Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek music

Music was essential to the pattern and texture of Greek life, as it was an important feature of religious festivals,
marriage and funeral rites, and banquet gatherings. Our knowledge of ancient Greek music comes from actual
fragments of musical scores, literary references, and the remains of musical instruments. Although extant
musical scores are rare, incomplete, and of relatively late date, abundant literary references shed light on the
practice of music, its social functions, and its perceived aesthetic qualities. Likewise, inscriptions provide
information about the economics and institutional organization of professional musicians, recording such things
as prizes awarded and fees paid for services.

In addition to the physical remains of musical instruments in a number of archaeological contexts, depictions of
musicians and musical events in vase painting and sculpture provide valuable information about the kinds of
instruments that were preferred and how they were actually played. Although the ancient Greeks were familiar
with many kinds of instruments, three in particular were favored for composition and performance: the kithara,
a plucked string instrument; the lyre, also a string instrument; and the aulos, a double-reed instrument. Most
Greek men trained to play an instrument competently, and to sing and perform choral dances. Instrumental
music or the singing of a hymn regularly accompanied everyday activities and formal acts of worship.
Shepherds piped to their flocks, oarsmen and infantry kept time to music, and women made music at home. The
art of singing to one's own stringed accompaniment was highly developed. Greek philosophers saw a
relationship between music and mathematics, envisioning music as a paradigm of harmonious order reflecting
the cosmos and the human soul.
Excerpt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQqdjsrhDHw

Short video about Ancient Greek music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1aAunaw1GA

Kithara (or cythara) Chelys (a sort of lyre) Double aulos

The minoans

The highly influential culture of the Greek

Golden Age did not arise in a cultural
vacuum but was itself influenced by many
other civilizations, especially the Minoan
and Mycenaean civilizations.

The Minoans lived on the island of Crete.

Arthur Evans, the English archaeologist

who unearthed the palace at Knossos,
between 1900 and 1905, coined the term
Minoan a reference to the mythic King
Minos (the same one that hid the Minotaur)
as a descriptive term for this ancient
civilization.
The bronze age on Crete begins around 2700 BCE. During this
period the Minoans had contact with Egypt, Asia Minor, and
Syria with whom they traded for copper, tin, ivory, and gold.
Crete exported timber, food, cypress wood, wine, currants, olive
oil, wool, cloth, herbs, and purple dye. The Minoans also adopted
artistic ideas and techniques from these surrounding cultures.

The Minoans used a script known as Linear A to keep records. It is

still undecipherable.

Over time the Minoans developed significant naval power and for
many centuries lived in contact with all the major civilizations of
the time without being significantly threatened by external forces.

Minoan civilization reached its greatest strength and prosperity

between 2000 and 1450 BCE. However, it suffered destruction of Linear A tablet from the palace of Zakros
its palaces around 1700 BCE from an unknown source, possibly
an earthquake or invaders. Despite the destruction, Minoan
civilization recovered and continued to prosper.
Between 1700 and 1400 BC the destroyed palaces were quickly rebuilt on the older ruins to
form even more spectacular structures. This is the time when Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, and
Zakros were built. Palaces had indoor plumbing, drainage systems, and in some cases
flushing toilets.

Small towns developed near the palaces. For the first time smaller residencies that we call
villashomes for affluent landlordsappeared in the rural landscape.
During this period, Minoan Crete reached its zenith. Gold artifacts, seals, and spears speak of a
very affluent upper class. The paved road network was vastly expanded to connect most
major Minoan palaces and towns. Art flourished.

Ladies in Blue, ca. 1525-1450 BCE. Reproduction made in

1927 of an original at Palace of Knossos, Crete. Metropolitan
Museum. NYC. GEH The throne room of Knossos
Eventually, Cretes cultural dominance began a slow decline. There were several reasons:

- First, Minoan society experienced a series of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tidal
waves that destroyed a lot of its population and towns (it is traditionally believed that this
event is the origin of the myth of the Atlantis.)

