Classical Civilizations in Greece and Persia The purpose of [my research] is to prevent the traces of human events from being erased by time, and to preserve the fame of the important and remarkable achievements achievements produced by both Greeks and non-Greeks. . . . — Herodotus, The Histories. Trans. Aubrey de Selincourt (New Yor! Pen"uin Grou#, $%&'.
While While Egy Egypt was was in its its Middl Middlee King Kingdo dom, m, Baby Babylo lon n was was risin rising g in Southwest Asia; the Harappans were giving way to the Aryans in India, and the the Shan Shang g dyna dynast sty y was was on the the hori horio on n in !hin !hina" a" At the the same same tim time a dist distin in#t #tiv ivee $ree $ree% % #ultu lture was was deve develo lop ping ing at the the east easter ern n end o& the the Mediterranean" 'he origins o& this #ulture were in the Minoan and My#enaean %ingdoms" Many #enturies later, as the $ree% historian Herodotus wrote in his Histories, $ree% #ulture would &lourish in several #ity(states, giving rise to a $olden Age o& innovative i nnovative ideas in philosophy philosophy, literature literature,, and art" A&ter the $olden Age Age ended, two power&ul power&ul military leaders emerged) emerged) *hilip II and then Ale+ander the $reat" Ea#h spread $ree% #ulture as they #onuered lands in and around the Mediterranean and Southwest Asia" 'hese areas, in&luen#ed by #lassi#al $ree% #ulture, #ulture, be#ame be#ame %nown as the Hellenisti# %ingdoms"
Early Mediterranean Civilizations 'wo #ultures that emerged on the islands and along the northern #oast o& the eastern Mediterranean Sea had long(term impa#t" 'hey provided a &oundation &or later developments in $ree#e" !rete !rete 'he Minoans lived on an island in the Aegean Aegean Sea #alled Crete. Be#ause Be#ause they had many harbors harbors but li ttle tt le &ertile &ertile soil, they relied relied on trade, trade, and grew ri#h through trade with $ree#e, *hoeni#ia, Egypt, and Asia Minor" 'hey de#orated their homes with paintings and other de#orations" 'he Minoans built a beauti&ul #ity on !rete #alled Knosso #alled Knossoss -&or a while, while, the wealthies wealthiestt #ity on the Aegean" .o writing &rom the Minoa the Minoan n civilizatio civilization n in !rete has been de#iphered, but the e+isten#e e+isten#e o& arti&a#ts all around the Mediterranean Mediterranean testi&ies to !retan in&luen#e in the period around /000 B"!"E" 'he wealth o& the Minoans, their s%ill as builders, and their e+perien#e as sea&arers gave rise to stories o& a legendary King Minos in Knossos and o& 1aedalus and the mae"
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My#enae 'he #ity o& Mycenae, on the mainland o& $ree#e, was probably never #onuered by the Minoans, yet it #ontained arti&a#ts revealing a number o& Minoan #ultural in&luen#es" In addition, the presen#e o& amber &rom the north and ivory &rom Syria are testimony to My#enae2s widespread trade in the area" Both the Minoan and the My#enaean #iviliations de#lined in what is sometimes #alled a 3dar% age3 starting around 4400 B"!"E" and lasting until about 560 B"!"E" However, their arts and #ulture, as e+empli&ied in &res#oes, statuettes, 7ewelry, and even the presen#e o& indoor plumbing at the Knossos Palace #omple+, #ontinued to spread to the $ree% mainland, Southwest Asia, and .orth A&ri#a" 'his spread o& #ulture would be#ome an ongoing e+ample o& #ontinuity, not only in the Mediterranean area and Southwest Asia, but also throughout emerging Europe" !8E'E, M9!E.AE, A.1 $8EEK !I'9(S'A'ES Knossos !8E'E C-ASS/CA- C/2/-/3AT/+NS /N G00C0 AN P0S/A
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Rise of the Greek Citystates $eography2s in&luen#e on $ree#e is easy to see" 'he $ree% mainland is a giant peninsula that 7uts into the Mediterranean, and the surrounding waters in#lude many small islands" 'hese islands and the mainland2s long, irregular #oastline made seaå and trade important" 'raveling on Mediterranean sea lanes, $ree%s transported grain, timber, gold, and other metals &rom one point to another, growing prosperous and #onne#ting #ultures as they did" :i%e sea(å #ultures throughout history, the $ree%s be#ame open to new ideas and te#hnology &rom their trading partners" or e+ample, when *hoeni#ians developed an alphabet that made writing and reading easier, the $ree%s ui#%ly adopted it with all the bene&its o& more e&&i#ient #ommuni#ation" $eography also shaped $ree% politi#s" .umerous islands, mountainous terrain, and la#% o& rivers separated one $ree% tribe &rom another" 'he