Imperial Power and Local Autonomy in Greek Garrison Communities: the Phrourarchia and the Polis
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IMPERIAL POWER AND LOCAL AUTONOMY IN GREEK GARRISON COMMUNITIES: THE PHROURARCHIA AND THE POLIS Ryan M. Horne A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Sciences. Chapel Hill 2015 Approved By: Richard Talbert Fred Naiden Wayne Lee Joshua Sosin Kenneth Sams © 2015 Ryan M. Horne ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Ryan M. Horne: “Imperial Power and Local Autonomy in Greek Garrison Communities: The Phrourarchia and the Polis.” (Under the direction of Richard Talbert) From controlling cities within the Athenian Empire in the 5th century BCE to maintaining isolated outposts on the border of the Parthian Empire in the 2nd century CE, the institution of the phrourarchia was a critical component of Greek civic and military identity. Despite its longevity and importance to the Greek world, the office has long been overlooked in scholarship. The only broad overview remains a brief article in the Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (1941), while subsequent work has largely viewed the office as an isolated or regional phenomenon without considering its broader social or historical role. There has yet to appear a comprehensive investigation of the phrourarchia and its effect upon political and social life. My investigation addresses this deficiency. Focusing on the interplay of imperial power and civic identity, I argue that imperial powers used the phrourarchia to control local populations through ambiguous civic and military authority. Conversely, I show that a phrourarchia employed by smaller polities had clear, highly regulated legal and social constraints on its jurisdiction, remaining subordinate to local laws. I then examine the numerous strategies deployed by cities to navigate the complexities of the phrourarchia. In addition to the chapters of text, these findings are presented in a web-GIS application that for the first time places the phrourarchia within a broad geographic and temporal context. iii For Grant and Logan iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The creation of this dissertation has been a long process, and I owe thanks to many people who have made it possible. I wish to start by thanking my supervisor, Richard Talbert, for his encouragement, wit, keen eye for detail, and patience. The support of my committee was critical to my dissertation. Fred Naiden, Wayne Lee, Joshua Sosin, and Kenneth Sams all provided valuable feedback from their near limitless knowledge of the ancient world, and were an absolute pleasure to work with. At the encouragement of my committee I applied to the American Numismatic Society Summer Seminar, which was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my academic career. I would like to thank Peter van Alfen, Andrew Meadows, and the late Rick Witschonke for their incredible work, passion for numismatics, and encouragement. I also want to acknowledge the contribution of Classical Association of the Middle West and South for their generous support of my attendance at the Summer Sessions of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, where I was able to gain invaluable first-hand exposure to the monuments, geography, and people of Greece. I wish to thank Tom Elliott, the volunteers of the Pleiades project, and the staff at the Ancient World Mapping Center at UNC for their dedication and passion for digital humanities and the ancient world. Their hard work has made projects like my dissertation not only feasible, but enjoyable. The staff, faculty, and students of the History Department at UNC have made my doctoral experience exceedingly pleasant. My fellow ancient historians deserve special v mention, who assisted me with puzzling over Greek passages, offering valuable new perspectives, and occasionally dragging me out of my apartment. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my family, whose love and support made this dissertation possible. My wife Briana, parents Matthew and Connie, and my siblings Rachel and Kyle, provided grounding, support, and love. Finally, I want to thank my twin sons, Grant and Logan, for making the first year of their lives, and the final year of my dissertation, an absolute joy. I dedicate this work to them. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................ xiv INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 Modern Historiography ......................................................................................................... 3 Scope, Sources, and Method ................................................................................................. 8 Organization ........................................................................................................................ 11 1 ANCIENT HISTORIANS AND PHROURARCHOI ..................................................... 15 1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 15 1.2 Terminology ............................................................................................................. 17 1.3 Historical and Literary Background ......................................................................... 22 1.4 Classical Authors ...................................................................................................... 23 1.4.1 Herodotus and Thucydides ............................................................................... 23 1.4.2 Xenophon .......................................................................................................... 25 1.4.3 Plato .................................................................................................................. 28 1.4.4 Classical Summary ............................................................................................ 29 1.5 The Hellenistic Era and Post-Classical Authors ....................................................... 31 1.5.1 Menander .......................................................................................................... 35 1.5.2 Polybius............................................................................................................. 36 vii 1.5.3 Diodorus ............................................................................................................ 38 1.5.4 Dionysius of Halicarnassus ............................................................................... 45 1.5.5 Strabo ................................................................................................................ 47 1.5.6 Josephus ............................................................................................................ 48 1.5.7 Plutarch ............................................................................................................. 51 1.5.8 Arrian ................................................................................................................ 54 1.5.9 Appian ............................................................................................................... 56 1.5.10 Polyaenus .......................................................................................................... 59 1.5.11 Cassius Dio ....................................................................................................... 61 1.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 63 2 PHROURARCHOI, SPECIALIZATION, AND AMATEURISM .................................. 65 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 65 2.2 Professional vs. Specialist ........................................................................................ 66 2.3 Mercenaries .............................................................................................................. 71 2.4 Private Military Companies and the Phrourarchia .................................................. 81 2.5 Amateur Hoplites ..................................................................................................... 87 2.6 Local Phrourarchoi as Amateurs ............................................................................. 88 2.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 91 3 IMPERIAL PHROURARCHOI ...................................................................................... 93 3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 93 viii 3.2 Athens....................................................................................................................... 94 3.3 Sparta ........................................................................................................................ 98 3.4 Syracuse ................................................................................................................. 103 3.5 Imperial Phrourarchoi from Alexander to Rome ................................................... 105 3.6 Alexander The Great .............................................................................................. 106 3.7 The Diadochoi .......................................................................................................