- Second, after 1450 BCE, Minoan wealth attracted a series of invaders.

- Third and most importantly, the Mycenaean civilization, a mixture of Minoan culture and
mainland Greek traditions, eventually challenged the Minoan supremacy.

Palace of Knossos
The Mycenaeans
About 2000 BCE, Greek-speaking tribes from the north came south and settled lands around
the Aegean Sea. Their civilization we call Mycenaean after their chief city, Mycenae.
Mycenaean civilization attained a highly sophisticated level of state organization, production
methods, literacy and trade, reaching its peak around 1600 BC.

Cooperation among the palaces led to the

building and maintenance of a network of
carriage highways which connected the
palaces.

The famous stories of the Trojan war with

King Agamemnon and the soldier Achilles
(the Iliad), and of Odysseus and his journey
To return home after this war (the Odyssey)
All happened during the Mycenaean
civilization.
In contrast to the Minoans, the Mycenaeans were a militant and aggressive people. Their
warships challenged other traders for control of the eastern Mediterranean.
From 1500 to 1100 BCE the Mycenaeans expanded their influence beyond peninsular Greece
into even the Middle East.
The Mycenaeans adapted Linear A to their own language, an early form of Greek, and
devised a syllabic script known as Linear B. During the Mycenaean period, Greek god names
such as Zeus began to appear in tablets. The cultural cross pollination of the palaces
throughout the Aegean area created a community of religion and customs, of language and of
art forms, as well as techniques and quality of production common to many cities.
According to tradition, Mycenae was
founded by Perseus, who was son of
Zeus and a princess of Argos named
Danae. To fortify his city, Perseus
employed the mythical Cyclopes to
build the walls and it is from this legend
that the style of gigantic masonry
known as Cyclopean gets its name.
At its height in 1350 BCE, the
citadel and lower town of Mycenae had
a population of 30,000 and an area of 79
acres.
A list of names written in Linear B. Mycenae Archeology Museum
The Lion Gate (built 13th century BCE), the main entrance
of Mycenae, is the sole surviving monumental piece of
Mycenaean sculpture.
A tholos tomb, the so-called Tomb of Clytemnestra
at Mycenae
Mycenaean art

Gold death-mask, known as the mask of Agamemnon.

16th century BCE. National Archeological Museum, Athens

Silver rhyton (a container for pouring fluids) in

the form of a bull with gold horns.
The influential Mycenaean civilization could not maintain itself
into the first millennium BCE. Sometime around 1200 BCE, the
Mycenaeans fought and sacked Troy in the Trojan War. Shortly
thereafter, Greece entered into its dark age and the Mycenaean
civilization ceased to be noticed.

Large Krater, depicting men in full armor. ca. 1200 BCE. Mycenae,
Items found in Grave , Grave Circle B, Mycenae, 17th and
16th Greece
Centuries BCE. National Archeological Museum, Athens.
Greek Dark Ages (1150-750)
The Dorian invasion at about 1150 BCE led to the destruction of the Mycenaean
palaces and the central organization. The Greek world entered into what historians
call the Dark Ages.
Without centrally organized government, quality of life and population generally
declined: no more monumental stone buildings were built and the practice of wall
painting may have ceased; writing in the Linear B script ceased, vital trade links
were lost, and towns and villages were abandoned. The population of Greece was
reduced, and the world of organized state armies, kings, officials, and
redistributive systems disappeared. Society is then divided in small communities
gathered on an Oikos (plot land) and ruled by a basileus (chieftain/small king).
People lived in small groups that moved constantly in accordance with their
livestock needs. Commerce ceased with the east but even between themselves.
They left no written record.
Art from the Greek Dark Ages, also called the geometric period because of the very
simple geometric motifs used at the end of this period in vase painting.
At the end of the Greek Dark Ages, several new
developments took place that had great influence on
later generations. It was a sort of Greek Renaissance.

