CLAB05H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Polis, Hoplite, Olive Oil
Document Summary
Weaker kings, basileis replaced wanakes in the dark ages. Homer and hesiod called basileis dear to gods . Also thought they had to conform to community values. Basileus = often, the leading man among feuding chiefs. Rich greek men called themselves agathoi = the good people. The poor are called kakoi = the bad people. 7th-6th century b. c, power in favor of poor instead of rich. Ordinary citizens increasingly challenged the right of any man to make decisions for an entire community. Demos = the people, as a whole making important decisions in several poleis. Amphoras = large pots, used to ship wine and olive oil. Most poleis had iron, but lacked good timber and building stone. Talents = a very large sum of money. Only real wealth found in archaeological research is from sanctuaries. Most poleis had one or two grand sanctuaries with stone temples that got the finest offerings and many smaller shrines where local people dedicated pottery.
