'STASIS', POLITICAL CHANGE Al']]) POLITICAL SUBVERSION IN SYRACUSE, 415-305 B.C. by DAVID JOHN BETTS, B.A.(Hons.) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA HOBART October 1980 To the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university, and contains no copy or paraphrase of material previously published or written by another person, except when due reference is made in the text of the thesis. Signed : (iii) CONTENTS Abstract iv Principal Ancient Texts vi Abbreviations, Textual Note vii INTRODUCTION : Scope and Intention of Thesis 1 CHAPTER 1 : Revolutionary Change and the Preservation of Constitutions CHAPTER 2 : The Nature and Method of Revolutionary Change and Political Subversion in Syracuse, 415-305 B.C. 45 CHAPTER 3 : Political Problems and the Role of the Leader in Syracuse, 415-305 B.C. 103 CHAPTER 4 : The Effect of Socio—Economic Conditions 151 CHAPTER 5 : Conclusion 180 APPENDIX : A Note on the Sources for Sicilian History 191 Footnotes 202 Tables 260 Maps 264 Bibliography 266 Addendum 271 (iv) ABSTRACT The thesis examines the phenomena of opr71-4,/5 , political change and political subversion in Syracuse from 415 to 305 B.C. The Introductory Chapter gives a general outline of the problems in this area, together with some discussion of the critical background. As the problems involved with the ancient sources for the period under discussion lie outside the mainstream of the thesis, these have been dealt with in the form of an appendix. Central to the question of civil strife is the problem of definition and causation. The First Chapter is therefore concerned with the terminology used by the Greeks to describe their civil disturbances, together with a discussion of Aristotle's theory of revolutionary cause and the preservation of constitutions. The conclusion reached in this chapter is that, although revolutionaries were often motivated by their own personal ambitions, their ability to gain support from other sections of the community and, on occasions, carry out successful revolutions, lay in the fact that the government itself had been inadequate in some areas. Chapter Two deals with the nature and type of revolutionary activity in Syracuse from the point of view of the revolutionaries. This involves an examination of their motivation and method. Their method was dependent, in the first instance, on the means available to them. This led to a discussion of their use of propaganda, the availability of arms and manpower and the use of speed, secrecy and personal violence. Allied to the means available is the extent of support gained by revolutionaries. It is found that there were four main areas of support — group and family associations, the Syracusan people, exiles, and allies and outside powers. The extent of support from each of these areas is therefore reviewed. (v) Next, the problem is analysed from the point of view of the various governments. The Third Chapter discusses the problems facing those governments and their attempts to maintain their constitutions or position, along with the failures that led to outbreaks of revolutionary activity. It is found that Syracuse had its own inherent problems due to the diversity of their population and the tendency of the Syracusans to entrust command to a single ruler. The success of that single ruler was due to his capacity to command mercenaries, to gain capable and loyal subordinates, to keep the goodwill of the people and to deal with any opposition. Each of these aspects is examined but it is also found that, despite his capability, the single ruler's position always remained threatened since his position was usually unconstitutional. The final section of this chapter therefore involves a discussion of the constitutional difficulties facing the various governments and their failure to find an adequate constitutional arrangement that allowed for the role of the single ruler. Beneath the personalities and capabilities of the various individuals opposing or controlling the government, lay the fundamental problem of Greek social and economic attitudes. Chapter Four discusses the general aspects of these attitudes and the stresses on the Syracusan constitution caused by the widening of privilege and the change of values that had occurred by the end of the Fifth Century and continued throughout the Fourth Century B.C. In an examination of the specific problems of the economic situation at Syracuse it is found that this was an area in which both governments and revolutionaries alike failed, even though many revolutionaries gained support from the people by the promise that they would improve the economic situation of the poor. The final chapter reviews and assesses the constant problems that led to a recurrence of civil strife in Syracuse from 415 to 305 B.C., with reference to what may be regarded as general Greek problems and what were peculiarly Syracusan or Sicilian problems. PRINCIPAL ANCIENT It/LTS Aelian, Varia Historia (Teubner, Leipzig 