dis#onne#ted terrain long prevented the $ree% people &rom uniting under one government" Instead, they usually had independent lo#al governments" $ree#e was separated into poleis <#ity(states; singular- polis). =ver the #ourse o& $ree#e2s history, these poleis would at times be allies and at times be enemies" A##ess to the sea also helps to e+plain how $ree#e developed in #ompetition with an e+panded *ersian empire, a #ompetition that resulted in the great Persian Wars o& the &i&th and &ourth #enturies B"!"E" 'hese wars were des#ribed in The Histories by the &irst great $ree% historian, Herodotus. Social and Political Systems !itienship o& a polis was #on&ined to males-$ree#e was a patriar#hy-and only &ree ones" Slaves and &oreigners #ould not be #itiens" A polis #ould #all upon its #itiens to de&end their lands as hoplites
, sometimes &ighting against other poleis" 1i&&erent poleis in $ree#e had di&&erent types o& government" In a monarchy, a %ing ruled the state" In an aristocracy, nobles ruled" In an oligarchy, a &ew wealthy landowners and merchants ruled" In a democracy, all #itiens parti#ipated"
!"arta#s Military !o$iety 'wo o& the most power&ul poleis were Sparta and thens. While both were #ity(states, they di&&ered greatly &rom ea#h other" Sparta remains &amous &or developing a so#iety organied around produ#ing a power&ul military" Sparta2s &o#us on developing soldiers began with #hild(rearing" Boys were ta%en away &rom their mothers beginning at age seven and raised with e+tensive training and enduran#e lessons to ma%e them solid soldiers" 'o prepare them &or the harsh li&e o& a soldier, boys su&&ered physi#al abuse, went without &ood, and were ridi#uled &or showing any sign o& wea%ness" When grown, men served in the a#tive military or in the reserve until age ?0" With Spartan men serving in the military, Spartan !omen ran their households with greater &reedom than did other $ree% women" ree Spartan women re#eived an edu#ation, #ould own property, and were not se#luded in their homes" 'hey won praise &or staying &it and parti#ipating in athleti#s so they would bear healthy sons to in#rease the sie o& the army" A signi&i#ant responsibility &or women was the in#ul#ation o& Spartan values in their #hildren" 5%
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or e+ample, #hildren learned the values o& the state religion, whi#h developed around the %ings, who also served as the supreme priests" 'o enable men to serve in the military and women to &o#us on bearing #hildren and raising them to be soldiers, Spartan so#iety relied on helots, or slaves, to do agri#ultural labor needed to &eed everyone" Helots were generally #aptives resulting &rom Spartan raids on their neighboring inland" Keeping helots under #ontrol and supporting the military were %ey &un#tions o& the Spartan government" 'he government was run by an oligar#hy that shared power between two %ings" Ideas originating &rom outside the polis were dis#ouraged as destabiliing, and so#ial li&e was tightly #ontrolled" Spartans believed that top(down government power was ne#essary &or a stable and prosperous so#iety"
Athenian (e0o$ra$y 'oday, Sparta is remembered &or #reating a military so#iety and thens &or its politi#al and intelle#tual a#hievements" Early governments o& Athens were monarchies, &ollowed by a period o& aristo#ra#y" Solon, a re&orm(minded aristo#rat who lived in the si+th #entury B"!"E", be#ame %nown as a wise ruler who improved li&e in Athens" He is #redited with setting &ree many Athenians enslaved &or debt and limiting the amount o& land any one man #ould own" Politics As Athens and other $ree% #ity(states in#reased their trade with one another, they developed prosperous mer#hant #lasses" However, the mer#hants resented those who held a monopoly on politi#al power" As men o& wealth and property, mer#hants thought that they should have more o& a voi#e in government" When the aristocrats re&used these demands, the mer#hants 7oined small &armers to support tyrants -leaders who seied power with the people2s support" By ?60 B"!"E", tyrants had overthrown the aristo#rats in most #ity(states" At &irst, the tyrants were popular" 'hey lowered ta+es and ended the pra#ti#e o& enslaving people who #ould not pay their debts" 'hey also gave #itiens a greater voi#e in matters that a&&e#ted their lives" =ver time, though, some tyrants alienated their supporters by abusing their power" Democracy 1uring the 600s B"!"E", most $ree% #ity(states overthrew their tyrants" Some poleis returned to governments ruled by aristo#rats