Ancient Greek Society by Mark Cartwright published on 15 May 2018

Although Society was dominated by the male citizen, with his full legal status, right to vote, hold public oce, and own property, the social groups which made up the population of a typical Greek city-state or were remarkably diverse. Women, children, immigrants (both Greek and foreign), labourers, and slaves all had dened roles, but there was interaction (oen illicit) between the classes and there was also some movement between social groups, particularly for second-generation ospring and during times of stress such as wars.

The society of ancient was largely composed of the following groups:

male citizens - three groups: landed aristocrats (aristoi), poorer farmers (periokoi) and the middle class (artisans and traders). semi-free labourers (e.g the of ). women - belonging to all of the above male groups but without citizen rights. children - categorised as below 18 years generally. slaves - the douloi who had civil or military duties. foreigners - non-residents (xenoi) or foreign residents (metoikoi) who were below male citizens in status. Classes

Although the male citizen had by far the best position in Greek society, there were dierent classes within this group. Top of the social tree were the ‘best people’, the aristoi. Possessing more money than everyone else, this class could provide themselves with armour, weapons, and a horse when on military campaign. The aristocrats were oen split into powerful family factions or clans who controlled all of the important political positions in the polis. Their wealth came from having property and even more importantly, the best land, i.e.: the most fertile and the closest to the protection oered by the city walls. Demeter & Persephone by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (CC BY-NC-SA) A poorer, second class of citizens existed too. These were men who had land but perhaps less productive plots and situated further from the city, their property was less well-protected than the prime land nearer the city proper. The land might be so far away that the owners had to live on it rather than travel back and forth from the city. These citizens were called the periokoi (dwellers-round-about) or even worse ‘dusty-feet’ and they collected together for protection in small village communities, subordinate to the neighbouring city. As city populations grew and inheritances became ever more divided amongst siblings, this secondary class grew signicantly.

A third group were the middle, business class. Engaged in manufacturing, trade, and commerce, these were the nouveau riche. However, the aristoi jealously guarded their privileges and political monopoly by ensuring only landowners could rise into positions of real power. However, there was some movement between classes. Some could rise through accumulating wealth and inuence, others could go down a class by becoming bankrupt (which could lead to a loss of citizenship or even being enslaved). Ill-health, losing out on an inheritance, political upheavals, or war could also result in the ‘best’ getting their feet a little dusty. Women

Female citizens had few rights in comparison to male citizens. Unable to vote, own land, or inherit, a woman’s place was in the home and her purpose in life was the rearing of children. Contact with non- family males was discouraged and women occupied their time with indoor activities such as wool- work and weaving. Spartan women were treated somewhat dierently than in other states, for example, they had to do physical training (nude) like men, were permitted to own land, and could drink wine.

Women citizens had to marry as a virgin and marriage was usually organised by the father, who chose the husband and accepted from him a dowry. If a woman had no father, then her interests (marriage prospects and property management) were looked aer by a guardian (kurios), perhaps an uncle or other male relative. Married at the typical age of thirteen or fourteen, love had little to do with the matching of husband and wife. Of course, love may have developed between the couple but the best that might be hoped for was philia - a general friendship/love sentiment; eros, the love of desire, was to be found elsewhere, at least for the male. Marriages could be ended on three grounds. The rst and most common was repudiation by the husband (apopempsis or ekpempsis). No reason was necessary, only the return of the dowry was expected. The second termination cause was the wife leaving the family home (apoleipsis) and in this case the woman’s new guardian was required to act as her legal representative. This was, however, a rare occurrence and the woman’s reputation in society was damaged as a result. The third ground for termination was when the Greek Peplos Dress bride’s father asked for his daughter back (aphairesis), probably to oer by Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA) her to another man with a more attractive dowry. This last option was only possible, however, if the wife had not had children. If a woman was le a widow, she was required to marry a close male relative in order to ensure property stayed within the family.

Women, of course, were also present in the various other non-citizen classes. The group for which we have most information is that of sex-workers. Women were here divided into two categories. The rst and perhaps most common was the brothel prostitute (pornē). The second, was the higher-class prostitute (hetaira). These latter women were educated in music and culture and oen formed lasting relationships with married men. It was also this class of women that entertained men (in every sense) at the celebrated symposium. Children & Adolescents

Children of citizens attended schools where the curriculum covered reading, writing, and mathematics. Aer these basics were mastered, studies turned to literature (for example, ), poetry, and music (especially the lyre). Athletics was also an essential element in a young person’s UPDATED: JUN 7, 2019 · ORIGINAL: DEC 2, 2009 Leonidas

HISTORY.COM EDITORS

Leonidas (c. 530-480 B.C.) was a king of the city-state of CONTENTS Sparta from about 490 B.C. until his death at the Battle of against the Persian army in 480 B.C. 1. Training as a Although Leonidas lost the battle, his death at Thermopylae was seen as a heroic sacrifice because he 2. Xerxes and the Persian Invasion sent most of his army away when he realized that the 3. Persians had outmaneuvered him. Three hundred of his fellow Spartans stayed with him to fight and die. Almost 4. After the Battle everything that is known about Leonidas comes from the work of the Greek historian (c. 484-c. 425 B.C.). Training as a Hoplite

Leonidas was the son of the Spartan king Anaxandrides (died c. 520 B.C.). He became king when his older half-brother (also a son of Anaxandrides) died under violent, and slightly mysterious, circumstances in 490 B.C. without having produced a male heir.

Did you know? The Thermopylae pass was also the site of two other ancient battles. In 279 B.C., Gallic forces broke through Greek forces there by using the same alternate route that the Persians did in 480 B.C. In 191 B.C., the Roman army defeated an invasion of Greece by the Syrian king Antiochus III at Thermopylae.

As king, Leonidas was a military leader as well as a political one. Like all male Spartan citizens, Leonidas had been trained mentally and physically since childhood in preparation to become a hoplite warrior. were armed with a round shield, spear and iron short sword. In battle, they used a formation called a , in which rows of hoplites stood directly next to each other so that their shields overlapped with one another. During a frontal attack, this wall of shields provided significant protection to the warriors behind it. If the phalanx broke or if the enemy attacked from the side or the rear, however, the formation became vulnerable. It was this fatal weakness to the otherwise formidable phalanx formation that proved to be Leonidas’ undoing against an invading Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. Xerxes and the Persian Invasion was made up of several hundred city-states, of which and Leonidas’ Sparta were the largest and most powerful. Although these many city-states vied with one another for control of land and resources, they also banded together to defend themselves from foreign invasion. Twice at the beginning of the fifth century B.C., Persia attempted such an invasion. In 490 B.C. the Persian king Darius I (550-486 B.C.) instigated the initial such attempt as part of the First Persian War, but a combined Greek force turned back the Persian army at the Battle of . Ten years later, during the Second Persian War, one of Darius’ sons, (c. 519-465 B.C.), again launched an invasion against Greece. Battle of Thermopylae

Under Xerxes I, the Persian army moved south through Greece on the eastern coast, accompanied by the Persian navy moving parallel to the shore. To reach its destination at , the region controlled by the city-state of Athens, the Persians needed to go through the coastal pass of Thermopylae (or the “Hot Gates,” so known because of nearby sulfur springs). In the late summer of 480 B.C., Leonidas led an army of 6,000 to 7,000 Greeks from many city-states, including 300 Spartans, in an attempt to prevent the Persians from passing through Thermopylae.