The first was the reintroduction of writing and a

new alphabet.
The post-Dark Age Greeks did not use the Linear B
script of the Mycenaeans, but instead, adopted the
alphabet used by the Phoenicians and introduced
vowels sometime between 950 and 750 BCE. The
Greek version of the alphabet eventually formed the
base of the alphabet used for English today.
Second, Homer composed The Iliad and The Odyssey
in the 8th or 7th century. These poems were first
transmitted through oral recitations.
In the 6th century BCE, the Athenian leader
Peisistratos (ruled 546 and 527 BC) had the text of
Homers poems recorded.
The hellenistic (Greek) civilization is based on these legends: the Greeks claimed a
common mythical parent, Hellen of Troy (the wife of King of Spartha, Menelaus,
she eloped with Prince Paris of Troy and brought about the Trojan War.) Hellen had three
sons who are the ancestors of the three majors Greek tribes: the Ionians,, Aeolians and
Dorians. Thus the Greeks called themselves the Hellenes and their land Hellas.
A third influential development of the Greek Dark Ages was the introduction of the first
Olympic Games in 776 BCE. An average of 40 000 Greeks from all states would gather
to the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia to watch and participate. Women were not allowed to
watch or participate. All social classes were allowed to participate in this elitist contest.
The winner would not get a medal but a crown of olive leaves.
Archaic Period (750-480)
As the Greek-speaking world began to emerge from the Dark Ages in the 8th century BCE, it
would do so as a collection of city-states (a city that with its surrounding territory forms an
independent state).
Greek cities were founded throughout the Mediterranean world as a population increase led
to a demand for more land. By 750 BC, most of the Greek colonies had become established.

Greek colonies in Blue

Phoenician colonies in Red
The defining characteristic of Greek life which developed in the Archaic period was the polis (plural,
poleis). This was a single, usually small, community, of about 5,000-10,000 people.

The Greek polis (city-state) consisted of an urban area and the surrounding countryside. It was considered
just the right size for political cooperation and competitionit was larger than an oikos (household estate)
but smaller than a great kingdom. It was often based around an acropolis (high citya defensible hill),
which was usually in the center of the polis, and the agora (marketplace). The agora was also used for
political gatherings where political leaders, citizens and the populace assembled to conduct business and
public affairs. It connected the citizens of a polis and fostered civic pride and loyalty.

Most significantly, while monarchs had originally ruled the communities of the Dark Ages, in the Archaic
period, the aristoi (aristocrats: wealthy land owners) came to rule the poleis as an oligarchy (rule by the
few, usually eliteslike the boul).

Thus, even at this early stage, the Greeks could consider that they ruled themselves as citizens, rather than
being ruled over by kings.

Every polis had an assembly of citizens (that met on the Areopagus), which elected military and judicial
leaders every year (called Archons), even if those elected were almost exclusively drawn from the aristoi.
Mars Hill in Athens, the hill where the
Areopagus met.
During this period, the population of the city-states began to grow, straining the limited
agricultural resources. The Hellenes sent citizens to join and establish new colonies along the coasts
of Spain, Southern France, North Africa, the Black Sea, Sicily and Southern Italy. These new sources of
wealth and the introduction of coinage enabled the economy to grow and created a new social group of
rich merchants, the mercantile class, that started challenging the aristocrats power.

At the same time, many peasant farmers stayed on the peninsula and, at the beginning of the 6th
century, because of the lack of resources, ended up burdened with debts and were threatened with
prison or slavery. Having no voice in the government, the farmers began to protest what they
perceived as unfair laws.