or %ings, but Athens and others turned to demo#ra#y" or a while, Athens was a direct democracy, a government in whi#h all #itiens #ould vote dire#tly on laws and other issues in a large assembly" By #ontrast, in a representative democracy, #itiens ele#t leaders to represent them and give those leaders powers to ma%e laws and govern" 'he demo#rati# Athenian government was #omprised o& nine top o&&i#ials #alled archons, a #oun#il o& nobles, and a #itien assembly" *eri#les *erhaps the most &amous name o& all in the $ree% government was that o& Pericles, whose period o& rule in Athens is sometimes #alled the $olden Age <@?4/ B"!"E"> 1uring his reign, the Parthenon, a great temple in Athens that had been destroyed in war with *ersia, was rebuilt" *eri#les is #redited with re&orms to government su#h as trans&er o& power to an assembly" CLA!!*CAL C*.*L*1AT*'N! *N GREECE AN( PER!*A
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He #reated the !oun#il o& 600, whi#h served as an ongoing government o& Athens, and he developed the *eople2s !ourts, whi#h ruled on #harges o& legal violations" Women or women and slaves in Athens, li&e was hard" 'hey were e+#luded &rom government servi#e and &rom voting" Women #ould not own any property beyond personal items" 'hey did not re#eive an edu#ation" I& women had matters to settle in #ourt, they had to employ a male guardian" Cpper( #lass women always had to be a##ompanied by a man when they le&t home" Early marriages and e+#lusion &rom most o& publi# li&e %ept women isolated" Women were believed to be intelle#tually in&erior to men and thus in#apable o& being satis&ying relationship partners" (Test Prep: Create a chart comparing the treatment of women in Greece with their treatment in Egypt and China. For Egypt see page /5; &or China see page 404">
Athenian Philoso"hy *erhaps as a result o& having seaports and wel#oming trade #onne#tions with the outside world, new ideas &lourished in Athens" 'he arts, mathemati#s, and literature #reated by Athenians &ormed the basis o& a#ademi# dis#iplines still studied in s#hools worldwide" 'wo epi# poems, the "liad and the #dyssey, have been re#ited, read, and studied ever sin#e they were presumably #omposed by a $ree% poet named Homer around the ninth #entury B"!"E"" Socrates =ne in&luential $ree% thin%er was Socrates. His emphasis on #ontinually as%ing uestions to systemati#ally #lari&y another person2s ideas and to identi&y the #ore o& them be#ame %nown as the Socratic Method. So#rates was eventually put to death by the Athenian government &or uestioning the state religion"
*lato A student o& So#rates, Plato, %ept his tea#her2s ideas alive" *lato opened a s#hool #alled the cademy, where he taught students to uestion the nature o& ideas su#h as good, evil, 7usti#e, and beauty" 1eparting &rom the oral tradition o& philosophy, *lato wrote dialogues, tea#hings presented as dis#ussions between So#rates and his pupils" In the dialogue %nown as The $epu%lic, *lato des#ribed an ideal so#iety ruled by a government that rested upon a #on#ept o& 7usti#e and ethi#al values" While many Athenians advo#ated demo#ra#y, *lato did not" Instead, in The $epu%lic, *lato envisioned a so#iety #omposed o& wor%ers, warriors, and 3philosopher %ings"3 'his last group would be intelligent and rational enough to ma%e de#isions &or the good o& the whole state" Aristotle =ne o& *lato2s students, ristotle, also be#ame a &amous Athenian philosopher" Aristotle wrote on a range o& topi#s, &rom how to organie government to the ualities o& good literature" He might be best %nown &or his ideas about ethi#s" Aristotle believed in avoiding e+tremes in behavior" or e+ample, moderate #ourage was a virtue" 'oo little #ourage made one a #oward; too mu#h made one &ool(hardy" Aristotle #alled this emphasis on moderation the &olden Mean. 52
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Aristotle emphasied gaining %nowledge through empiricism, trusting what one learned &rom observation and eviden#e o& the senses, rather than emphasiing intuition or religious belie&s" Aristotle also &o#used on logic, the s#ien#e o& the &ormal prin#iples o& reasoning" However, unli%e modern s#ientists, Aristotle and other $ree%s did not emphasie e+periments" An additional #ontribution by Aristotle was his wor% Poetics, whi#h &or the &irst time set down de&initions o& tragedy and #omedy in the theater, as well as de&initions o& epi# and lyri# poetry" Su#h systemati# writings about philosophy, literature, and the arts #onstituted a new development in the Mediterranean world" 'he ideas o& So#rates, *lato, Aristotle, and other $ree% thin%ers provided the &oundation &or European thought &or #enturies" <'est *rep) Write a paragraph #omparing $ree% philosophers with in&luential thin%ers in other #ultures" See page 400 &or !on&u#ius and page &or Doroaster">
