HI126 Lecture 4: Hi126 Lec 4 Greek Warfare
Document Summary
Is at the root of our western civilization. Greeks called themselves hellense- lacked political unity in ancient ties, but shared a language a culture. In mainland greece most greeks lived in narrow, fertile valleys separated by steep mountains or on coastal plains and scattered small islands. Greeks also settled in colonies along the coasts of the black sea and mediterranean sea. Vast majority of greeks were small independent farmers who grew grain, olives, grapes, etc. Others were artisans or involved in shipping and trade of products like wine, olive, pottery. There were as many as 1,000-1,500 greek poles on the mainland, greek islands and overseas as far away as italy, north africa and southern france. Each polis was usually a walled city surrounded by villages and eld. Each had its own government, laws, customs, festival. The ideal size was 5,000-10,000 citizens but most were smaller. Athens was a prosperous commercial city: so-called democracy ruled by its 40,000-50,000 citizens.
