CLAS 201 (Handout 3)

MYCENAEAN COLLAPSE

Around 1150 the Mycenaean empire collapsed. There are a number of possible causes, famine, soil erosion, earthquakes and (if legend is correct and a large expeditionary force fought about Troy for 10 years) over-extension. In the face of growing weakness, another population moved into Greece: the Dorians.

To understand the Dorians we have to back up a little. According to one theory, when the Helladic branch of the Indo-Europeans invaded mainland Greece c. 2000 BCE, it left some of its numbers behind, up north (in the region of Macedonia). This population, while related to the Indo-Europeans who invaded Greece, spoke a different dialect, observed different festivals and had distinct cultural practises. They came to be called Dorians and their arrival in Greece (c. 1150) is referred to as the Dorian invasion.

These Dorians took over the NW half of the Greek mainland and just about all of the Peloponnese. The former populations were either destroyed, absorbed or (in many cases) took to their heels. They gathered in Athens and (according to legend) were organized by an individual named Ion – hence their name, Ionians. They then left Athens and migrated to various islands in the Aegean and to Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) – a part of the world that came to be called Ionia.

The Greeks explained this migration by the following myth. There was a flood in which mankind was destroyed except for Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha. (This is much like the flood in Noah’s ark; indeed, this Near Eastern myth was probably responsible for the Greek version.) D and P produced a son Hellenus, who in turn was father of Aeolus, Xuthus and Dorus. Xuthus in turn produced Ion and Achaevus. This myth accounts for the Greeks as a whole (the Hellenes) and the various sub-branches (Ionians, Dorians, Aeolians).

The distinction between Dorian and Ionian will interest us later. Now it is important to note that there are general cultural and temperamental differences between the two groups. Ionians are thought to be experimental, luxury loving, and relatively easy going; while Dorians are strict, frugal and conservative. Obviously such generalizations should be taken with a grain of salt although they do apply to some degree to the Athenians versus the Spartans (as we shall see).

The arrival of the Dorians and the migrations of the former Mycenaean populations throughout the Peloponnese meant the collapse of Mycenaean culture.

DARK AGE

A so-called Dark Age ensued in the wake of Mycenaean collapse. Many of the former citadels were abandoned – Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos. Others shrunk in size and importance. Population shrinkage triggered an urban revolution in reverse. That is to say, just as a critical density of people leads to job specialization, political hierarchies, monumental building, complex economy, development of writing, trade, sophisticated art etc; so a decline in population leads to the reverse. The depopulation of districts leads to inferior forms of pottery, the disappearance of writing, the slackening of foreign trade, isolation etc.

An author who give us insight into the conditions of Dark Age Greece is Hesiod who is responsible for two major works The Works and Days and the Theogony (there are other works too but only fragments survive). Let us consider each.

WORKS AND DAYS

Hesiod wrote this as a warning to his brother Persé, a no-good lout who was taking his brother to court in an effort to win over the family farm. In this work Hesiod admonishes his brother, offers him sound advice and refers to various traditional tales. One tale that interests is the Myth of the Five Ages (see the Hesiod Handout for the text).

In this tale Hesiod describes one possible creation myth for humankind. First there is a golden race of men, then silver, then bronze, then heroes, then iron. Each age is (ostensibly) ‘cheaper’ and more debased than its predecessor. The 5th – iron – interests us because it is the worst of the lot and Hesiod’s own. Its shabbiness, when compared with the ages that preceded it, seems to be a reflection of the differences between the wealth of the Mycenaeans and the squalor of Dark Age.

We also note that this creation myth really shows that humankind (in the Greek estimate) has no special place in the scheme of creation. Compare the account in Genesis where humankind (in the guise of Adam) is the culmination of creation. The animals are given to him to name, suggesting he has mastery over them. Not so in the Greek scheme of things. Humankind is weak, ordinary, an afterthought.

We also note how woman plays no part in this myth. She only comes about later, after Prometheus has 1) divided the shares from sacrifice so that humans get the better part (this happens at a place called Mekoné) and 2) stolen fire and given it to mankind (not humankind). In revenge, Zeus decides to create woman. Various gods give her gifts – hence her name Pandora or ‘all gifts’) and she is handed to Epimetheus (the brother of Prometheus). She is accompanied by a jar (later tradition will call it a box) inside of which are many plagues which she inadvertently releases. The only one she manages to keep inside is Hope (elpis). (Possibly Hope, like Eris (strife) has a double meaning. The Greeks always see the advantages and detractions of the qualities at large). We also note that, whereas Eve too leads to Adam’s (mankind’s) fall, she has been created as a comfort to Adam. The Greek tradition, in other words, is more misogynistic than the Biblical one.

THEOGONY

It is worthwhile mentioning here Hesiod’s second work, The Theogony. In it, Hesiod attempts nothing less than to describe the evolution of the gods (‘Theogony’ means literally ‘a begetting of the gods’). He presents us with a family tree of the gods, one that encompasses hundreds of deities. Let us look at the origins of the Olympians.