Athenian Reli4ion and Cltre $ree% religion was based on an in&luential set o& myths" 'hrough these stories, rather than through spe#i&i# tea#hings about ethi#s, most $ree%s e+pressed their ideas about right and wrong behavior and the role o& gods in their lives" Boo%s and movies about Deus, Her#ules, =dysseus, and other $ree% mythologi#al &igures remain popular today" =ver time, as #onta#t in#reased between $ree%s and other groups, su#h as *ersians and Egyptians, $ree% religion be#ame more syncretic, #ombining ideas &rom di&&erent sour#es" or e+ample, the deity Serapis #ombined elements o& the $ree% Deus, the Egyptian =siris, and other deities into one" $ree% religion and literature were #losely #onne#ted" Attendan#e at religious &un#tions, o& whi#h theater was o&ten a part, was #onsidered a #ivi# duty" Some $ree% playwrights, in#luding 'uripides and Sophocles, used the myths o& the gods as #onvenient literary devi#es &or their plays" Although the term 3satire3 #omes &rom a later 8oman &orm o& drama, there were #ertainly satiri#al se#tions in the $ree% comedies, plays in whi#h a #hara#ter triumphs over hardship" 'he most proli&i# author o& #omedies was ristophanes, who wrote @0 plays, in#luding (ysistrata and The irds. eschylus and Euripides wrote tragedies, dramas that deal with death, war, 7usti#e, and the relationships between gods and ordinary people" or e+ample, Prometheus ound by Aes#hylus tells the tale o& how *rometheus steals &ire &rom Deus, gives it to humans, and then su&&ers eternal punishment" The Tro*an Women by Euripides des#ribes how Athenians slaughtered people they #aptured in the 'ro7an War" $ree% tragedies and #omedies in&luen#ed William Sha%espeare o& the si+teenth #entury and #ontinue to in&luen#e modern playwrights today" Architectre and Art 8eligion was also #onne#ted to the distin#tive $ree% ar#hite#tural style, a style e+empli&ied by the Parthenon in Athens" 'his massive stone building, re#tangular but elegant, &eatured rows o& tall #olumns on all sides and was topped by a slanted roo&" In a panel sitting along the top o& the #olumns, artists #arved &riees illustrating $ree% myths" CLA!!*CAL C*.*L*1AT*'N! *N GREECE AN( PER!*A
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'he !lympic Games 8eligion also provided the #onte+t &or athleti# #ompetitions" Cnli%e modern sports, whi#h emphasie %eeping re#ords o& who ran the &astest and who 7umped the &arthest, $ree% sports emphasied rituals" or e+ample, be&ore #ompeting, athletes would provide o&&erings to show their respe#t &or the gods" Beginning around 55? B"!"E", the $ree%s held =lympi# games every &our years" Athletes &rom all the #ity(states gathered in one spot, =lympia, to #ompete in various sports" Wars among the #ity(states #ommonly would be suspended &or the duration o& the games so that athletes and spe#tators #ould assemble" 'hus, even though there was not a #entralied state o& $ree#e, the =lympi# $ames helped #reate a #ommon &eeling o& 3$ree%ness"3 'he games #ontinued &or over one thousand years, ending around @00 !"E" 'he games were restarted in 4?"
Greek Colonies Starting around the eighth #entury B"!"E", the $ree% #ity(states began establishing #olonies around the Mediterranean, partly be#ause the $ree%s2 population growth was outstripping the &ood supply" Some $ree%s moved willingly to the #olonies, others less willingly" 'he relu#tant ones drew lots to see who would emigrate" In a typi#ally $ree% spirit o& independen#e, the #olonies were allowed a large measure o& autonomy, but ea#h maintained a shared #ulture with its home #ity(state" Some o& the largest o& these #olonies were lo#ated on the island o& Si#ily at Syracuse and grigentum, on the Italian *eninsula at .aples, on the #oast o& ran#e at Marseilles, and on the western #oast o& Asia Minor" $eography had a de#ided impa#t on the $ree% #ity(states, as it has on every state" ren#h historian ernand Braudel wrote that 3the poor, pre#arious soils along the Mediterranean, #ombined with an un#ertain, drought(a&&li#ted #limate, spurred an#ient $ree% and 8oman #onuest"3 Additionally, the arid and temperate #limate o& $ree#e allowed &or outdoor tea#hing in the s#hools o& philosophy su#h as *lato2s A#ademy" urther, the #limate provided an ideal setting &or outdoor theater #ompetitions where highly developed literary genres su#h as tragedy and #omedy appeared" A##ess to the sea en#ouraged #oloniation and trade, intera#tions that e+posed the $ree%s to new ideas that brought #hange while maintaining elements o& *an(Helleni# #ontinuity"
