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CC200 Classical World Homeric and Archaic Greek Communities

CC200 Classical World Homeric and Archaic Greek Communities. Reconstructing the past from epic poetry, historical accounts and material culture M. Arnush, February 1 st , 2012. Periodization of history. Homer and the world he creates: on-line passages from the Odyssey.

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CC200 Classical World Homeric and Archaic Greek Communities

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  1. CC200 Classical WorldHomeric and Archaic Greek Communities Reconstructing the past from epic poetry, historical accounts and material culture M. Arnush, February 1st, 2012

  2. Periodization of history

  3. Homer and the world he creates:on-line passages from the Odyssey How does Homer construct community in the Odyssey? • On assemblies and authority (Od. 1.315-319, 409-414, 440-456; 2.39-41): what did communities mean to the Greeks? who possessed authority in the Homeric world? • On communities (Od. 6.4-12; 9.118-127): what did communities mean to the Greeks?– how does Homer depict Scheria and how does it compare with the land of the Cyclopes?

  4. Homer and the world he creates: on-line passage from the Iliad • In both epic poems, the values that bind communities together include • aretê – “excellence” – human achievement according to a value system • kleos – “reputation” – the construction of one’s name • timê – “honor” – how others assess you • In the passage from the Iliad (18.572-707), • What happens in these scenes and what kind of image does the epic poet create of Greek communities? • What do the individuals depicted value in their communities?

  5. Some key Homeric values • aretê: “excellence” • kleos: “reputation” • timê: “honor” Also • agon: “competition” • aidos:“respect” and the “avoidance of shame” • andreia: “manliness” • dikê: “justice” • genos: “family” • xenia: “guest-friendship” (Guest and Hosts, Curley, 2/3)

  6. Sources for the Homeric world:on-line passage from Thucydides • Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, written ca. 430-400 BCE (1.12-13, 15): • What kind of communities did Thucydides think populated Greece long before his era? • What were the values of this age, the aftermath of the Iliad and the Trojan War, in the distant past?

  7. Reconstructing the past: epic poetry, historical accounts & material culture • language and literature • competitions • performance • gods and prophesies • political upheaval and change • colonization • rise of the πόλις (polis) or city-state

  8. Competition:Olympia, Sanctuary of Zeus(776 BCE) – stadion, pankration

  9. Performance: rhapsodes

  10. Gods and prophesies: Delphi, Sanctuary and Temple of Apollo

  11. Political upheaval and change • land and topography • limited arable land • crops: oil, wine • contact with Phoenicians • alphabet: ΑΒΓΔΕΖ ΘΙΚΛΜΝ ΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧ • later Η Ξ ΨΩ • codification of law • land pressures, growing population, interest in exploration, inquiry (ἱστορίη: historie) about foreign places, all led to … • dispersal, revolutions and factionalism (the nostoi) • migrations • result: colonization

  12. Colonization: 750-600 BCE Acquisition of • aretê, timê, kleos • knowledge of other places • economic/political opportunities Process • consult Delphic oracle • send out nobles, landless poor, disenfranchised, exiles, merchants • founder: oikistês to found an oikos (home) • stake out land and temenos (sacred space) • rely on hoplites (hoplon) • maintain connection to mother-city Colonies: southern Italy, Sicily, Black Sea, Ionia Chigi Vase (detail), ca. 650 BCE

  13. Colonization: distribution

  14. The πόλις (polis or “city-state”):750-600 BCE • communities isolated and autonomous • city-state (πόλις: polis) • autonomous, self-governing • urban (ἄστυ: astu) and rural (χώρα: chora) • fortified with a high point (ἀκρόπολις: akropolis) • comprised of a citizenry (πολιταί: politai) • rule by • one (μόναρχος: monarchos) = monarchia • elite (ἄριστοι: aristoi) = aristokratia  • few (ὄλιγοι: oligoi) = oligarchia

  15. Archaic age: an age of … • intellectual/cultural curiosity – sailing, Phoenicians, trade, language & literature, colonization • artistic achievement – metallurgy, poetry, performance, temple-building, • political development – Homeric monarchies & authority, aristocracies, oligarchies; systems of justice • defining community – e.g., Scheria vs. land of Cyclopes • defining what it is to be Greek • abiding values • intracultural interactions (war, competition, prophesy) • Greekness: “the community of blood and language, temples and ritual, and our common customs” (Herodotus Histories 8.144)

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