First there was Chaos (literally a ‘gap’) – this will be of some importance when we turn our attention to Greek philosophy in a later class. He/it produces Gaia (earth), Night (darkness above the earth), Erebus (darkness below?), Tartarus (the underworld) and Eros (the power of sexual generation). These are all fairly monstrous, primitive figures.

Gaia then produces Ouranos (sky). With sky, she produces (through something known as a hieros gamos or sacred wedding) the Cyclopes (three one-eyed muscular brutes who will be responsible later for forging Zeus’ lightning bolt), the Hekatoncheires (three hundred-handed muscular brutes) and the Titans (gods that resemble humans – some of them are Cronus, Rhea, Prometheus, Epimetheus).

Ouranos is so disgusted with the Cyclopes and Hekatoncheires that he imprisons them in Tartarus. Enraged, Gaia asks one of the Titans to avenge this behaviour. Only Cronus volunteers to do so and ends up castrating Ouranos. (This myth parallels closely several Near Eastern myths).

Cronus produces children by his wife Rhea: Demeter, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon and Hades. He swallows all of these. When his last child is born (Zeus) he swallows a stone in its place. Zeus grows up on the island of Crete and, on reaching maturity, causes his father to vomit up his brothers and sisters [note: I am not making this stuff up!] The Olympians (as Zeus and his siblings will be called) fight a protracted war against Cronus and the Titans (with the exception of Prometheus and Epimetheus) and manage to defeat them. Zeus then takes over the world. In one version of events, he draws lots with his brothers (Hades and Poseidon): he wins heaven, Poseidon gets the sea and Hades gets the underworld as his share.

Once again we see that humans play no role in these events. We also understand that the Greeks were polytheists (they worshipped many gods) and that these gods were anthropomorphic (conceived in the image of men and endowed with human behaviour – all too human behaviour at times).

TRANSITION FROM DARK AGE TO ARCHAIC AGE

Over the centuries, Greece begins to recover. This happens in late Dark Age times (or early Archaic ones – the Archaic age is traditionally thought to begin with the first recorded Olympic games in 776 BCE). There is population growth and, again, the urban revolution catches fire. There is more evidence of monumental building, trade picks up, more ambitious buildings are constructions, and writing is re-introduced (the alphabet, by the Phoenicians). There is such a jump in population growth that some colonies have too many citizens. The excess population goes off in search of a colony of its own (in S. Italy, Sicily, the Black Sea region and Asia Minor).

In addition to everything mentioned above, there are two other important developments: the Polis and hoplite warfare.

The Polis

The polis (or city-state) as we understand it takes shape during the Dark Age. By polis we usually mean a major city together with the territory surrounding it (including farms and townships). The process of drawing all this territory into a single political entity is called synoecism, literally a ‘drawing together of households’.

The polis is a bit like a country. Its inhabitants are citizens and, anyone outside, is a non- citizen (who would find it difficult, almost impossible, to win citizen status). It has its own calendar, currency, constitution, law code, festivals and religious practices. Ancient Greece, from this stage on, consists of multiple city-states in close proximity to each other and (often) competing fiercely with each other. Perhaps this goes some way in explaining the Greek Miracle that we looked at in lecture one.

Hoplite Warfare

Who defends the polis? Its male citizens do. In Homer we often read of battle being conducted by prominent warriors like Achilles, Hector, Agamemnon and others. When these heroes fall, their people are essentially defeated. Hoplite warfare requires equal participation on the part of its warriors. The men fight as a well ordered group (a phalanx), in straight rows. Each is armed with a shield (a hoplon, hence hoplites or hoplite soldier), a spear, armour, a helmet and sword. Their purpose is to smash the other of their opponents then cut the enemy down one by one.

When general citizens participate in war, they must have some say in how the state is governed. It is therefore not coincidence that most Greek states contain an element of democracy. It is also a general rule of hoplite warfare that one fights if one can afford the equipment. In general, it is not the poor or the mass conscript who provides the city-state with security; it is the population with wealth and property to lose.

Let us turn back to the polis and examine two very different ones: Athens and Sparta (I will only deal partly with Athens this week; next week we will finish Athens and get to Sparta)

ATHENS

Athens dates back to Mycenaean times and prided itself on being one of the few states that was continuously inhabited from that time – remember, it was the jump off point for the Ionian migration.

Athens is a city, of course. When we speak of the Athenian city-state, we mean not only Athens, but the encompassing territory as well (called Attica). This consists of towns/villages such as Eleusis, Marathon, Sounion and others. If one was born in Marathon, say, one was a citizen of Athens.

Athens synoecism is traditionally ascribed to the legendary king Theseus. Historically speaking, it took place some time in the 9th century.

EARLY POLITICAL DIVISIONS

In its earliest stages, Athens was ruled by a king (basileus). This swiftly changed and, for a long time, Athens was an oligarchy.

In these early days the Athenian population was divided into four. One belonged to the eupatrids (the aristocrats), the georgoi (farmers), the demiourgoi (craftsmen), or the hektemoroi (literally ‘sixth sharers’, so named because they rented out land from wealthier farmers and paid a rent consisting of one sixth of what they produced. The point is, the group one was born into determined one’s political standing.