Persian E0"ire Beginning in 66 B"!"E", under the leadership o& Cyrus the &reat the Persians #onuered most o& the lands &rom the Aegean Sea to the borders o& India" A&ter F0 years o& rule, !yrus was su##eeded by his son Cam%yses, who #onuered Egypt and parts o& Southeast Europe" 'heir empire be#ame %nown as the chaemenid 'mpire, sometimes #alled the irst *ersian Empire" It united three o& the earliest #enters o& #iviliation- Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India-into one power&ul empire, #overing a territory almost the sie o& the Cnited States" It was the largest, most diverse empire the world had yet seen, in#luding more than 50 distin#t ethni# groups
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'HE *E8SIA. EM*I8E C.1E8 'HE A!HAEME.I1S Persian 06#ire 4 7
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The "eign of Daris :i%e rulers in Egypt and !hina and other pla#es, *ersian rulers supported their legitima#y with #laims that they ruled by divine right" However, their power rested upon their own abilities to build and hold an empire" 8uling su#h a large empire in an era when and transportation #ommuni#ation were so slow reuired new ways o& thin%ing about power" Cnder +arius " , *ersia divided lands it #onuered into provin#es so that the %ing2s poli#ies announ#ed in the #apital o& *ersepolis #ould be administered throughout the empire" 'hen, rather than simply demand the loyalty o& rulers who were sele#ted lo#ally, 1arius #reated a new position- satrap, a ruler o& a provin#e who was responsible to the emperor, not to lo#al leaders" inally, inspe#tors, #alled 3'he Eyes and Ears o& the King,3 traveled to ea#h provin#e and reported to the %ing on the behavior o& the satraps" 'he provin#ial stru#ture, with satraps and inspe#tors, #reated an e&&i#ient administrative bureau#ra#y" 'o pay &or this bureau#ra#y, 1arius instituted regular ta+ payments" 'he &low o& ta+ dollars into the government enabled the *ersians to &und several magni&i#ent pro7e#ts under 1arius"
G 'he #apital #ity, Persepolis, whi#h was lo#ated in what is now Iran, be#ame a #elebrated #ity, &eaturing an impressive royal pala#e and #elebrating the artisti# traditions o& several groups in the empire" G 'he Royal $oad, whi#h spanned some 4,600 miles a#ross the empire, was the most &amous o& the networ% o& roads built to en#ourage trade" 1arius added an e&&i#ient #ourier servi#e with postal stations along this road" C-ASS/CA- C/2/-/3AT/+NS /N G00C 0 AN P0S/A
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G 1arius also instituted the #onstru#tion o& caravanserai, whi#h were #ombination inns and mar%ets &or people traveling the 8oyal 8oad by #amel #aravan" G 'he empire instituted a common currency that was a##epted a#ross the empire" 'his made trade simpler thereby uniting the empire and promoting prosperity" Toleration While *ersians #entralied politi#al power, they did not try to en&or#e religious and #ultural uni&ormity in their empire" 1arius I, in parti#ular, allowed ethni# groups to retain their #ultural identity and tolerated religious diversity as long as people paid their ta+es and #ontributed soldiers to the military &or#e to maintain the empire" His su##essor, er-es <64(@?6 B"!"E"> built a $ate o& All .ations at an entran#e to *ersepolis to show that he was honoring all his sub7e#ts" *ersian toleration o& diversity was an unusual poli#y, one that made the *ersian Empire unli%e other empires o& its time" <'est prep: Write a paragraph #omparing and #ontrasting religios toleration nder the Persians with later e+amples o& the policy. See page 46/ for Islami# rle in Spain.# "eligios $eliefs =ne o& the most important lega#ies o& the *ersians was the spread o& monotheism, the belie& in only one god" Although monotheism also appeared in other #ultures, most people in Southwest Asia were polytheisti# be&ore the *ersian prophet arathustra <#" ??0 B"!"E(6F B"!"E"> began tea#hing a new &aith, oroastrianism. 