Frustrated by the inability of the aristocrats to reform the economic and political system and its
problems, many poleis turned to rulers whom they entrusted with extraordinay powers to make
sweeping changes. Many of these tyrants, as the Greeks called them, restructured their societies to
allow more citizens to benefit from the growing economy, to move up the social scale and to participate
in the political process.
Faced with the economic problems of their city and the growing protest of the farmers, in about 590
BCE, the Athenians granted an aristocrat named Solon special powers to reform the economy.
By giving common people the power not only to elect officials but also to call them to account, Solon
appears to have established the first known republic, a form of government based on a
constitution, and where power is exercised under the rule of law. He made some very important
social, political and economic reforms:

He abolished debts, and made it illegal to enslave people when they had not paid their debts, he even
ordered that Athenians that had already fallen into slavery because of debts be freed.

He also restructured the Athenian constitution by giving the lower ranks of free men (those without
great name or noble family but with some property or wealth) the right to participate in government.
He gave every Athenian the right to appeal to a jury, thus putting ultimate authority for interpreting the
law in the hands of a more democratic body, since any citizen could serve on a jury, and taking it out
of the hands of the nine Archons.
He divided the population into four classes, based on wealth, and then expanded the eligibility of
being elected as an Archon to members of the top three classes.
Solon also allowed all Athenians to participate in drawing up a short-list of 40 candidates from which
the nine Archons were chosen by lot; the office was still limited to citizens of a certain class, but it
was no longer limited to members of a few families.
He established a council of 400 citizens consisting of 100 members of each 4 ancestral tribes.
Finally, he made some important economic reforms:

- Fathers were encouraged to find trades for their

sons; if they did not, there would be no legal
requirement for sons to maintain their fathers in old
age.

- Foreign tradesmen were encouraged to settle in

Athens; those who did would be granted
citizenship, provided they brought their families
with them.

- Cultivation of olives was encouraged; the export of

all other produce was prohibited.

- Competitiveness of Athenian commerce was

promoted through revision of weights and measures.
After completing his work of reform, Solon surrendered his extraordinary authority and left
the country. According to Herodotus the country was bound by Solon to maintain his
reforms for 10 years.
Within 4 years of Solon's departure, the old social rifts re-appeared. Eventually one of
Solon's relatives, Peisistratos, ended the factionalism by force, thus instituting an
unconstitutionally gained tyranny.
Although he took power by force, Peisistratos was very popular. His main policies were
aimed at strengthening the economy, and similar to Solon, he was concerned about
both agriculture and commerce. With this intent, he opposed the aristocracy and
confiscated some of their lands to give it to the poor. He also not only lowered taxes,
but also granted free loans to encourage the development of agriculture (olive and
vineyards in particular) and commerce. He replaced the private wells of the aristocrats with
public fountain houses. Peisistratos also built the first aqueduct in Athens, opening a
reliable water supply to sustain the large population. Thanks to all these measures, Athens
became very prosperous in his time.
He also encouraged art. He commissioned the permanent copying and archiving
of Homer's two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey.
When Peisistratos died, his son Hippias became the new tyrant. Hippias was not a good
leader like his father and oppressed the people. Cleisthenes (Peisistratos brother-in-law)
banished Hippias through a plot. Hippias went to Persia (and later helped the Persian in the
battle of Marathon against the Greeks). Cleisthenes was an aristocrat, but he truly cared
about the people and tried to establish a democracy in Athens. However, Isagoras, another
aristocrat, with the support of the Spartans (the ennemies of Athens) overthrew Cleisthenes
and established a tyranny again. But the Athenians rebelled, killed most of his supporters
and called back Cleisthenes to form a government.

Cleisthenes understood that he had to find a revolutionary type of government to not go

back to tyranny. He invents the concept of democracy (the Greek word, ,
combines the elements dmos (, which means "people") and krtos (, which
means "force" or "power"). The idea was that all citizens would share in political power,
regardless of status : the will of the people would rule.

This type of government giving the same freedom and opportunities to all the citizens
enabled economic and cultural prosperity and ushered Athens in its golden age.
Athenian Democracy
The Athenian Democracy was a direct democracy, there were no representatives, the
assembly of the citizens voted for every important matter: taxes, war, the price of foodetc.