Leonidas established his army at Thermopylae, expecting that the narrow pass would funnel the Persian army toward his own force. For two days, the Greeks withstood the determined attacks of their far more numerous enemy. Leonidas’ plan worked well at first, but he did not know that there was a route over the mountains to the west of Thermopylae that would allow the enemy to bypass his fortified position along the coast. A local Greek told Xerxes about this other route and led the Persian army across it, enabling them to surround the Greeks. Much of the Greek force retreated rather than face the Persian army. An army of Spartans, Thespians and Thebans remained to fight the Persians. Leonidas and with him were all killed, along with most of their remaining allies. The Persians found and beheaded Leonidas’ corpse–an act that was considered to be a grave insult. After the Battle

Leonidas’ sacrifice, along with that of his Spartan hoplites, did not prevent the Persians from moving down the Greek coast into . In September 480 B.C., however, the Athenian navy defeated the Persians at the Battle of Salamis, after which the Persians returned home. Nonetheless, Leonidas’ action demonstrated Sparta’s willingness to sacrifice itself for the protection of the Greek region.

Leonidas achieved lasting fame for his personal sacrifice. Hero cults were an established custom in ancient Greece from the eighth century B.C. onward. Dead heroes were worshipped, usually near their burial site, as intermediaries to the gods. Forty years after the battle, Sparta retrieved Leonidas’ remains (or what were believed to be his remains) and a shrine was built in his honor. Citation Information

Article Title Leonidas Author History.com Editors Website Name HISTORY URL Battle of Thermopylae by Mark Cartwright published on 16 April 2013

Thermopylae is a mountain pass near the sea in northern Greece which was the site of several battles in antiquity, the most famous being that between Persians and Greeks in August 480 BCE. Despite being greatly inferior in numbers, the Greeks held the narrow pass for three days with Spartan King Leonidas ghting a last-ditch defence with a small force of Spartans and other Greek hoplites. Ultimately the Persians took control of the pass, but the heroic defeat of Leonidas would assume legendary proportions for later generations of Greeks, and within a year the Persian invasion would be repulsed at the battles of Salamis and Plataea. Context: The Persian Wars

By the rst years of the 5th century BCE, Persia, under the rule of Darius (r. 522-486 BCE), was already expanding into mainland Europe and had subjugated Thrace and . Next in king Darius’ sights were Athens and the rest of Greece. Just why Greece was coveted by Persia is unclear. Wealth and resources seem an unlikely motive; other more plausible suggestions include the need to increase the prestige of the king at home or to quell once and for all a collection of potentially troublesome rebel states on the western border of the empire.

Whatever the exact motives, in 491 BCE Darius sent envoys to call for the Greeks’ submission to Persian rule. The Greeks sent a no-nonsense reply by executing the envoys, and Athens and Sparta promised to form an alliance for the defence of Greece. Darius’ response to this diplomatic outrage was to launch a naval force of 600 ships and 25,000 men to attack the Cyclades and Euboea, leaving the Persians just one step away from the rest of Greece. In 490 BCE Greek forces led by Athens met the Persians in battle at Marathon and defeated the invaders. The battle would take on mythical status amongst the Greeks, but in reality it was merely the opening overture of a long war with several other battles making up the principal acts. Persia, with the largest empire in the world, was vastly superior in men and resources and now these would be fully utilised for a full-scale attack.

In 486 BCE Xerxes became king upon the death of Darius and massive preparations for invasion were made. Depots of equipment and supplies were laid, a canal dug at Chalkidike, and boat bridges built across the Hellespont to facilitate the movement of troops. Greece was about to face its greatest ever threat, and even the oracle at ominously advised the Athenians to ‘y to the world’s end’. The Pass of Thermopylae When news of the invading force reached Greece, the initial Greek reaction was to send a force of 10,000 hoplites to hold position at the valley of Tempē near Mt. Olympos, but these withdrew when the massive size of the invading army was revealed. Then aer much discussion and compromise between Greek city-states, suspicious of each others' motives, a joint army of between 6,000 and 7,000 men was sent to defend the pass at Thermopylae through which the Persians must enter mainland Greece. The Greek forces included 300 Spartans and their helots with 2,120 Arcadians, 1,000 Lokrians, 1,000 Phokians, 700 Thespians, 400 Corinthians, 400 Thebans, 200 men from Phleious, and 80 Mycenaeans.

The relatively small size of the defending force has been explained as a reluctance by some Greek city- states to commit troops so far north, and/or due to THERMOPYLAE WAS AN religious motives, for it was the period of the sacred games at Olympia and the most important Spartan EXCELLENT CHOICE FOR religious festival, the Karneia, and no ghting was DEFENCE WITH MOUNTAINS permitted during these events. Indeed, for this very RUNNING DOWN INTO THE reason, the Spartans had arrived too late at the earlier . Therefore, the Spartans, SEA LEAVING ONLY A widely credited as being the best ghters in Greece NARROW PASS ALONG THE and the only polis with a professional army, COAST. contributed only a small advance force of 300 hoplites (from an estimated 8,000 available) to the Greek defensive force, these few being chosen from men with male heirs.

In addition to the land forces, the Greek poleis sent a eet of trireme warships which held position o the coast of Artemision (or Artemesium) on the northern coast of Euboea, 40 nautical miles from Thermopylae. The Greeks would amass over 300 triremes and perhaps their main purpose was to prevent the Persian eet sailing down the inland coast of Lokris and Boeotia.

The pass of Thermopylae, located 150 km north of Athens was an excellent choice for defence with steep mountains running down into the sea leaving only a narrow marshy area along the coast. The pass had also been fortied by the local Phokians who built a defensive wall running from the so- called Middle Gate down to the sea. The wall was in a state of ruin, but the Spartans made the best repairs they could in the circumstances. It was here, then, in a 15 metre wide gap with a sheer cli protecting their le ank and the sea on their right, that the Greeks chose to make a stand against the invading army. Having somewhere in the region of 80,000 troops at his disposal, the Persian king, who led the invasion in person, rst waited four days in expectation that the Greeks would ee in panic. When the Greeks held their position, Xerxes once again sent envoys to oer the defenders a last chance to surrender without bloodshed if the Greeks would only lay down their arms. Leonidas’ bullish response to Xerxes request was ‘molōn labe’ or ‘come and get them’ and so battle commenced. Hoplites vs Archers

The two opposing armies were essentially representative of the two approaches to Classical warfare - the Persians favoured long-range assault using archers followed up with a cavalry charge, whilst the Greeks favoured heavily-armoured hoplites, arranged in a densely packed formation called the phalanx, with each man carrying a heavy round bronze shield and ghting at close quarters using spears and swords. The Persian infantry carried a lightweight (oen crescent-shaped) wicker shield and were armed with a long dagger or battleaxe, a short spear, and Greek Hoplite composite bow. The Persian forces also included the Immortals, by Johnny Shumate (Public Domain) an elite force of 10,000 who were probably better protected with armour and armed with spears. The Persian cavalry were armed as the foot soldiers, with a bow and an additional two javelins for throwing and thrusting. Cavalry, usually operating on the anks of the main battle, were used to mop up opposing infantry put in disarray aer they had been subjected to repeated salvos from the archers. Although the Persians had enjoyed the upper hand in previous contests during the recent Ionian revolt, the terrain at Thermopylae would better suit the Greek approach to warfare.