'his &aith was based on belie& in only one god, Ahura Mada, or the 3wise lord"3 'he religion also believed in a god o& dar%ness and other lesser gods, none o& whi#h were to be worshipped" Doroastrianism also taught the #on#epts o& heaven and hell. A&ter death, good people would be rewarded in heaven, while the evil ones would be punished in hell" =riginally, priests #alled magi had passed Darathustra2s tea#hings orally &rom generation to generation" 'hen later, a #olle#tion o& written te+ts based on Darathustra2s belie&s, the vestas, was produ#ed, whi#h helped spread the religion" Doroastrianism2s monotheisti# prin#iple and other tea#hings may have shaped the development o& udaism and !hristianity" Society *ersian so#iety had mu#h the same so#ial strati&i#ation as earlier empires o& the region" However, be#ause o& its sie, it had a larger #lass o& edu#ated, well(paid government wor%ers" 'his bureau#ra#y in#luded a##ountants, administrators, ta+ #olle#tors, and translators" Similarly, the number o& slaves in *ersia was mu#h greater than in other empires" armers owned slaves, using them as agri#ultural laborers, and their numbers in#reased as agri#ultural produ#tion in#reased" =ther slaves were servants to #ity(dwellers, and still others were owned by the government and used to build roads, large buildings, and irrigation systems throughout *ersia" Even though *ersian so#iety was patriar#hal, women were allowed to own and manage property, and i& they wor%ed in a shop, they were allowed to %eep their wages" !ommon *ersian women engaged in e#onomi# a#tivities,
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in#luding weaving te+tiles and trading them &or &ood &or their &amilies" 1ivor#e was possible" Some aristo#rati# *ersian women wore veils, mainly to advertise their so#ial status" En%ironment and Technology 'he *ersians irrigated their &ields, as did other #iviliations in Southwest Asia" 'he *ersian method, however, was innovative) underground #anals, #alled anat, were used to redu#e the evaporation o& the water as it traveled to the &ields" Janat were espe#ially #ommon in the arid Iranian *lateau o& #entral *ersia" Trade 'he *ersians #ondu#ted mu#h trade along the *ersian 8oad and other land routes" 'hey also #ondu#ted trade by sea" or e+ample, ivory and gold #ame &rom 'ur%ey; #edar and woolen &abri#s &rom *hoeni#ia; wine and oil &rom $ree#e; and grain, te+tiles, and papyrus &rom Egypt"
Persia vs9 Gree$e As the $ree% #ity(states e+panded east and the vast *ersian empire e+panded west, the two #lashed over territory" 'he #on&li#t began in Asia Minor" In Asia Minor, *ersians o##upied several $ree% #olonies" Around @ B"!"E", some o& these #onuered $ree% areas rebelled in #ampaigns %nows as the Persian Wars. Athens and Sparta &ormed an allian#e to help the rebel #olonies" In @0 B"!"E", at the #ity o& Marathon in mainland $ree#e, an outnumbered Athenian army de&eated the *ersian &or#es o& 1arius, who then withdrew &rom $ree#e" er+es again tried to push westward" He organied a &or#e o& thousands and atta#%ed $ree#e, de&eating a &ew hundred Spartans and their allies at the attle o/ Thermopylae. A&ter their vi#tory, the *ersians #aptured and burned Athens" In rea#tion, the Athenians and their allies &ormed the +elian (eague. When the *ersians later met the Athenians at sea, the Athenians won the naval attle o/ Salamis. Soon, the $ree%s won other sea and land battles, &or#ing the *ersians to retreat to their homeland" Decline of Persia 'he #ost o& the battles with the $ree%s severely damaged the *ersian Empire" urther, er+es began to ta%e a less tolerant attitude toward non(*ersians in the empire" 'ogether, these &or#es began to undermine the strength o& the *ersian Empire" Athens&Sparta "i%alry 'he allian#e among $ree% #ity(states did not last" Athens e+pe#ted other #ity(states to pay ta+es to it, whi#h the latter resented" !hie& among these was Sparta, whi#h revolted against Athens, beginning the Peloponnesian War <@F4(0@ B"!"E">" With the help o& its $ree% allies in the Peloponnesian (eague, Sparta de&eated Athens and be#ame the dominant power in $ree#e"
The Rise of Ma$edonia As *ersia wea%ened and the $ree%s divided, a new power arose in Ma#edonia, a region on the northern edge o& the $ree% world" Philip resolved to #onuer and unite the $ree% #ity(states and then #onuer Asia Minor" He ui#%ly CLA!!*CAL C*.*L*1AT*'N! *N GREECE AN( PER!*A
