HIST 205 Lecture 4: HIST 205- Ancient Mediterranean History- LECTURE 4- Homer
14 Nov 2014
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Document Summary
Hist 205- ancient mediterranean history- lecture 4: homer. Late dark age society through the lens of homer. Insights into late dark age society in a mycenaean society. Homer"s world, c. 700 bc: divided greek city- states. , greek dark age", the world. The wrath of achilles, struggle between him and agamemnon. Abuse of power of the basileus (king or chief of an archaic greek village) vis- - vis his warriors. Story is about social order of dark ages breaking down. Network of small villages and towns, clustered for protection. Each village/ town ruled by basileus: semi hereditary but succession had to be ratified by the ekklesia- council". Warrior assembly discussed and ratified decisions made by the king: wider wealth disparity, closed social circles. Exact same structure of the world in 750 bc. Combination of personal and traditional/ hereditary power. United by divided: no political unity, but cultural unity- or at east similarity, roughly the same language, same institutions.