Although the Persian tactic of rapidly ring vast numbers of arrows into the enemy must have been an awesome sight, the lightness of the arrows meant that they were largely ineective against the bronze-armoured hoplites. Indeed, Spartan indierence is epitomised by Dieneces, who, when told that the Persian arrows would be so dense as to darken the sun, replied that in that case the Spartans would have the pleasure of ghting in the shade. At close quarters, the longer spears, heavier swords, better armour, and rigid discipline of the phalanx formation meant that the Greek hoplites would have all of the advantages, and in the narrow connes of the terrain, the Persians would struggle to make their vastly superior numbers tell. Battle

On the rst day Xerxes sent his Median and Kissian troops, and aer their failure to clear the pass, the elite Immortals entered the battle but in the brutal close-quarter ghting, the Greeks held rm. The Greek tactic of feigning a disorganised retreat and then turning on the enemy in the phalanx formation also worked well, lessening the threat from Persian arrows and perhaps the hoplites surprised the Persians with their disciplined mobility, a benet of being a professionally trained army. Persian Archers The second day followed the pattern of the rst, and the Greek by mshamma (CC BY) forces still held the pass. However, an unscrupulous traitor was about to tip the balance in favour of the invaders. Ephialtes, son of Eurydemos, a local shepherd from Trachis, seeking reward from Xerxes, informed the Persians of an alternative route --the Anopaia path-- which would allow them to avoid the majority of the enemy forces and attack their southern ank. Leonidas had stationed the contingent of Phokian troops to guard this vital point but they, thinking themselves the primary target of this new development, withdrew to a higher defensive position when the Immortals attacked. This suited the Persians as they could now continue unimpeded along the mountain path and arrive behind the main Greek force. With their position now seemingly hopeless, and before their retreat was cut o completely, the bulk of the Greek forces were ordered to withdraw by Leonidas. Last Stand

The Spartan king, on the third day of the battle, rallied his small force - the survivors from the original Spartan 300, 700 Thespians and 400 Thebans - and made a rearguard stand to defend the pass to the last man in the hope of delaying the Persians progress, in order to allow the rest of the Greek force to retreat or also possibly to await relief from a larger Greek force. Early in the morning, the hoplites once more met the enemy, but this time Xerxes could attack from both front and rear and planned to do so but, in the event, the Immortals behind the Greeks were late on arrival. Leonidas moved his troops to the widest part of the pass to utilise all of his men at once, and in the ensuing clash the Spartan king was killed. His comrades then fought ercely to recover the body of the fallen king. Meanwhile, the Immortals now entered the fray behind the Greeks who retreated to a high mound behind the Phokian wall. Perhaps at this point the Theban contingent may have surrendered (although this is disputed amongst scholars). The remaining hoplites, now trapped and without their inspirational king, were subjected to a barrage of Persian arrows until no man was le standing. Aer the battle, Xerxes ordered that Leonidas’ head be put on a stake and displayed at the battleeld. As Herodotus claims in his account of the battle in book VII of The , the Oracle at Delphi had been proved right when she proclaimed that either Sparta or one of her kings must fall.

Meanwhile at Artemision, the Persians were battling the elements rather than the Greeks, as they lost 400 triremes in a storm o the coast of Magnesia and more in a second storm o Euboea. When the two eets nally met, the Greeks fought late in the day and therefore limited the duration of each skirmish which diminished the numerical advantage held by the Persians. The result of the battle was, however, indecisive and on news of Leonidas’ defeat, the eet withdrew to Salamis. The Aftermath

The battle of Thermopylae, and particularly the Spartans' role in it, soon acquired mythical status amongst the Greeks. Free men, in respect of their own laws, had sacriced themselves in order to defend their way of life against foreign aggression. As Simonedes’ epitaph at the site of the fallen stated: ‘Go tell the Spartans, you who read: We took their orders and here lie dead’. Leonidas by Marie-Lan Nguyen (CC BY-SA) A glorious defeat maybe, but the fact remained that the way was now clear for Xerxes to push on into mainland Greece. The Greeks, though, were far from nished, and despite many states now turning over to the Persians and Athens itself being sacked, a Greek army led by Leonidas’ brother Kleombrotos began to build a defensive wall near . Winter halted the land campaign, though, and at Salamis the Greek eet manoeuvred the Persians into shallow waters and won a resounding victory. Xerxes returned home to his palace at Sousa and le the gied general in charge of the invasion. Aer a series of political negotiations it became clear that the Persians would not gain victory through diplomacy and the two armies met at Plataea in August 479 BCE. The Greeks, elding the largest hoplite army ever seen, won the battle and nally ended Xerxes’ ambitions in Greece.

As an interesting footnote: the important strategic position of Thermopylae meant that it was once more the scene of battle in 279 BCE when the Greeks faced invading Gauls, in 191 BCE when a Roman army defeated Antiochus III, and even as recent as 1941 CE when Allied New Zealand forces clashed with those of .

Campbell, B. (ed). The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World. Oxford University Press, USA, 2013. Fields, N. Thermopylae 480 BC. Osprey Publishing, 2007. Herodotus. Herodotus. Penguin , 1996. Hornblower, S. (ed). The Oxford Classical Dictionary. OUP, Oxford, 2012 Kinzl, K.H. (ed). A Companion to the Classical Greek World. Wiley-Blackwell, London, 2012

Translations

We want people all over the world to learn about history. Help us and translate this denition into another language!

Mark Cartwright Gorgo of Sparta by Joshua J. Mark published on 07 August 2014

Gorgo was the queen of the Greek city-state of Sparta, daughter of the king Cleomenes (reigned 520-490 BCE), wife of King Leonidas (reigned 490-480 BCE), and mother of King Pleistarchus (reigned 480-458 BCE). Her birth and death dates are unknown but it is generally believed, based on inferences from Herodotus, that she was born in either 518 or 508 BCE, was already married to King Leonidas by 490 BCE, and survived his death at Thermopylae in 480 BCE. She was most likely still alive during the reign of her son Pleistarchus, but for how long and what role she played at his court are not known. She is a gure of note for her wisdom, cleverness, and the apparent authority she assumed in the lives of those around her. Both her father and her husband listened to her counsel, and she is one of the few women mentioned by Herodotus in his Histories. The historian and novelist Helena P. Schrader writes:

The most remarkable thing about Gorgo, wife of King of Sparta, is that we know anything about her at all. Herodotus and other ancient Greek historians are far more likely to mention Persian queens than the wives of Greeks – not because Persian women were more powerful than their Greek counterparts, but because Persians had several wives, and so it was sometimes useful to record by which of them a certain Persian figure had been born. Since Greeks had only one legitimate wife, there was no need for such clarification when it came to prominent Greek citizens. Even the names of Spartan queens are rarely mentioned. We do not know, for example, the names of either Leonidas' mother or his stepmother, the "second wife" who caused all the trouble in the Agiad family in the second half of the 6th century BC.

The near complete absence of Greek women in ancient history (as opposed to and drama) is a function of the fact that ancient historians were predominantly Athenian males from the classical or Hellenistic periods. Athenians of these periods did not think women should be seen – much less heard – in public. Women had no public role and so no business in politics or history. As said in one of his most famous speeches, "The greatest glory of a woman is to be least talked about, whether they are praising you or criticizing you." (, History of the Peloponnesian War, 2:46.). Gorgo was, by that standard, a hopeless piece of scandal. Early Life

As a Spartan girl of nobility, Gorgo would have been brought up at court trained in singing, dancing, literature, and, especially, physical education. Unlike Athenian women, who were considered lesser than males and relegated to their homes, Spartan women were free to pursue an education, own land, initiate divorce, and go where they pleased (within reason). It has been speculated, therefore, that there were other women as notable as Gorgo, probably many, whose lives and deeds were simply not recorded. The rst account of her in Herodotus is from when she was eight or nine years old (though she is thought to have actually been older). This was during the time of the revolt of the Ionian city- states against Persian rule (c. 499-493 BCE), which was instigated by the of , , and supported by the city-state of Athens. When the revolt failed, Aristagoras ed to the Greek mainland and then to the to enlist the aid of Sparta in driving the Persians from .

King Cleomenes had already sent Aristagoras away, refusing this request, but Aristagoras visited him at his home and attempted to bribe him. Interestingly, HE OFFERED THE KING MORE Herodotus reports, Gorgo was present in the room with her father when Aristagoras arrived and, when AND STILL MORE MONEY, Aristagoras asked the king to send the child away so UNTIL GORGO SAID, "FATHER, they could talk privately, Cleomenes refused and YOUR VISITOR IS GOING TO told him to speak freely in front of her. Aristagoras then oered him a substantial bribe for his CORRUPT YOU IF YOU DON'T assistance, which was declined, so he oered the GET UP AND LEAVE". king more and still more money until Gorgo said, HERODOTUS "Father, your visitor is going to corrupt you if you don't get up and leave" (Herodotus, 5.51). Cleomenes took her advice and refused Aristagoras' bribe. Schrader writes,

In no other Greek city but Sparta would a female of any age have been allowed to be present, much less heard and heeded, at a meeting between heads of state. Gorgo's advice was all the more remarkable because it was good. It was Athenian aid for the Ionian revolt that brought the wrath of Persia down on mainland Greece, leading some people to quip that it was easier to bamboozle thirty thousand Athenian men than one Spartan girl.