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#onuered all o& the $ree% #ity(states e+#ept Sparta" However, *hilip I*s &urther plans were #ut short when he was assassinated in FF? B"!"E" He was su##eeded by his son Ale+ander, who immediately began the #onuests that would earn him the name le-ander the &reat and e+tend $ree% in&luen#e all the way to India" Ale'ander and the ellenistic )orld 1uring Ale+ander2s 4F(year #ampaign, he governed his &ar(&lung #onuests by pi#%ing native residents to help him rule" or e+ample, in present(day Iran he allowed lo#al *ersian administrators to run that part o& the empire" Ale+ander #emented his relations with leaders in the area by marrying several *ersian women and urging his leading generals to do the same" In Egypt, he &ounded the great #ity o& le-andria, whi#h would be#ome a #enter o& Hellenisti# #ulture and a ma7or seaport" <'he histori#al Hellenistic Period ta%es its name &rom the $ree% word Hellenes, meaning 3$ree%s"3> 'he Ptolemy dynasty eventually built a library at Ale+andria, the largest library o& the an#ient world, as well as the Ale+andrian Museum, a pla#e where s#holars did resear#h" As a result o& Ale+ander2s #onuests, $ree% language, ar#hite#ture, mythology, and philosophy be#ame widespread" Small #olonies o& $ree%s were established all over the Hellenisti# world, even as &ar as Ba#tria, a region in what is now A&ghanistan" 'he #ontinuity o& $ree% #ulture held strong even as $ree% governmental unity de#lined" An e+ample o& su#h #ontinuity #an be seen in the $re#o(Buddhist art &rom the areas in South Asia, another region visited by Ale+ander2s &or#es" 'emples show in&luen#es in $ree% #olumns and some statues show the Buddha in $ree% #lothing" Formation and Fall of the *ingdoms Ale+ander2s death in F/F B"!"E" at the age o& F/ ushered in a time o& #haos" 'he #entral administration o& the empire #ollapsed" Ale+ander had &ailed to designate an heir, so his generals battled with one another to establish their own %ingdoms" Instead o& one power&ul empire, the $ree%(in&luen#ed lands be#ame divided into several" !hie& among the generalsrulers were the Seleucids in Asia and the Ptolemies in Egypt" Smaller monar#hies #ontrolled *ergamum in Asia Minor, the area around Sparta, and the area around Athens" 'hese regions would eventually &all to the 8oman Empire" or e+ample, Athens and other #ity(states &ell to the 8omans in the &irst #entury B"!"E" 'he brea%(up o& the $ree% empire did not mean the end o& $ree% #ulture" Mu#h o& it was adopted by the 8omans" $ree% tea#hers and do#tors were highly pried as slaves in 8ome be#ause they transmitted a #ulture admired by the 8oman upper #lasses" <'est *rep) Write a paragraph #omparing and #ontrasting Ale+ander 1arius" See page 6">
'ther E0"ires in Persia 'hough the great A#haemenid empire o& !yrus, 1arius, and er+es ended, their ideas lived on" 'he later rulers o& *ersian lands %ept many o& their innovations in administration"
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Sour#e) 'hin%sto#% $ree#e, along with India, developed some o& the &irst &orms o& drama" $ree% plays were o&ten simple produ#tions that taught that people had to su&&er to learn" In #ontrast" Indian drama o&ten used dan#e and &reuently had happy endings"
Selecids 'he Seleucids who ruled *ersia &rom F06 to F B"!"E" en#ouraged $ree%s and Ma#edonians to settle there as #olonists" 'hey %ept A#haemenid2s bureau#rati# system, but the satraps o&ten revolted against their Ma#edonian rulers" 'he Seleu#ids lost #ontrol o& their eastern lands to the *arthians and were &inally repla#ed by the 8omans"
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*arthians =riginally nomadi# peoples &rom !entral Asia, the Parthians ruled over what is now Ira, Iran, and mu#h o& the land bordering western India, beginning in /@5 B"!"E" 'heir #apital #ity was !tesiphon" 'hey %ept the A#haemenid2s satrap system o& governing" In the &irst #entury !"E", they prevented the 8oman Empire2s army &rom mar#hing east beyond Syria" .either side #ould #onuer the other" Border towns and surrounding areas would #hange hands as vi#tories were won by one side or the other" In //@ !"E", the *arthians were de&eated by the Sassanids. Sassanids 1uring the Sassanid dynasty , the government promoted Doroastrianism and perse#uted !hristians, whom it suspe#ted as being sympatheti# toward the !hristian 8oman Empire" 'he Sassanid Empire was large but not as large as the *arthian Empire had been" or e+ample, it did not #ontrol Armenia nor Ba#tria "
