CLA160H1 Lecture 5: Lecture 5
Outline
- The world of the polis (the city state)
- Economy and society
- Intellectual life and culture
- Lyric poetry in this context
Brief history
- Bronze age ends in 1100 BC with introduction of dark age
- 700 BC cultural advances re-emerge (Mycenaean), horizontally aligned kings with social code.
Growing awareness of Greek society. Sense of exploration is leading to colonization of
Mediterranean.
The Rise of the Polis (c.700-480BC)
- Arhai period arked y eergee of ity states i Greee
Defining the Polis (nearly 1000 city states)
- City state is a defined geographical area comprising of the city and it's territory, which together
make up a single self governing political unity
- For Greeks this was the Polis. Territory of the polis was called the chora
- Expansion of this social structure from chieftain and king based society we saw before
o Polis as the beginnings of a state; community held together by law and identity
o Citizenship and social belonging starts to extend further below the ruling elite (not yet
democracy)
Regional level identity: ethnes
- Poleis could and did interact and relate
- At the supra-polis level, Greeks related as ethees, groups ased o ethi affiliatio
- Ethnes marked by origin stories, linguistic accents, etc., shared between city states
Further development of Greek identity of insiders vs. outsiders
- As a result of these new sociopolitical formations, lines of identity are more rigidly drawn
- Persons, communities, ethnicities think about why they relate to some and not to others
Early city state governments: the rise of tyrants
- From c. 670 to 500 BC, many poleis came under control of single rulers known as tyrants
- Tyrant was not initially negative but eventually came to be demeaning as aristocrats worked to
depose tyrants and establish oligarchies
- Most tyrants are elite, but not necessarily top-ranking. Generally, from marginalized but
powerful families
- Such figures gained power from both outside help, but also popular support
- This obviously denotes an increasingly complex social structure in the polis society emerging
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Document Summary
The world of the polis (the city state) Bronze age ends in 1100 bc with introduction of dark age. 700 bc cultural advances re-emerge (mycenaean), horizontally aligned kings with social code. Sense of exploration is leading to colonization of. Ar(cid:272)hai(cid:272) period (cid:373)arked (cid:271)y e(cid:373)erge(cid:374)(cid:272)e of (cid:862)(cid:272)ity states(cid:863) i(cid:374) gree(cid:272)e. City state is a defined geographical area comprising of the city and it"s territory, which together make up a single self governing political unity. Territory of the polis was called the chora. At the supra-polis level, greeks related as ethe(cid:374)es, groups (cid:271)ased o(cid:374) (cid:862)eth(cid:374)i(cid:272)(cid:863) affiliatio(cid:374) Ethnes marked by origin stories, linguistic accents, etc. , shared between city states. Further development of greek identity of insiders vs. outsiders. As a result of these new sociopolitical formations, lines of identity are more rigidly drawn. Persons, communities, ethnicities think about why they relate to some and not to others. Early city state governments: the rise of tyrants.