Marriage to Leonidas

In 490 BCE, Cleomenes died leaving no male heir to the throne, and so his half-brother Leonidas became king. Leonidas and Gorgo were already married by that time, and so she became the queen of Sparta. It is during this period that Herodotus' other tale concerning her takes place. The Persians, under King Darius I, tried to invade Greece in retaliation for Athens' aid to the Ionian Greeks in 490 BCE but were defeated at the Battle of Marathon. When Darius died, his son Xerxes the Great swore to complete the work his father had begun and assembled the largest army ever put into the eld up to that time. When Xerxes was preparing his war machine, a man named Demartus was living in the Persian city of Susa. Demartus had been co-ruler with Cleomenes until 491 BCE when Cleomenes had forced him into exile aer a political dispute. Demartus became aware of Xerxes' plans for the military campaign to Greece and wanted to warn the Spartans, but he did not know how. Susa was deep in the Persian Empire and any message being sent toward Greece would most likely be apprehended by Persian ocials before it reached the border. Herodotus writes,

This was very risky - what if he should be caught? - and the only way he could find to get the message to them was to take a folding writing-tablet, scrape off the wax, and write about the king's decision on the bare wood of the tablet. Then he covered the message up again with melted wax so that during its journey the tablet would not arouse the suspicions of the guards on the route. (7.239)

When the tablet reached Sparta and was brought to the king, no one knew what to do with it. While they were puzzling over why Demartus would have sent them a blank writing tablet and what it could possibly mean, Gorgo deduced that it was probably a message sent encoded. She Leonidas suggested that they scrape o the wax and, when they did, they found his by Marie-Lan Nguyen (CC BY-SA) message about the Persian invasion. They then sent word to Athens and the other city-states, which enabled the Greeks to prepare for war. If Gorgo had not recognized that the message was beneath the wax, the Persians would most likely have taken Greece by surprise or, at least, the Greeks would not have been able to ready themselves as early as they did. It is also to Leonidas' credit, and that of the Spartan court, that they were not foolish enough to ignore a suggestion simply because it came from a woman. It is interesting to speculate on what would have happened if the message had been sent to Athens instead of Sparta.

Leonidas, of course, would become famous for his last stand at Thermopylae with his 300 Spartans during the invasion of 480 BCE. Schrader writes:

When Leonidas marched out to die at Thermopylae, Gorgo asked him for instructions. His answer was a final compliment to her. He said: "Marry a good man and have good children." Not sons, children. Leonidas wanted Gorgo not to mourn him but to be happy, and he valued daughters as much as sons – probably because he had learned from Gorgo the importance of clever and loyal women.

Anecdotes

A number of anecdotes have been attributed to her which evidence a strong and intelligent woman. Once, when she was visiting Athens, a woman asked her why it seemed only Spartan women could control their men. She answered, "Because only Spartan women give birth to men", meaning that only Sparta produced real men. That she was free enough in her life to travel to Athens with Leonidas, and apparently take part in his ocial business in the city, is testimony to the freedom of Spartan women in general and Gorgo's status specically. Aer Leonidas' death, Pleistarchus became the king of Sparta and Gorgo vanishes from the historical record.

Gorgo continues to be regarded as one of the most clever and inuential women in ancient history, not only as the wife of Leonidas but for her own contributions. She was featured in the lm The 300 Spartans (1962 CE) where her role was played by Anna Synodinou and in the lms 300 (2006 CE) and 300: Rise of an Empire (2014 CE) played by Lena Headey and portrayed according to the traditional view of her as a strong and noble woman. UPDATED: JUN 7, 2019 · ORIGINAL: MAR 21, 2011 Achilles

HISTORY.COM EDITORS

The warrior Achilles is one of the great CONTENTS heroes of Greek mythology. According to legend, Achilles was extraordinarily strong, 1. Achilles: Early Life courageous and loyal, but he had one vulnerability–his “Achilles heel.” Homer’s epic 2. Achilles: The Trojan War poem The Iliad tells the story of his 3. Achilles: The Illiad adventures during the last year of the Trojan War. 4. Achilles: The Fate of Achilles Achilles: Early Life

Like most mythological heroes, Achilles had a complicated family tree. His father was Peleus, the mortal king of the Myrmidons–a people who, according to legend, were extraordinarily fearless and skilled soldiers. His mother was Thetis, a Nereid.

Did you know? Today, we use the phrase “Achilles heel” to describe a powerful person’s fatal weakness.

According to myths and stories composed long after the Iliad, Thetis was extraordinarily concerned about her baby son’s mortality. She did everything she could to make him immortal: She burned him over a fire every night, then dressed his wounds with ambrosial ointment; and she dunked him into the River Styx, whose waters were said to confer the invulnerability of the gods. However, she gripped him tightly by the foot as she dipped him into the river–so tightly that the water never touched his heel. As a result, Achilles was invulnerable everywhere but there.

When he was 9 years old, a seer predicted that Achilles would die heroically in battle against the Trojans. When she heard about this, Thetis disguised him as a girl and sent him to live on the Aegean island of Skyros. To be a great warrior was Achilles’ fate, however, and he soon left Skyros and joined the Greek army. In a last-ditch effort to save her son’s life, Thetis asked the divine blacksmith Hephaestus to make a sword and shield that would keep him safe. The armor that Hephaestus produced for Achilles did not make him immortal, but it was distinctive enough to be recognized by friend and foe alike. When Homer wrote the Iliad in about 720 BCE, however, readers and listeners would not have known any of this. They only knew that Achilles was a great hero, that he had superhuman strength and courage and that he was supremely handsome. Homer painted a more nuanced picture: In addition to these qualities, his Achilles was vengeful and quick to anger and could be petulant when he did not get his way. He was also deeply loyal and would sacrifice anything for his friends and family. Achilles: The Trojan War

According to legend, the Trojan War began when the god-king Zeus decided to reduce Earth’s mortal population by arranging a war between the Greeks (Homer calls them the ) and the Trojans. He did this by meddling in their political and emotional affairs. At Achilles’ parents’ wedding banquet, Zeus invited the prince of , a young man named Paris, to judge a beauty contest between the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. Each of the goddesses offered Paris a bribe in exchange for his vote. Aphrodite’s was the most alluring: She promised to give the young prince the most beautiful wife in the world. Unfortunately, the wife in question–Helen, the daughter of Zeus–was already married to someone else: , the king of Sparta. At Aphrodite’s urging, Paris went to Sparta, won Helen’s heart and took her (along with all of Menelaus’ money) back to Troy.

Menelaus vowed revenge. He assembled an army of Greece’s greatest warriors, including Achilles and his Myrmidons, and set off to conquer Troy and get his wife back. In Homer’s telling, this war lasted for 10 bloody years. Achilles: The Illiad

When the Iliad begins, the Trojan War has been going on for nine years. Achilles, the poem’s , has led one battle after another. He has met with great success– in fact, he is undefeated in battle–but the war itself has reached a stalemate.

Homer’s story focuses on a different conflict, however: the internecine quarrel between his hero and Agamemnon, the leader of the Achaean armies and Menelaus’ brother. In a battle that took place before the poem begins, Agamemnon had taken as a concubine a young Trojan woman named Chryseis. Chryseis’ father, a priest of the god Apollo, tried to buy his daughter’s freedom, but Agamemnon mocked his entreaties and refused to release the girl.