Consider the governmental figures at the time. The executive consisted of nine archons: the epynomous archon (the most powerful figure), the polemarchos (commander in chief of the army), the basileus (in charge of religious rights and homicide cases), and six thesmothetai (who dealt with a variety of legal problems, a difficult task as there was no written law code at this stage). These 9 archons were elected every 10 years. When we say elected, we must understand that the eponymous archon, the polemarchos and the basileus were all drawn from the eupatrid class, as were three of the thesmothetai. Two of the thesmothetai came from the georgoi and one from the demiourgoi.

In addition to these 9 archons, Athens had the Areopagus. It was a council of elders and consisted of former archons. It was a probouleutic (or deliberative body), and would debate foreign policy, military, legal and economic matters, providing advice for the archons in power. Because it consisted of former archons, by far the majority of its members were from the eupatrid class as well.

As mentioned above, every Greek state (once hoplite warfare is instituted) must involve some dimension of democracy. Therefore, in addition to the archons and Areopagus, there was the ecclesia or general assembly.

The ecclesia consisted of all male citizens who belonged to the eupatrids, georgoi and demiourgoi. Hektemoroi were excluded. The ecclesia would vote for archons (after these had been pre-selected by the Areopagus) and for proposed laws or state initiatives.

CURRENCY

This system of government – so heavily weighted in the favour of the eupatrids – continued until the seventh century, at which point currency was introduced.

The introduction of currency caused a great deal of instability. People incurred debt and lost their property (an irreparable loss in ancient Athens). In severe circumstances, citizens lost their liberty as well when they used their persons as collateral for loans. Over time, the loss of property meant land was being concentrated into the hands of the few (thereby creating a potential shortage of hoplites), some citizens were being enslaved, and the old divisions between citizens were falling into a state of disrepair: eupatrids lost their standing as the nouveau riche overtook them (as the poet Theognis tells us – see handout).

At this time of instability, many city-states fell to the rule of tyrants (individuals who seize control of a state through unconstitutional means). In Athens’ case there was an unsuccessful attempted seizure of power, followed by (ineffective) legislative change and a reorganization of government. Let’s look briefly at all three.

KYLON (632)

One Kylon (a former Olympic victor) tried to seize power in Athens (with help from Theagenes tyrant of nearby Megara). He was unsuccessful. He and his followers holed up in Athena’s temple (on the Acropolis). They agreed to appear before a court after receiving guarantees that they would not be harmed. They attached a rope to themselves and the temple. It broke and the archons put them to death. The eponymous archon was Megacles, a member of the Alcmaeonid family. This family was cursed because of this act – a stain that would follow it (supposedly) in future generations.

DRACO

In 620 Draco was the eponymous archon. To bring stability to Athens he introduced its first written law code. Unfortunately this code was too harsh (death was the punishment for all transgressions) and had little positive influence on the city.

And that’s it for now. Next week we shall look at Solon’s reforms.

TERMS:

Collapse of Mycenaean culture (1200-1150 BCE), invasion, famine, overextension, general turbulence, Dorians, Doris, 1200-1000, Deucalion, Pyrrha, flood, Hellen, Dorus, Aeolus, Xuthus, Ion, Achaeus, Heracles, Heraclidae, Dorians vs Ionians, Militant/authoritarian/stern/frugal vs exuberant/inquisitive/luxury loving, Tragic formula, agathos, kakos, aristos (fighting/speaking), agon, timē, Dark Age (population decline, no large-scale building, foreign contacts cease, writing disappears, etc), Hesiod (c. 700), Theogony, Works and Days, Chaos, Gaia, Night, Erebus, Tartarus, Eros, Gaia + Ouranos (sky) = Titans, Cyclopes, Hekatoncheires (100 handed), Cronus + Rhea = Hestia, Demeter, Poseidon, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Titans vs Olympians, Polytheistic, Anthropomorphic, Prometheus, Mekone (sacrifice), Fire (theft), Pandora (All-gifts), Misogyny, Myth of 5 Ages (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Heroes (Troy), Iron), synoecism, citizenship, competition, democracy, Archaic Age, alphabet (Phoenicians), population explosion, colonization, Asia Minor, Black Sea, Sicily, S. Italy, polis, hoplite warfare, hoplon, phalanx, Athens Attica, basileus, Theseus, eponymous archon (leader), basileus, polemarchos, thesmothetai (6), oligarchy, Areopagus, ecclesia (general assembly), eupatrids (nobles), georgoi (farmers), demiurgoi (tradesmen), hektemoroi (sixth parters), currency, Theognis, age of tyrants, Kylon (634), Megacles, Alcmaeonids, Draco (620 BCE)

TEXTBOOK:

Ancient Greece: Mycenaean collapse (46-49) End of Dark Age (84 – 88) Formation of polis (99-101) Government in early city-states (102-104) Hesiod (116-120) Hoplite warfare (120-124) Early Athens (181-185)

Brief History: Mycenaean collapse (36-38) End of Dark Age (59-62) Formation of polis (70-72) Government in early city-states (72-73) Hesiod (80-82) Hoplite warfare (82-83) Early Athens (124-128)