonization:
What are the factors which influenced the choice of a site? Describe
the
leader-who was he and what was his role? 1st Colonists—who were they
and
what did they gain? How did some relate to the ‘natives?’ Women? Later
colonists?
- How did
colonization
affect life
on the mainland?
- Tyranny
- Defn. of tyranny,
how
long did
a tyranny last in an individual polis, who typically became
tyrants,
how did they rule, and why did tyranny arise?
- How did tyranny
affect
the polis
and Greek religion?
- Archaic Age Literature
- What do the poems
of
Archilochus
and the poem of Tyrtaeus tell us about how the "Heroic/Homeric" Code
has
been transformed, adapted, abandoned in the Archaic Age and why?
- What does the
poetry
of Archilochus,
Alcaeus, Mimnermus, Ibycus, Anacreon, and Sappho tell us about women in
the Archaic Age?
- What can we learn
from
the examples
of greek humor provided in Kebric, Ch. 1?
- Who are Hesiod,
Thales, Xenophanes,
and what did they do?
- Pan-hellenic institutions
- Sanctuary sites
(e.g.
Delphi)
what were they and why were they important?
- The "big
four:"
Names, how
often held, prizes at games, prizes when victor's got home? What did
the
sponsors of chariot and horse races gain? What happened to cheaters?
Deities
associated with the "major" major games?
- The Olympic games:
Program for
the 5 days? How religious? What is an agon & how does it relate to
the heroic code? what was the origin of many of the contests?
Competitors:
who originally, amateur? professional? Spectators--who,
conditions,
who not?
- Minor Games: an
example, prizes,
eventual number?
- The
Gymnasium-defn,
funding, importance
- Sexuality
- Male/male
relationship: what were
the restrictions placed on citizen to citizen relationships? citizen to
slave relations? what function did it serve for the polis? how was it
affirmed
in Greek myth?
- Female/female?
Male/female--marriage
ages?, "love"?
Sparta (Eunomia)
What is eunomia?
What
did the Spartan government look like before the First Messenian War
(kingship,
gerousia, apella, ephors)? When/why did Sparta conquer Messenia? What
effect
did the conquest have on Sparta? How did the defeat at Hysiai in 669 BC
affect the Spartan military; their view of themselves and of the Heroic
Code? Their politeia? What does a Greek politeia refer to? What is the
key underlying fact of the Spartan politeia? What are the Agoge and the
Syssition? Stages involved in the Agoge? Their training? Relations
between
individuals? What was the position of women? Their training? Marriage?
Peloponessian League? Treatment of Persian envoys? Foreign policy
changes?
Athens (Isonomia)
- Prior to Solon: What
was
the Athenian state like before Solon? Colonization? Key terms: Archons,
Council of Areopagus, Assembly, Tribes, Phratries. What was the
significance
of Cylon's attempt at tyranny? What was lawgiver Draco known for?
Significant changes that Draco made?
- Solon: What
was
the aim
of Solons reforms? How different from that of Sparta's? What were his
reforms?
Especially in regard to: the abolition of debt; the four property
classes;
the change in the eligibility for the offices; judicial & economic
reform, 3 key reforms leading to democracy according to Aristotle
- The Pisistratids:
Why did
the tyranny arise? How did Pisistratus seize power? What were the
important
changes Pisistratus made in the Political arena? The religious sphere?
The artistic sphere?
- Kleisthenes: What
is isonomia?
The tribes: How did he reform the tribes? Why was the change
important?
The demes: What was the key power of the demes? What did they replace
and
why was this important? The Boule: What was it? Who was in it?
How
did citizens become part of the Boule? What was its function? The
Assembly: What function did it serve?
- After Kleisthenes:
Generals:
What was the new system like? Ostracism: what is it? how was it used
between
490 and 480? Silver mines: what is the importance of the find of new
silver
at the mines? how was the silver used? who persuaded the Athenians?
Possible Essay Questions (use only
class resources for the Greek part of the essay questions below)
- If
President Obama were alive in ancient Greece (as an
Athenian or as a Spartan), would he more likely be successful as an
Athenian or a Spartan? Make sure you answer why and why not for both Athens and
Sparta.
- We have seen
that the heroic code (ways to achieve honor/fame and avoid
dishonor/shame) has morphed during the Archaic Age. Discuss both
generally and then how it morphed in Athens and in Sparta (i.e. a
paragraph on each polis). Conclusions?