Enraged, Apollo punished the Greek armies by sending a plague to kill the soldiers one by one. As his ranks thinned, Agamemnon finally agreed to allow Chryseis to return to her father. However, he demanded a replacement concubine in exchange: Achilles’ wife, the Trojan princess Breseis.

Achilles did as his commander asked and relinquished his bride. Then, he announced that he would no longer fight on Agamemnon’s behalf. He gathered his belongings, including the armor Hephaestus had made, and refused to come out of his tent.

With the Greeks’ greatest warrior off the battlefield, the tide began to turn in favor of the Trojans. The Greeks lost one battle after another. Eventually, Achilles’ best friend, the soldier Patroclus, was able to wrangle a compromise: Achilles would not fight, but he would let Patroclus use his powerful armor as a disguise. That way, the Trojans would think that Achilles had returned to battle and would retreat in fear. The plan was working until Apollo, still seething about Agamemnon’s treatment of Chryseis and her father, intervened on the Trojans’ behalf. He helped the Trojan prince Hector to find and kill Patroclus.

Furious, Achilles vowed to take revenge. He chased Hector back to Troy, slaughtering Trojans all the way. When they got to the city walls, Hector tried to reason with his pursuer, but Achilles was not interested. He stabbed Hector in the throat, killing him.

Hector had begged for an honorable burial in Troy, but Achilles was determined to humiliate his enemy even in death. He dragged Hector’s body behind his chariot all the way back to the Achaean camp and tossed it on the garbage heap. However, in the poem’s last section Achilles finally relents: He returns Hector’s body to his father for a proper burial. Achilles: The Fate of Achilles

In his Iliad, Homer does not explain what happened to Achilles. According to later legends (and bits and pieces of Homer’s own Odyssey), the warrior returned to Troy after Hector’s funeral to exact further revenge for Patroclus’ death. However, the still- vengeful Apollo told Hector’s brother Paris that Achilles was coming. Paris, who was not a brave warrior, ambushed Achilles as he entered Troy. He shot his unsuspecting enemy with an arrow, which Apollo guided to the one place he knew Achilles was vulnerable: his heel, where his mother’s hand had kept the waters of the Styx from touching his skin. Achilles died on the spot, still undefeated in battle. Citation Information

Article Title Achilles Author History.com Editors Website Name HISTORY URL https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/achilles Access Date March 25, 2020 Publisher A&E Television Networks Last Updated June 7, 2019 Original Published Date March 21, 2011 History Biography Geography Science Games

Greek Mythology

Achilles

History >> Ancient Greece >> Greek Mythology

What is Achilles known for?

Achilles was one of the greatest warriors and heroes in Greek Mythology. He was a major character in the Iliad by Homer where he fought in the Trojan War against the city of Troy.

Birth of Achilles

Achilles' father was Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, and his mother was Thetis, a sea nymph. After Achilles was born, his mother wanted to protect him from harm. She held him by the heel and dipped him into the river Styx. In Greek Mythology, the river Styx was located in the Underworld and had special powers. Achilles became invulnerable everywhere but at his heel where his mother held him.

Because Achilles was a half-god, he was very strong and soon became a great warrior. However, he was also half human and wasn't immortal like his mother. He would get old and die someday and he could also be killed.

Achilles by Ernst Wallis Advertisement | Report Ad

The Trojan War Begins

When Helen, the wife of the Greek King Menelaus, was taken by the Trojan Prince Paris, the Greeks went to war to get her back. Achilles joined the battle and brought along a group of powerful soldiers called the Myrmidons.

Achilles Fights Troy

During the Trojan War, Achilles was unstoppable. He killed many of Troy's greatest warriors. However, the battle raged on for years. Many of the Greek gods were involved, some helping the Greeks and others helping the Trojans.

Achilles Refuses to Fight

At one point during the war, Achilles captured a beautiful princess named Briseis and fell in love with her. However, the leader of the Greek army, Agamemnon, became angry with Achilles and took Briseis from him. Achilles became depressed and refused to fight.

Patroclus Dies

With Achilles not fighting, the Greeks began to lose the battle. The greatest warrior of Troy was Hector and no one could stop him. Achilles' best friend was a soldier named Patroclus. Patroclus convinced Achilles to lend him his armor. Patroclus entered the battle dressed as Achilles. Thinking that Achilles was back, the Greek army was inspired and began to fight harder.

Just when things were improving for the Greeks, Patroclus met up with Hector. The two warriors engaged in battle. With the help of the god Apollo, Hector killed Patroclus and took Achilles' armor. Achilles then rejoined the battle in order to avenge his friend's death. He met Hector on the battlefield and, after a long fight, defeated him.

Death

Achilles continued to battle the Trojans and it seemed like he could not be killed. However, the Greek god Apollo knew his weakness. When Paris of Troy shot an arrow at Achilles, Apollo guided it so that it struck Achilles on the heel. Achilles eventually died from the wound.

The Achilles' Heel

Today, the term "Achilles' heel" is used to describe a point of weakness that could lead to ones' downfall. Interesting Facts About Achilles

One story tells how Thetis disguised Achilles as a girl in the court of king of Skyros in order to keep him from war. Another Greek hero, Odysseus traveled to Skyros and tricked Achilles into giving himself away. The Achilles tendon that connects the heel to the calf is named after the hero Achilles. The Greek god Apollo was angry with Achilles because Achilles killed Apollo's son. He fought and killed Penthesilea, the Queen of the Amazons. After Achilles' death, the heroes Odysseus and Ajax competed for Achilles' armor. Odysseus won and gave the armor to Achilles' son.

Activities

Take a ten question quiz about this page.

Listen to a recorded reading of this page:

0:00 / 0:00

For more about Ancient Greece:

Overview Daily Life Greek Mythology Timeline of Ancient Greece Daily Lives of the Ancient Greeks Greek Gods and Mythology Geography Typical Greek Town Hercules The City of Athens Food Achilles Sparta Clothing Monsters of Greek Mythology Minoans and Mycenaeans Women in Greece The Titans Greek City-states Science and Technology The Iliad Peloponnesian War Soldiers and War The Odyssey Persian Wars Slaves The Olympian Gods Decline and Fall People Zeus Legacy of Ancient Greece Hera Glossary and Terms Poseidon Arts and Culture Apollo Pericles Artemis Drama and Theater Hermes Architecture Athena Olympic Games 25 Famous Greek People Ares Government of Ancient Greece Greek Philosophers Aphrodite Hephaestus Demeter Hestia Prometheus by Mark Cartwright published on 20 April 2013

Translated text available in: Turkish, French

In Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus had a reputation as being something of a clever trickster and he famously gave the human race the gi of re and the skill of metalwork, an action for which he was punished by Zeus, who ensured everyday that an eagle ate the liver of the Titan as he was helplessly chained to a rock.

Prometheus (meaning "Forethought") was one of the ringleaders of the battle between the Titans and the Olympian gods led by Zeus to gain control of the heavens, a struggle which was said to have lasted ten years. Prometheus did, however, switch sides and support the victorious Olympians when the Titans would not follow his advice to use trickery in the battle.

According to ’s Theogony, Prometheus’ father was Iapetus, his mother was Clymene (or Themis in other versions) and his brothers were fellow Titans Epimetheus (Aerthought or Hindsight), Menoetius, and Atlas. One of Prometheus’ sons was Deucalion, an equivalent of Noah, who survived a great ood by sailing in a great chest for nine days and nights and who, with his wife Pyrrha, became the founder of the human race.

In some traditions, Prometheus made the rst man from clay, whilst in others, the gods made all creatures on Earth, and Epimetheus and Prometheus were given the task of endowing them with gis so that they might survive and prosper. Epimetheus liberally spread around such gis as fur and wings but by the time he got around to man, he had run out of gis. Prometheus' Crime

Feeling sorry for man’s weak and naked state, Prometheus raided the workshop of Hephaistos and Athena on Mt. Olympus and stole re, and by hiding it in a hollow fennel-stalk, he gave the valuable gi to man which would help him in life’s struggle. The Titan also taught man how to use their gi and so the skill of metalwork began; he also came to be associated with science and culture.