However, the citizens represented only 10-20% of the population. Indeed, only adult male
Athenian citizens who had completed their military training had the right to vote in
Athens. This excluded a majority of the population: slaves, freed slaves, children, women
and metics (foreigners resident in Athens). The women had limited rights and privileges,
had restricted movement in public, and were very segregated from the men. They were
supposed to get married, have children and stay indoors, overseeing their households and
performing domestic chores. They did not receive any education and spoke very little even
with their husband. Marriage was only based on alliances.
The only women who had some freedom were prostitutes.
There were three political bodies where citizens gathered in numbers running into the
hundreds or thousands:

- The Assembly/Ecclesia (in some cases with a quorum of 6000). It made executive
pronouncements (decrees, such as deciding to go to war or granting citizenship to a
foreigner); it elected some officials; it legislated; and it tried political crimes. The standard
format was that of speakers making speeches for and against a position followed by a
general vote (usually by show of hands or with black or white stones for a secret ballot) of
yes or no.
- The council of 500/Boule. The Athenian Boule was elected by lot every year (10 tribes
provided 50 councillors who were at least 30 years old). The most important task of the
Athenian Boule was to draft the deliberations for discussion and approval in the Ecclesia.
The Boule also directed finances, controlled the maintenance of the fleet and of the
cavalry, judged the fitness of the magistrates-elect, received foreign ambassadors, advised
the stratgoi (generals) in military matters.
- The courts (a minimum of 200 people, but running at least on some occasions up to
6000). Athens had an elaborate legal system centered on full citizen rights. The jurors
were chosen by lot.
The use of a lottery to select officeholders was regarded as the most democratic means:
elections would favor those who were rich, noble, eloquent and well-known,
while allotment spread the work of administration throughout the whole citizen body,
engaging them in the crucial democratic experience of, to use Aristotle's words, "ruling
and being ruled in turn" (Politics 1317b2830). The allotment of an individual was based
on citizenship rather than merit or any form of personal popularity which could be
bought. Allotment therefore was seen as a means to prevent the corrupt purchase of votes
and it gave citizens a unique form of political equality as all had an equal chance of
obtaining government office.

There were two main categories of officials that were not elected by lot but by vote:
those required to handle large sums of money, and the 10 generals, the strategoi.
 Orator's podium on the Pnyx

Clepsydras: Two outflow water clocks from the

Ancient Agora Museum in Athens. The top is an
original from the late 5th century BC. The bottom
is a reconstruction of a clay original.)
Finally to avoid any chance of a tyrant coming back, Cleisthenes came up with his most
famous innovation: ostracism.
Every year the Assembly of citizens voted, by show of hands, on whether to hold an ostracism.
If it voted yes, the Assembly held an ostracism a few months later, at another meeting of
the Assembly.
Each citizen present scratched a name on a broken piece of pottery, called ostraka in Greek. If
at least 6000 citizens voted, the names on the pot shards were tallied, and the winner was
obliged to leave Athens for a period of ten years. He did not lose his property or his rights as a
citizen.
To be the subject of an ostracism meant that a man was deemed too influential, too capable of
persuading his fellow citizens, to be allowed to participate in the democratic processes of
governing Athens.

Ostrakon of Cimon, an Ostrakon of Megacles,

Athenian statesman son of Hippocrates
The Classic Period
(The Classical Greek period stretches from the Second Persian War to the death of Alexander the Great.)

The first Persian War:

In 499 BC, the Ionian city states under Persian rule rebelled against the Persian-supported
tyrants that ruled them. Supported by troops sent from Athens and Eretria, they advanced as
far as Sardis and burnt the city down, before being driven back by a Persian
counterattack. The revolt continued until 494, when the rebelling Ionians were
defeated. Darius did not forget that the Athenians had assisted the Ionian revolt, however, and
in 490 he assembled an armada to conquer Athens. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the
Athenians supported by their Plataean allies defeated the Persian forces at the Battle of
Marathon, and the Persian fleet withdrew.