Co0"arin4 the Greek and Persian E0"ires *ersia and $ree#e established the two great empires o& the eastern Mediterranean area" 'hey shared many similarities" Both empires #overed large territories" 'hey had wide #ultural in&luen#e" 'hey allowed most women &ew rights, although some women did be#ome in&luential in A#haemenid #ourt" 'he two empires had very di&&erent religious traditions" 1arius o& *ersia had the &ollowing ins#ription #arved in three languages on a monument) 3I am 1arius, the great %ing""" &rom antiuity""" by the gra#e o& Ahuramada"3 .ote that he attributed his reign to Ahuramada, the one deity o& the Doroastrians" In #ontrast to the *ersians2 monotheism, the $ree%s had a pantheon o& gods" 'hey had gods and goddesses &or ea#h aspe#t o& li&e" $ree%s and *ersians also viewed unity within their empires di&&erently" 'he *ersians showed high toleran#e &or diverse #ustoms and traditions throughout their empire" 'hey had one emperor in #ontrol, though they allowed &or lo#al autonomy" In #ontrast, the $ree%s were more united #ulturally through language, religion, and traditions su#h as the =lympi# games" However, the $ree%s were less united politi#ally" 'he #ity(states &ought one another and 7oined together only when threatened with invasion" 'he two empires demonstrate the power o& syn#retism" 'hey be#ame more ali%e during the Hellenisti# period" or e+ample, when Ale+ander the $reat #onuered territories &rom the *ersians, he adopted their system o& lo#al administration" In addition, the e+#ellent postal system o& the *ersians, #ombined with the use o& #oins that developed around the Mediterranean, &a#ilitated trade that made the entire region more prosperous" 'rade helped &orm a #ultural synthesis o& *ersian astronomy and Doroastrianism with $ree% language, literature, gods, mystery #ults, and various styles o& government" 'he blending o& these elements shaped the #onte+t &or the ne+t great empire o& the Mediterranean world) the 8oman Empire"
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Whether historians #onsider Ale+ander great or not depends on whi#h aspe#ts o& his li&e stri%e them as most important" Li#tor 1avid Hanson, reviewing several re#ent boo%s on Ale+ander, des#ribed the range o& views &rom 3drun%en " " " psy#hopath3 to 3the Aristotelian who tamed Asia " "" with gentle &irmness and romanti# elan"3 Praise =ne o& the &irst historians to write about Ale+ander was the 8oman historian Arrian lavius Arrianus, who was impressed by the Ma#edonian2s #onuests" Arrian lived about &our #enturies a&ter Ale+ander in an empire that inherited mu#h o& its #ulture &rom the $ree%s" 'o Arrian, Ale+ander was a great leader who united people under his rule, #reated a large area where trade #ould &lourish, and brought pea#e between long(time rivals $ree#e and *ersia" :i%e many 8omans, Arrian seemed little bothered by the #osts o& #reating a large empire"
'he !ost o& !onuest But these #osts did bother English historian $eorge $rote" Writing in the late 400s, $rote was appalled by the bloodshed that resulted &rom Ale+ander2s drive to win personal glory" Ale+ander e+e#uted thousands o& #onuered soldiers or villagers at a time" Maybe hundreds o& thousands o& people died in the wars Ale+ander #arried out" 'o $rote, Ale+ander and his &ather, *hillip, were simply 3brutalied adventurers"3 More re#ently, *aul !artledge #ombined aspe#ts o& both $rote and !artledge in his evaluation o& Ale+ander" Ale+ander was #ertainly brutal, but his brutality was #ommon &or his times" And his #onuests, on#e #ompleted, o&&ered the possibility, a##ording to !artledge, o& a 3pea#e&ul, multi(ethni# #oe+isten#e"3 Critical +iews 'wo other British historians were less &orgiving than !artledge" *eter $reen pointed out that many o& the bene&its brought by Ale+ander vanished upon his death" 3'he empire he built #ollapsed the moment he was gone; he #ame as a #onueror and the wor% he wrought was destru#tion"3 Ale+ander brought pea#e and unity, but only brie&ly" A&ter his death, his generals &ought one another and bro%e up his empire" Whatever the bene&its that Ale+ander brought, they did not survive long enough to be worth the #osts" And ohn Keegan, the preeminent military historian o& the past #entury, #on#luded that Ale+ander2s 3dread&ul lega#y was to ennoble savagery-to whi#h all who opposed his will were sub7e#t-in the name o& glory"3
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;E+ TERM! <+ T)EME C=LT=RE, &R*TER! > L*TERAT=RE Herodotus The Histories Ho6er Iliad dyssey Plato The !epublic Aristotle "oetics #vestas Aristo#
EN.*R'NMENT ;anat !TATE<=*L(*NG, LEA(ER! Cyrus t
C=LT=RE, ARC)*TECT=RE Part
G'.ERNMENT! Poleis (#olis 6onarc
Perse#olis 5nossos Palace
aristocracy oli"arc
C=LT=RE, P)*L'!'P)+ > REL*G*'N Socrates Socratic 7et
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!TATE<=*L(*NG, ;*NG('M! AN( &AR! Crete 5nossos 7inoan civilization 7ycenae Syracuse A"ri"entu6 Persian *ars 7aratattle o? Tattle o? Sala6is Persians Ac
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