Athens

Greece: Athenian society in the time of Pericles home

– //geographical setting, natural features and resources of Athens, Attica and its neighbours//
 * __1__ __The geographical environment__**

linkages:
 * Location: South-Eastern Greece on the Attic Plain. Athens is surronded by mountains. These mountains are:
 * Mt. Aigáleos (1,534 ft/468 m)
 * Mt. Parnis (4,633 ft/1,412 m)
 * Mt. Pendelikón (3,638 ft/1,109 m)
 * Mt. Hymettus (3,370 ft/1,027 m)
 * Piraeus is located on the Saronic Gulf, an inlet from the Aegean Sea, 8 kilometres to the south west. [Also significant in The Economy, under //Importance of Agora and The Piraeus//]
 * The Acropolis is the location of the most important relgious site, the Parthenon (Temple of Athena the Virgin) [ Virtual Tour of The Acropolis, here] [ 3D Models of the Parthenon, here] [Also significant in Religion, Death and Burial, under //temples and sanctuaries//]
 * The commercial and social center of Athens, the Agora, is located about 400m north of the Acropolis. [Also significant in The Economy, under //Importance of Agora and The Piraeus//]
 * To the south of the Acropolis are the Theater of Dionysus, and to the west, the Areopagus (council chamber).
 * Resources of Athens include:
 * Silk
 * Wool
 * Cotton textiles
 * Machine tools
 * Steel
 * Ships
 * Food products
 * Beverages
 * Chemicals
 * Pottery
 * Printed materials
 * Carpets
 * on geography
 * on everything else
 * more on geography
 * some information found: "Athens, City, Greece," //The Columbia Encyclopedia//, 6th ed., //Questia//, Web, 30 Jan. 2010.

– //significant sites: Athens, Piraeus//

– //concept of the// // polis //
 * __2__ __Social structure and political organisation__**
 * new society with everything to prove.
 * City state
 * Historically the Acropolis-spread to mean the city and its surroundings.
 * Polis= the people.

– // structure of Athenian society: pentakosiomedimnoi, hippeis, zeugitai, //// thetes //

– // role of the military: strategoi, hippeis (cavalry), hoplites, //// thetes //

__STATEGOI:__
 * Highest Officer Rank
 * 10 generals of leaders (one from each democratic tribe) of the military
 * Were elected annually - midsummer to midsummer
 * Each member held presidency in daily rotation
 * If one died or was dismissed then a by-election would be held
 * Commanded both land and sea
 * They needed to be both experienced in war and capable of operating on the level of interstate relations.
 * In the 5th Century BC, they had strong links with the leadership of the state. They were prominent in the initiation of of policy within the assembly. (However: if they rose to address the assembly they did so as a citizen.)
 * They were paid only when campaign. (However: a great job to hold as they received a share of the booty, and interstate diplomacy could involve lavish gift giving.)
 * More information on the Strategos in the 5th and 4th Century BC is written here.

__HOPLITE__


 * Heavy infantry soldier.
 * Were protected by helmets, cuirasses, and leg armor.
 * Weapons:
 * Large Shields
 * Javelins
 * Heavy Swords
 * Sometimes Battle-Axes
 * Fought in organized phalanx formation:
 * The soldiers were arrayed in rows (8 or 16), with arms at the ready, making a solid block that could sweep bristling through the more dispersed ranks of the enemy. [Source: "Phalanx," //The Columbia Encyclopedia//, 6th ed., //Questia//, Web, 30 Jan. 2010.]
 * Phalanx's were densely packed, and it was hard to move left and right.


 * "Every hoplite carried a large round shield (the //aspis// or //hoplon//) which covered his own left side and the right side of the man to his left."
 * Hoplites usually paid for their own armor as a part of their citizenship.
 * Hoplites were men of courage. Euripides comparing Hoplites to Heracles, saying: "[Heracles] ... a man who has won a reputation for valor in his contests with beasts, in all else a weakling; who ne'er buckled shield to arm nor faced the spear, but with a bow, that coward's weapon, was ever ready to run away. Archery is no test of manly bravery; no! he is a man who keeps his post in the ranks and steadily faces the swift wound the spear may plough."
 * More information on Phalanx's and the Hoplites can be found here