1 974) Aristotle, Politics with translation by H. Rackham (Loeb Classical Library, London 1932) Diodorys Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica XII.41-XIII with translation by C.H. Oldfather (Loeb Classical Library, London 1950) Bibliotheca Historica XIV-XV.19 with translation by C.H. Oldfather (Loeb Classical Library, London 1 954) Bibliotheca Historica XV.20-XVI.65 with translation by C.L. Sherman (Loeb Classical Library, London 1952) Bibliotheca Historica XVI.66-XVII with translation by C.B. Welles (Loeb Classical Library, London 1963) Bibliotheca Historica XVIII-XIX.65 with translation by R.M. Greer (Loeb Classical Library, London 1957) Bibliotheca Historica XIX.66-XX with translation by R.M. Greer (Loeb Classical Library, London 1 954) Justin, Epitoma Historiarum Philippicarum Pompei Trogi (Teubner, Stuttgart 1972) Nepos, Great Generals of Foreign Nations with translation by J.C. Rolfe (Loeb Classical Library, London 1929) Plato, Epistles with translation by R.G. Bury (Loeb Classical Library, London 1929) Plutarch, Nicias with translation by B. Perrin (Loeb Classical Library, London 1916) Alcibiades with translation by B. Perrin (Loeb Classical Library, London 1916) Dion with translation by B. Perrin (Loeb Classical Library, London 1918) Timoleon with translation by B. Perrin (Loeb Classical Library, London 1918) Polyaenus, Polyaeni Stratagematon Libri Octo (Teubner, Stuttgart 1970) Thucydides, Thucydidis Historiae Vols. I & II (Oxford Classical Text, Oxford 1942) The Peloponnesian War translated by R. Warner (Penguin, Harmondsworth 1 954) Xenophon, Historia Graeca (Scriptorum Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis, Oxford 1900) ABBREVIATIONS Fr. Cr. Hist. = F. Jacoby, Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (Berlin 1923 - ). Journal titles are abbreviated in accordance with the practice in L' Armee Philologique. Some titles of works by ancient authors have also been abbreviated, but it is anticipated that these will cause no difficulty. TEXTUAL NOTE Throughout this thesis, for Diodorus and Plutarch Loeb translations and numbering have been used. INTRODUCTION : SCOPE AND INTENTION (The following chapter also touches briefly on the critical background, further details of which can be found in the footnotes and Bibliography.) Civil strife in its various forms was prevalent in Ancient Greece and has been commented upon as such by ancient and modern scholars alike. The ancient historians, philosophers and orators saw it as one of the, major dangers to the survival of the city-state and therefore often digressed from their particular topic to comment on its evils. The modern historians have also noted the recurrence of civil strife in Greece and the standard general works on the Greek city and Greek history mention it in such terms as the besetting evil of the polls or its endemic disease. 1 In recent times, the phenomena of 14-7/0-/c Xre(4r 7.46%f and political subversion has received more particular attention and much scholarly work in this area has been done. But, in my opinion, the work that has been done has been either rather broad and general in its range or restricted to an examination of a specific incident of political upheaval. Most notable on the broad level are the works which discuss the Ancient World from a Marxist viewpoint. Many of these are conveniently located in the articles and bibliographies in Arethusa 8 no. 1 (1975). Of particular value to the Greek scholar are those by G.E.M.De Ste Croix and 2 R. Padgug. However, these works are limited by their attempt to explain 3 or describe the conflicts in the Greek World in Marxist terms. General works on political theory and the interrelation of classes are numerous, one of the most recent being E. & N. Wood, Class Ideology and Ancient Political Theory (Oxford, 1978). In terms of revolutionary cause, A. Fuks, 'Patterns and Types of Socio-Economic Revolution in Greece from the Fourth to the Second Century B.C.', Ancient Society 5 (1974) deals basically with broad socio-economic movements and the resulting stress on a community unable to absorb the. changes within its framework. 2. Fuks, having identified some seventy cases of socio-economic revolution during the period studied, noted the wide range in both space and time of those cases and used them for his cumulative picture of types and patterns of socio-economic revolution. His work contains much that is valuable for an understanding of the conditions which led to revolutions and for analysing the various types of revolution. While his work showed the wide extent of revolutions and fixed revolutionary behaviour within the perspective of broad historical and economic developments, it did not explain why revolutions occurred in some places and not in others and why they occurred at precisely the time at which they did. For example, given the socio-economic premise from which Puke operates he needed to explain why revolution occurred in Syracuse in 356 B.C.