In a slightly dierent version of the story, mankind already had re, and when Prometheus tried to trick Zeus into eating bones and fat instead of the best meat during a meal at Mt. Olympus, Zeus, in anger, took away re so that man would have to eat his meat raw. Prometheus then stole the re as in the alternative version. This also explained why, in PROMETHEUS RAIDED THE animal sacrices, the Greeks always dedicated the bones and fat to the gods and ate the meat WORKSHOP OF HEPHAISTOS themselves. AND ATHENA ON MT. OLYMPUS AND STOLE FIRE; The Punishment of HE THEN GAVE THE Prometheus VALUABLE GIFT TO MANKIND.

Zeus was outraged by Prometheus' the of re and so punished the Titan by having him taken far to the east, perhaps the Caucasus. Here Prometheus was chained to a rock (or pillar) and Zeus sent an eagle to eat the Titan’s liver. Even worse, the liver re- grew every night and the eagle returned each day to perpetually torment Prometheus. Fortunately for man’s benefactor, but only aer many years, the hero Hercules, when passing one day during his celebrated labours, killed the eagle with one of his arrows. In Hesiod’s Works & Days we are told that Zeus punished man for receiving the re by instructing Hephaistos to create the rst woman, Pandora, from clay and through her all the negative aspects of life would befall the human race - toil, illness, war, and death - and denitively separate mankind from the gods.

Prometheus was worshipped in Athens, particularly by potters (who, of course, needed re in their kilns) and there was an annual torch race held in the god’s honour. Prometheus rst appears in Greek art in a 7th century BCE ivory from Sparta and on Greek pottery from c. 600 BCE, usually being punished. The myth of Prometheus and his terrible punishment by Zeus was the theme of tragic poet ’ Prometheus Bound.

Prometheus relief by Carole Raddato (CC BY-SA) Carabatea, M. Greek Mythology. Pergamos, Peania, 2007 Carpenter, T.H. Art and Myth in Ancient Greece. Thames & Hudson, London, 2012 Hesiod. Hesiod. Loeb Classical Library, 2007. Hope Moncrieff, A.R. Classical Mythology. Senate, London, 1994 Hornblower, S. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford University Press, USA, 2012.

Translations

We want people all over the world to learn about history. Help us and translate this denition into another language! So far, we have translated it to: Turkish, French SUBSCRIBE NOW LOGIN

News > Science Mystery of Alexander the Great's death solved? Ruler was 'killed by toxic wine' claim scientists

A leading toxicologist has said that Alexander the Great may have died after drinking wine made from a poisonous plant that would have cause a slow and painful death

Sunday 12 January 2014 19:27 | 58 comments

A statue of Alexander the Great in the northern Greek city of Salonica. Scientists believe they may have solved the 2000 year old mystery of how the ruler died ( Getty Images )

Alexander the Great may have been killed by toxic wine made from a poisonous but harmless-looking plant, scientists have claimed.

The mystery of why the Greek King of Macedon, ruler of the largest empire in the ancient world, died at just 32 has baffled historians and scientists for over 2000 years. SUBSCRIBE NOW LOGIN

Some argue that he passed due to natural causes while others believe he was secretly murdered using poison at a celebratory banquet.

His death in 323BCE came at the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon after he developed a fever and soon became unable to speak and walk. He was ill for 12 days.

Sponsored Ad ✕

Up next Who said it?

Dr Leo Schep, a toxicologist from New Zealand’s National Poisons Centre says it is impossible that poisons such as arsenic were to blame - as cited in some theories - as death would have come too fast.

Instead, in his new research, Dr Schep argues that the most likely culprit was Veratrum album, a poisonous plant from the lily family also known as white or false hellebore. SUBSCRIBE NOW LOGIN

Often fermented by the Greeks as a herbal treatment for inducing vomiting, importantly, it could account for the 12 days it took for the leader to die.

It would also match an account of Alexander the Great’s death written by ancient Greek historian Diodorus, who said he was struck with pain after drinking a large bowl of unmixed wine in honour of Hercules.

“Veratrum poisoning is heralded by the sudden onset of epigastric and substernal pain, which may also be accompanied by nausea and vomiting, followed by bradycardia and hypotension with severe muscular weakness. Alexander suffered similar features for the duration of his illness,” the research, printed in the medical journal Clinical Toxicology says.

Dr Schep has been working on the mystery for over 10 years after he was approached by a team for a BBC documentary in 2003.

“They asked me to look into it for them and I said, 'Oh yeah, I'll give it a go, I like a challenge' - thinking I wasn't going to find anything. And to my utter surprise, and their surprise, we found something that could fit the bill,” he told The New Zealand Herald.

Dr Shep does however caution that despite his theory, the actual cause of death cannot be proven: “We'll never know really,” he says.

MORE ABOUT: ANCIENT GREECE | CASTLES | FOOD | GREECE | HEALTH | HISTORY | NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES | NEW ZEALAND | SCIENTISTS | WINE Show 58 comments 

Can we guess where you grew up

Take this quiz and we will take our best guess about where you grew up HowStuffWorks

TRENDING Coronavirus Live Updates Coronavirus forums Coronavirus in U.S. Podcast Live Science Gear!

Live Science is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an aliate commission. Learn more

New Theory: Alexander the Great Poisoned by Flowering Herb? By Stephanie Pappas January 15, 2014

      

Detail from the Alexander mosaic from the House of the Faun, Pompeii, c. 80 B.C. (Image: © National Archaeologic Museum, , )

On June 11, 323 B.C., the famed Alexander the Great died, felled by a mysterious illness that left him too weak to move. Ever since, the cause of the Macedonian leader's death has been debated. Did he succumb to the cumulative eect of battle injuries received while conquering everything between Greece and India? Did a parasite or bacterium lay him low? Or was Alexander the Great poisoned?

Now, research nds that if poison killed Alexander the Great, the toxin may well have come from an unassuming plant called white hellebore (Veratrum album) that may have been slipped into his wine.

Death of a king

Alexander was the son of the king of Macedonia, Philip II, and Olympias, one of Philip II's ve to seven wives. Upon inheriting the throne, Alexander began an ambitious military campaign that would extend the borders of his empire from modern-day Greece to the Himalayan Mountains. He was planning to invade the Arabian Peninsula when he died. [10 Reasons Alexander the Great Was, Well … Great]

There are no surviving records of Alexander's death written at the time, leaving historians struggling to piece together the end of the king's life from histories written, at minimum, 300 years later. Many of these histories are themselves based on questionable sources, such as propaganda penned after Alexander died. And the king's tomb and body have never been found.

With that in mind, determining the cause of Alexander's death is a thought exercise. Modern scientists have suggested culprits ranging from malaria to a bacterial infection from drinking river water to side eects from old battle wounds.

"We can never settle the question for good without a body," said Leo Schep, a toxicologist at the University of Otago National Poisons Center in New Zealand.

Murder or microbes?

In a new study detailed in the January issue of the journal Toxicology History, Schep and his colleagues speculate that if Alexander was indeed poisoned, a plant may have done him in. [The 10 Most Common Poisonous Plants]

Schep got interested in the 2,000-year-old cold case about a decade ago, when a production company in the approached him with the question for a documentary. After that experience, he stayed interested, he told LiveScience.

He and his colleagues rst considered the two divergent accounts of Alexander's death. In one, championed by ancient historian and others, Alexander is said to have gradually become feverish after a banquet in Babylon. As he sickened, he lost his ability to walk and died after 11 to 12 days of illness. This account is based on ancient historians' citation of the "Royal Diary," a document allegedly written during Alexander's reign. However, modern historians are skeptical that the Royal Diary was really contemporaneous with Alexander; it's likely that the document was written after his death to quash rumors of poisoning in an attempt to keep the king's empire together.