– // roles and status of women // NOTE: All Primary (ancient) sources would have been written / made/ developed/ comissioned/ compiled by men. (one sided views) “The status of a woman was determined by her class.” (Pamela Bradley) Archaeological and written evidence gives us information about the occupations and status' of women:
 * Priestesses were most respected
 * Three general classes of women:
 * Lowest | Slave Women: carried out menial domestic duties, and helped raise the children of the wife.
 * Middle | Athenian Citizen Women:
 * Highest | Hetaerae : had the greatest social freedom. They were given an education in reading, writing and music. They were allowed into the Agora, which was off limits to other females. (However: even so, at best they were at the same level as prostitutes.)
 * Women from the "better classes" have been depicted on pottery as sharing affectionate moments with their husbands and children
 * Middle-class women were occasionally able to go out to religious festivals. They were also allowed to take part in over the 120 festivals that took place each year.
 * There is little evidence on lower-class women.
 * Marriage: [Also significant in Everyday Life, under //Marriage//]
 * Arranged by the ladies father.
 * Girls could be married as young as 14, if the man could afford it.
 * For the next several months the woman was taught domestic duties by her mother and the slaves.
 * Unmarried women were seen as incomplete. Medical texts of the 5th and 4th Centuries express that a woman's reproductive organs only fully developed as a result of sexual intercourse.
 * If the wife is widowed she is to leave the house, and go to her father's brother, who was to find her another groom.
 * If the father's brother was killed the woman became a virtual slave with minimal rights; subject to a life of subservience
 * Rituals that take place before, during and after the wedding are explained here.

Written evidence seems to point to women being expected to keep a low profile and become proficient in spinning, weaving and household activities. Athenian women had no political rights, very few legal rights, limited social contact and could not even choose their husband. However, it would appear that they could show independence or spirit when the occasion arose, e.g. fifth century playwrights such as Sophocles, Aristophanes and Euripides present their heroines as assertive, independent and intelligent women.

– // roles of metics and slaves // Metics:
 * Metics numbered approximately 28,500 in Athens in 431 BC.
 * Foreigners who came to Athens from other city-states, or Polis.
 * They were resident aliens with no political rights.
 * They were not allowed to own land and could not obtain citizenship.
 * Many were involved in trade and industry. Jobs included: hoplites, rowers in the fleet, ship maintenance and building. It was working at the Piraeus that allowed some Metics to become very wealthy.
 * Citizens also participated in these activities and worked side by side with the metics.
 * Although they did not possess political rights, metics enjoyed similar privileges to citizens in some areas. The Old Oligarch wrote "... we have established freedom of speech... for metics, equally with citizens."
 * A Metic had no legal rights.
 * Metics were above Thetes economically.
 * A Metics social status was dependent on individual wealth and background.
 * They were allowed to take part in religious festivals.

Slaves:
 * Slaves made up the lowest class of the population.
 * There were about 70,000 in Athens in 431 BC.
 * They could be owned privately or by the state. Privately owned slaves worked in the better class houses where many held positions of trust.
 * The privately owned slaves ran the household and small family businesses. Allowing owners to participate in leisure activities.
 * There was little agricultural slavery in the state of Attica, as opposed to the city of Athens where slaves could be seen everywhere working for their masters. These slaves were better treated than the state owned slaves.
 * State owned slaves worked on the roads, in the dockyards, in the mint and on public buildings. They also were hired as servants, executioners, scribes and clerks.
 * The lowest class of slaves worked in the silver mines at Laurium.
 * Slaves came from a variety of sources:
 * Prisoners of war,
 * Unwanted children who had been exposed and left to die
 * Children or men who had been sold into slavery for debt
 * Children born into slavery
 * Came from distant places such as Scythia and Thrace
 * Freedom could be granted to slaves by their masters. (However: if this occured, it only gave them metic status.)
 * Lives were short and miserable.

– // structure and features of Athenian democracy: ekklesia, boule, strategia, heliaea //

__The Boule__:
 * A Cleisthenes reform, and one of his most important. [Information about Cleisthenes and his reformations, here]
 * The Boule was a council of 500. These 500 people were open to the first three top citizen income brackets.
 * They were elected for one year, and they formed the chief administrative arm of the Athenian democracy.
 * Eventually allowed average male Athenians to take part in the government of their city

// – // // importance of the Agora and the Piraeus //
 * __3__ __The economy__**

__The Agora__



linkages:
 * The Greek Polis was centered in 'The Agora'.
 * In 5th Century BC, The Agora, was the center for: sales of produce and all manufactured goods. Stores and products included:
 * Food and Drinks
 * Pottery
 * Sculptures
 * Manufacturers
 * Weavers
 * The Agora, and its prosperity, attracted residents from other states to move to Athens and set up their craft.
 * It was a place where people gathered to discuss all kinds of topics, including:
 * Business
 * Politics
 * Religious
 * and, Cultural life
 * "The name [...] connotes both the assembly of the people as well as the physical setting; it was applied by the classical Greeks of the 5th century BC to what they regarded as a typical feature of their life: their daily religious, political, judicial, social, and commercial activity."
 * Location: either in the middle of the city or near the harbour, surronded by public buildings and temples (as seen in the picture above).
 * The agora also served for theatrical and gymnastic performances until special buildings and spaces were reserved for these purposes.
 * In Athens respectable women were seldom seen in the agora. [Also significant in Women ]
 * Men accused of murder and other crimes were forbidden to enter it before their trials.
 * Free men went there not only to transact business and to act as jurors but also to talk and idle--a habit often mentioned by comic poets.
 * In exceptional circumstances a tomb in the agora was granted as the highest honor for a citizen. [Also significant in Religion, Death and Burial, under //Funery Customs and Rituals//]
 * More pictures of 'The Agora', including Religious Buildings, here
 * More information about 'The Agora' including location, and changes, can be found here
 * Virtual Tour of The Agora, here
 * Map of Classical Agora, here

