CLASSICS 2LW3 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Basileus, Theogony, Boeotia
750 - 490 BC - Archaic Period and Rediscovery of Writing
Participatory self-government ranging from informal assemblies, to traditional authority, to laws, offices,
and formal governmental institutions
•
Rise in material conditions, as well as slavery
•
Development of phalanx warfare that was dependent on like-armed, middle class agrarian citizens
•
Evidence of the creation of the earliest Greek laws, nomoi - the primary issue was the distribution of
power, prerogatives, and protections amongst the population
•
This period marked the rise of the polis, or city-state. Important poleis included Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and
Thebes. Other elements of the archaic period include:
700 - 650 BC - Hesiod
Story of the origins of the cosmos, or order, from which the conditions for justice dike emerge - "in
the beginning there was chaos"
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The principles of attraction Eros united heaven Ouranos and earth Gaia
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The first Titans, Chronos and his siblings were born, and Chronos castrated Ouranos (from the bits
came Aphrodite)
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The triumph of the Olympians, led by Zeus, leads to him overtaking the role as Overseer of
Justice
▪
Ends cycle of fathers abusing their children/children scheming against fathers
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Divine right Themis becomes his consort, with whom he fathers Dike
▪
A generation of "evils" were born, and Chronos consumed his offspring, only to be overthrown by
the Olympian siblings (the Gods) in Titanomachy
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700 BC - Theogony
•
An example of didactic poetry, a form of poetry that strives to teach
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Perses acquired more than his fair share through influence bribe-devouring kings dorophagoi
basileis
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Therefore, distributive justice is disrupted, because power and wealth becomes concentrated in
the hands of the judges, and innocents lose out to men like Perses
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700 BC - Works and Days
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A Boeotia poet from Ascra, he is best known for Theogony, and Works and Days. His poetry is rustic, often
taking on a Hesiod persona, a small land-owner farming. Works and Days focuses almost entirely on the honest,
hardworking nature of farming.
Communities became less politically egalitarian, less equitable in the division of property, more stratified
in terms of material wealth - especially in socially complex communities like Ascra
•
Cities in the Near East and proto-Greek societies followed a pattern of stratification and centralisation
following growths in population and wealth
•
Little political centralization, broadly inclusive governments, and delimited holding of
governmental offices
○
In Greece, this would eventually be reflected in some aspects of society, in socio-economic stratification,
but would differ in others:
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State Formation
The Polis and It's Laws
October 19, 2017
3:37 PM
Ancient Law Page 1
Document Summary
750 - 490 bc - archaic period and rediscovery of writing. This period marked the rise of the polis, or city-state. Participatory self-government ranging from informal assemblies, to traditional authority, to laws, offices, and formal governmental institutions. Rise in material conditions, as well as slavery. Development of phalanx warfare that was dependent on like-armed, middle class agrarian citizens. Evidence of the creation of the earliest greek laws, nomoi - the primary issue was the distribution of power, prerogatives, and protections amongst the population. A boeotia poet from ascra, he is best known for theogony, and works and days. His poetry is rustic, often taking on a hesiod persona, a small land-owner farming. Works and days focuses almost entirely on the honest, hardworking nature of farming. Story of the origins of the cosmos, or order, from which the conditions for justice dike emerge - "in the beginning there was chaos" The principles of attraction eros united heaven ouranos and earth gaia.