The second narrative is similarly unreliable. This one comes from "The Book on the Death and Last Testament of Alexander," which probably also came about shortly after the king died. However, the original document is lost and survived only in highly ctionalized form as "The Alexander Romance."

That version describes Alexander taking a drink of wine at the banquet and crying out from a pain in his liver. Suspecting he'd had too much to drink, he asks his cup-bearer to bring him a feather he could use to induce vomiting. The cup-bearer, who'd poisoned his wine in the rst place, brings him a feather smeared with yet more poison, the story goes. The king suers for 11 days, becoming very weak, and at one point attempts to crawl to the Euphrates river in order to drown himself.

Taking the tale in "The Alexander Romance" at face value, Schep and his colleagues began to narrow down possible poisons that could have caused the symptoms.

Plant poison

Two common poisons, strychnine and arsenic, were quickly eliminated. Both cause death within hours or a few days, and the symptoms don't match Alexander's reported abdominal pain followed by progressive muscle weakness, the researchers wrote. [The 14 Oddest Medical Case Reports]

Schep and his colleagues considered other famous poisons, such as hemlock, which causes muscle paralysis, convulsions, coma and death. But hemlock acts quickly. Another common ancient poison, henbane, doesn't t the clues, because symptoms include mania and visual disturbances. Alexander was conscious and lucid during his illness, albeit weak. After ruling out several other plant poisons that would have been accessible, Schep and his colleagues suggest the most likely toxin was white hellebore, a owering herb common in Europe. The plant aects the central nervous system, shutting down the molecular channels that nerve cells use to communicate. As a result, the nerves that tell muscles to move can't talk eectively, causing muscle and heart weakness.

Upon ingesting white hellebore, the victim is immediately wracked with abdominal pain so severe it's often mistaken for a heart attack, Schep and his colleagues wrote. Compounds extracted from the plant can be fermented along with alcohol, which means they could have easily been slipped into Alexander's wine. After the pain, the muscular eects begin, slowing the heart muscle and leaving the limbs weak. Victims remain conscious but immobile until right before death.

Alexander was a strong leader, but his era was dangerous for royalty. His own mother, Olympias, may have had his father assassinated; she forced another of her husband's wives to commit suicide and may have poisoned his half-brother, too. Those who research the dynasty have to come to terms with mysterious deaths and unidentied corpses: One lavish tomb excavated in Greece in 1977 is the subject of a 33-year-long debate over whether it contains the body of Alexander's father or his poisoned half-uncle.

Even nding Alexander the Great's body would probably not settle the question, Schep said. "An autopsy would yield some information," he said, "but if it was death by poison, that may be a bit dicult to prove, unless of course he was poisoned by a heavy metal." It's not clear how long other types of poison would survive in bone for thousands of years, he said.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.

MORE ABOUT... LATEST

Florida: Latest updates on Coronavirus South Dakota: Latest updates on  coronavirus 

SEE MORE RELATED  SEE MORE LATEST 

The coronavirus did not escape from a lab. Here's how we know. A persistent coronavirus myth that this virus, called SARS-CoV-2, was made by scientists and escaped from a lab in Wuhan is completely unfounded. Here's how we know. Livescience

Top US Doctor: Sugar is not the problem (This Is)

Gundry MD Metabolic Advanced Supplements | Sponsored

If You Like to Play, this Fantasy Game is a Must-Have. No Install.

Elvenar | Sponsored

If You Like to Play, this Strategy Game is Addictive. No Install.

Forge of Empires - Free Online Game | Sponsored

The New Toyota Tacoma Is Simply Astonishing! Web Guides Beyond the Headlines Features About Us | FAQ | Contact Us

Quick Search

Sports Browse By: Main Topics

Home » Beyond the Headlines » Sports

De Dig facebook StumbleUpon

On this Day Read Our Blog On This Day: Ford Model T Unveiled Sign Up for Our October 01, 2014 05:00 AM Newsletter Send Us Feedback more » Live Updates (RSS)

More Sports News Advertisement On This Day: Magic Johnson Reveals That He Has HIV Thanassis Stavrakis/AP November 07, 2011 06:00 AM The statue of along the Olympic marathon route in Rafina, Greece. On This Day: Knickerbocker The Myth of Pheidippides and the Marathon Club Establishes Rules of November 04, 2011 12:00 PM Modern Baseball by Denis Cummings September 23, 2011 05:00 AM As estimated 47,000 people will run 26.2 miles Sunday in the New York City Marathon. The marathon race was created in 1896 to honor On This Day: Ray Chapman the legendary run of Greek messenger Pheidippides from Marathon to Fatally Injured by Pitch Athens. Though the story is almost certainly a myth, it is based on an August 16, 2011 06:00 AM even more impressive feat of endurance. On This Day: Bomb Explodes in The Myth and First Marathon Atlanta’s Olympic Park July 27, 2011 06:00 AM

In 490 B.C., the Athenian army defeated the invading more » Persian army in a battle in the plain of Marathon, located roughly 26 miles north of Athens. According to legend, the Athenians then ordered the messenger Pheidippides to run ahead to Featured Sports Web Guides Athens and announce the victory to the city. The Kentucky Derby: “The Pheidippides raced back to the city in intense late summer heat. Fastest Two Minutes in Sports” Upon reaching the Athenian , he exclaimed “Nike!” (“Victory!”) May 01, 2011 12:00 PM or “Rejoice! We Conquer” and then collapsed dead from exhaustion. March Madness: The 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament During plans for the 1896 Olympics, the first modern Games, March 18, 2010 03:52 PM organizers wanted an event to celebrate Greek history. French historian Michel Breal suggested a long-distance race from Marathon Vancouver Olympic Games to Athens to honor Pheidippides’ run. Greek runner Spiridon Louis February 04, 2010 03:57 PM won the race—winning Greece’s only gold medal of the Games—and the local excitement over the race ensured that it would be included more » in later Games.

The first marathon was 39.9 kilometers (24.8 miles), according to the Boston Athletic Association, but the distance was changed to 42.195 kilometers (26.2 miles) at the 1908 London Olympics. It was based not on the distance from Marathon to Athens, but rather the distance from Windsor Castle to London’s Olympic Stadium, the route of the 1908 marathon.

The Evolution of the Marathon Myth Go

The myth of Pheidippides (also Sources in this Story referred to as Phidippides or HistoryNet (Military History Philippides) is likely based on other magazine): Battle of stories with stronger historical Marathon: Greeks Versus the foundations. Persians CBC: From myth to Fifth century B.C. Greek historian marathon Herodotus, the “father of history,” Boston Athletic made no mention of Pheidippides Association: Boston running to Athens in his account of Marathon: History the Battle of Marathon. He did write British Journal of Sports that before the battle Pheidippides Medicine: Run, was sent to Sparta to ask the Pheidippides, Run! The story of the Battle of Marathon Spartans for assistance. He completed the run (estimated to be Hellenic Communication between 140 and 153 miles) in two Services (Athens News): Pheidippides’ Heroic days and then immediately raced Journey back to Marathon. Livius.org: Battle of Marathon Herodotus also wrote that after the battle the Athenian army hurried back to Athens so that the Persians, who had escaped on their ships, could not attack the undefended city. According to Dutch ancient historian Jona Lendering, creator of the Web site Livius, the Pheidippides myth is a combination of his epic run and the Athenians’ march to Athens.

The first account of Pheidippides running to Athens did not appear until the second century A.D., when Greek writer wrote in his “True History,” “Philippides the hemerodromos, reporting the victory from Marathon to the archons, Who were seated anxiously awaiting the result of the battle, said, ‘rejoice, we have won,’ and saying this, died at the same time as his report, expiring with the salutation.”

Lucian, however, was a satirist, not a historian. “His True History contains nothing of any historical value whatsoever, but he had a great time making fun of the serious writers of his day,” writes archaeologist Jim D. Muhly, former director of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens.