__The Piraeus__


 * The Piraeus brought in ready wealth to Athens in 5th Century BC
 * The Piraeus, port of Athens, exported:
 * Wine
 * Olives
 * Grain from the Black Sea
 * Timber from Nrothern Greece, and more...
 * The Piraeus and harbours neighbouring build, maintained and trained the Athenian Fleet.
 * The navy, ergo the Piraeus, offered numerous Athenian's employment. These were:
 * Citizens who worked on the Athenian Fleet:
 * For every ship they needed: 170 rowers, 40 hoplites, kybernetes (steersman), and trierarch (commander) [290 in total]. In a fleet there was around 200 triremes (warships). __**If**__ all 200 triremes were in use, the navy would have to employ 58,000 Athenians
 * Also there was a need for ship builders, maintenance crews, and builders of ship yards. This gave poorer Athenian's regular income.
 * The Piraeus employed Metics as both rowers and maintence crew. Due to this employment, the Piraeus made Metics wealthy through trade and imperial projects.

– impact of empire: tribute, maintenance of fleet, building program

// – // // economic exchange: trade, tribute, shipping, silver mining, coinage // Coinage:
 * Introduced mid 6th century
 * The Attic owl became the badge of the city on the major unit of exchange, the silver tetradram
 * The silver for the coins came from Attica's own mines at Laurion.
 * In the 5th century Athens imposed a law which restricted certain cities from using the Athenian standard of coinage. This made trade easier, highlighted allies inferior status, and profited economically.

// – // // industries: pottery, stone masonry, metal working, ship building //
 * Pottery
 * Clay=accessible and relatively cheap.
 * Pottery is well preserved.
 * Red figure technique
 * Careful control of firing process.(allowed red and black tones-suited naturalistic representations of anatomy, garments and emotions (seen on many 5tyh and 6th C. vases)
 * funeral vases- designed were sketched into a thin layer of white clay. few light lines, tinted with soft reds, browns and purple were used.

// – // // gods and goddesses //
 * 4 Religion, death and burial**

// – // // beliefs, practices and organisations //

// – // // temples and sanctuaries: the Acropolis including the Parthenon and the Erechtheum //

__The Acropolis__


 * The Acropolis (412 ft/126 m high)
 * Most important, religious site in Athens.
 * The Acropolis holds:
 * The Propylaea
 * The Erechtheum
 * The Pnyx, where citizen assemblies were held
 * The Areopagus
 * Theseum of Hephaesteum, a well-preserved Doric temple of the 5th cent. b.c.
 * old Agora and the Roman forum;
 * Temple of Zeus or Olympieum
 * Theatre of Dionysius (the oldest in Greece);
 * Odeum of Herodes Atticus

// – // // festivals: the Panathenaia, the Great Dionysia, the //// Thesmophoria //

// – // // priests and priestesses //

// – // // funerary customs and rituals //

// – // // art: sculpture and painted vases //
 * __5__ __Cultural life__**

// – // // architecture: the buildings of the Agora and Acropolis //

// – // // significant myths and legends; birth of Athena, Theseus, competition between Athena and Poseidon //

Athena: Theseus:
 * Patron goddess of the city.
 * Birth of Athena:
 * Born an adult from the head of Zeus, the king of the gods of Mount Olympus. Zeus complained of a headache and his son Hephaestus chopped his head open and out sprang Athena fully armed.
 * Athena is the goddess of wisdom, handcrafts and victorious war. [ More information on Athena, here]
 * Had no children of her own but cared for heroic young men, such as Erechtheus a founder hero of Athens
 * Competition between Athena and Poseidon:
 * Won the right to be guardion goddess of Athens against her uncle Poseidon, the god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. She won because she could provide the most useful gift. She produced an olive tree (symbol of peace) and Poseidon produced a horse (symbol of war).
 * Father of democracy.
 * He merged Athens and Attica into one political unit, also known as synoikismos.
 * Legends extol that Theseus was a monster slayer.
 * He was present at the victory at Marathon.
 * In some areas, worship of Theseus replaced worship of Heracles. Who was important to all Greeks.


 * // – // // education //**

__6__ __Everyday life__** // – // // daily life and leisure activities //

// – // // food and clothing //

// – // // housing and furniture //

// – // // occupations //

//– marriage customs.//