The myth also appeared in Plutarch’s 347 A.D. work “Moralia,” though Plutarch said the runner was named Eukles or Thersippus.

The story of Pheidippides was popularized in the 19th century. In 1834, French sculptor Cortot completed a sculpture in Paris’ Tuileries Palace of Pheidippides dying as he announced victory. In 1879, English poet Robert Browning wrote the poem “Pheidippides,” which stated:

“Unforeseeing one! Yes, he fought on the Marathon day: So, when Persia was dust, all cried ‘To Akropolis! Run, Pheidippides, one race more! the meed is thy due! “Athens is saved, thank ,” go shout!’ He flung down his shield, Ran like fire once more: and the space ‘twixt the Fennel-field And Athens was stubble again, a field which a fire runs through, Till in he broke: ‘Rejoice, we conquer!’ Like wine thro’ clay, Joy in his blood bursting his heart, he died—the bliss!”

Nineteen years after the poem, the marathon race was created. “It is probable that this poem, and not the actual historical facts, would have been in the minds of those, who not twenty years later, would be concerned with the revival of the Olympic Games and the formation of any possible events which could provide a link with the past,” wrote R. Grogan in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The

In 1982, British RAF Wing Commander John Foden organized a race from Marathon to Sparta to see if Pheidippides’ run could be repeated. He and four other RAF members attempted the race, and three of them completed it in under 40 hours. The 246-kilometer (152.85-mile) “Spartathlon” has become an annual race; the current record is held by Greek runner Yiannis Kouros, who ran the race in 20 hours and 25 minutes in 1984.

Reference: New York City Marathon UPDATED:: AUG 23,, 2019 ·· ORIIGIINAL:: NOV 9,, 2009 Socrates

HIISTORY..COM EDIITORS

Viewed by many as the founding figure of CONTENTS Western philosophy, Socrates (469-399 B.C.) is at once the most exemplary and the strangest 1. Socrates: Early Years of the Greek philosophers. He grew up during the golden age of Pericles’ Athens, served with 2. Philosophy of Socrates distinction as a soldier, but became best 3. Trial and Death of Socrates known as a questioner of everything and everyone. His style of teaching—immortalized 4. The Socratic Legacy as the Socratic method—involved not conveying knowledge, but rather asking question after clarifying question until his students arrived at their own understanding. He wrote nothing himself, so all that is known about him is filtered through the writings of a few contemporaries and followers, most notably his student Plato. Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and sentenced to death. Choosing not to flee, he spent his final days in the company of his friends before drinking the executioner’s cup of poisonous hemlock. Socrates: Early Years Socrates was born and lived nearly his entire life in Athens. His father Sophroniscus was a stonemason and his mother, Phaenarete, was a midwife. As a youth, he showed an appetite for learning. Plato describes him eagerly acquiring the writings of the leading contemporary philosopher and says he was taught rhetoric by , the talented mistress of the great Athenian leader Pericles.

Did you know? Although he never outright rejected the standard Athenian view of religion, Socrates' beliefs were nonconformist. He often referred to God rather than the gods, and reported being guided by an inner divine voice.

His family apparently had the moderate wealth required to launch Socrates’ career as a hoplite (foot soldier). As an infantryman, Socrates showed great physical endurance and courage, rescuing the future Athenian leader during the siege of Potidaea in 432 B.C. Through the 420s, Socrates was deployed for several battles in the Peloponnesian War, but also spent enough time in Athens to become known and beloved by the city’s youth. In 423 he was introduced to the broader public as a caricature in ’ play “Clouds,” which depicted him as an unkempt buffoon whose philosophy amounted to teaching rhetorical tricks for getting out of debt. Philosophy of Socrates

Although many of Aristophanes’ criticisms seem unfair, Socrates cut a strange figure in Athens, going about barefoot, long-haired and unwashed in a society with incredibly refined standards of beauty. It didn’t help that he was by all accounts physically ugly, with an upturned nose and bulging eyes. Despite his intellect and connections, he rejected the sort of fame and power that Athenians were expected to strive for. His lifestyle—and eventually his death—embodied his spirit of questioning every assumption about virtue, wisdom and the good life.

Two of his younger students, the historian and the philosopher Plato, recorded the most significant accounts of Socrates’ life and philosophy. For both, the Socrates that appears bears the mark of the writer. Thus, Xenophon’s Socrates is more straightforward, willing to offer advice rather than simply asking more questions. In Plato’s later works, Socrates speaks with what seem to be largely Plato’s ideas. In the earliest of Plato’s “Dialogues”—considered by historians to be the most accurate portrayal—Socrates rarely reveals any opinions of his own as he brilliantly helps his interlocutors dissect their thoughts and motives in Socratic dialogue, a form of literature in which two or more characters (in this case, one of them Socrates) discuss moral and philosophical issues,

One of the greatest paradoxes that Socrates helped his students explore was whether weakness of will—doing wrong when you genuinely knew what was right—ever truly existed. He seemed to think otherwise: people only did wrong when at the moment the perceived benefits seemed to outweigh the costs. Thus the development of personal ethics is a matter of mastering what he called “the art of measurement,” correcting the distortions that skew one’s analyses of benefit and cost.

Socrates was also deeply interested in understanding the limits of human knowledge. When he was told that the Oracle at Delphi had declared that he was the wisest man in Athens, Socrates balked until he realized that, although he knew nothing, he was (unlike his fellow citizens) keenly aware of his own ignorance. Trial and Death of Socrates Socrates avoided political involvement where he could and counted friends on all sides of the fierce power struggles following the end of the Peloponnesian War. In 406 B.C. his name was drawn to serve in Athens’ assembly, or ekklesia, one of the three branches of ancient Greek democracy known as demokratia. Socrates became the lone opponent of an illegal proposal to try a group of Athens’ top generals for failing to recover their dead from a battle against Sparta (the generals were executed once Socrates’ assembly service ended). Three years later, when a tyrannical Athenian government ordered Socrates to participate in the arrest and execution of Leon of Salamis, he refused—an act of civil disobedience that Martin Luther King, Jr. would cite in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

The were forced from power before they could punish Socrates, but in 399 he was indicted for failing to honor the Athenian gods and for corrupting the young. Although some historians suggest that there may have been political machinations behind the trial, he was condemned on the basis of his thought and teaching. In his “The Apology of Socrates,” Plato recounts him mounting a spirited defense of his virtue before the jury but calmly accepting their verdict. It was in court that Socrates allegedly uttered the now-famous phrase, “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

His execution was delayed for 30 days due to a religious festival, during which the philosopher’s distraught friends tried unsuccessfully to convince him to escape from Athens. On his last day, Plato says, he “appeared both happy in manner and words as he died nobly and without fear.” He drank the cup of brewed hemlock his executioner handed him, walked around until his legs grew numb and then lay down, surrounded by his friends, and waited for the poison to reach his heart The Socratic Legacy

Socrates is unique among the great philosophers in that he is portrayed and remembered as a quasi-saint or religious figure. Indeed, nearly every school of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, from the Skeptics to the Stoics to the Cynics, desired to claim him as one of their own (only the Epicurians dismissed him, calling him “the Athenian buffoon”). Since all that is known of his philosophy is based on the writing of others, the Socratic problem, or Socratic question–reconstructing the philosopher’s beliefs in full and exploring any contradictions in second-hand accounts of them–remains an open question facing scholars today.

Socrates and his followers expanded the purpose of philosophy from trying to understand the outside world to trying to tease apart one’s inner values. His passion for definitions and hair-splitting questions inspired the development of formal logic and systematic ethics from the time of Aristotle through the Renaissance and into the modern era. Moreover, Socrates’ life became an exemplar of the difficulty and the importance of living (and if necessary dying) according to one’s well-examined beliefs. In his 1791 autobiography Benjamin Franklin reduced this notion to a single line: “Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.” Citation Information

Article Title Socrates Author