The second Persian War:

Ten years later, a second invasion was launched by Darius' son Xerxes. The city-states of
northern and central Greece submitted to the Persian forces without resistance, but a coalition
of 31 Greek city states, including Athens and Sparta, determined to resist the Persian invaders.
The Persians were defeated by a primarily
Athenian naval force at the Battle of Salamis,
and in 479 defeated on land at the Battle of
Plataea. During this period of campaigning, the
Athenians created a new defensive alliance for
the Greeks to unite to fight the Persians:
the Delian league. However, it gradually
transformed from a defensive alliance of Greek
states into an Athenian empire, as Athens'
growing naval power enabled it to compel other
league states to comply with its policies.
The members of the alliance were able to fulfill
their responsibility to the league by either
offering armed forces or by paying a tax to the
joint treasury; most states chose the tax. Any
city-state that tried to secede from the league
was attacked by Athens Persian Lancers, from a frieze in Darius' palace, Susa. c. 510 BCE, Louvre
While Athenian activity against the Persian empire was ending, however, conflict between
Sparta and Athens was increasing. Sparta was suspicious of the increasing Athenian power
funded by the Delian League, and tensions rose when Sparta offered aid to reluctant
members of the League to rebel against Athenian domination. Sparta had always been
Athens arch nemesis and these tensions started what is called the Peloponnesian wars.

But before, a few words about Sparta.

Sometime in the 9th century BCE, Sparta adopted oligarchy as its form of government. Its decision making
council, the Gerousia, consisted of 30 men. It alone could initiate legislation, though a citizen assembly could vote,
but not debate, on its directives. If the Gerousia felt the citizen assembly was acting too rashly it could dissolve it.

In approximately 750 BCE, King Theopompus of Sparta went to war with Messenia. After almost 20 years, the
Spartans won. They forced the Messenians to work the Messenian land as helots (serfs).

About 50 years later, in the Second Messenian War, Sparta put down a helot revolt. But unnerved by fear of further
slave revolts, the Spartans completely reorganized their state into one great military camp.

To this end, the state decided which babies were physically fit to survive. Unfit babies were left to die.

At 7, a Spartan boy was turned over to instructors who trained him in athletics, military arts.
At 20, the Spartan man was enrolled in the army and lived in barracks. He was not allowed to marry until 30 years
of age, was part of the military force until 60 and was supposed to keep training until that age.

Women however had more freedom than the women of Athens. Spartan women were expected to be strong
independant women to raise vigorous males needed to maintain this warrior society. To this end, Spartan women
were given public education, including choral singing, dancing and athletics. They were expected to marry but
spent their time outside and spoke freely with men. Spartan women were also unique in being able to own land and
to manage their own property.
The Peloponnesian Wars
Fear, suspicion, and mistrust of growing Athenian power led Sparta to attack Attica.

This was the beginning of a long period of hot and cold war that can be divided into two parts.

In the first war, Athens and the Delian League fought against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League from 460-445 BC.

In 445 BC, the Athenian general Pericles agreed to a thirty-years peace.

In the second Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), the first ten years of fighting (431-421) led to a stalemate and another truce
of fifty years.

In addition to the struggle with the Peloponnesian League, Athens faced increased resentment and rebellion within the Delian
League. Those who revolted unsuccessfully during the Peloponnesian Wars often faced severe punishment from Athens.

In 415, after a period of relative peace, the people of Athens undertook an invasion of Sicily.
This adventure was an utter disaster, resulting in the destruction of an Athenian fleet and an army of Athenian citizens either
killed outright or doomed to work to death in the quarries of Syracuse.

The Spartans then blockaded the harbors of Athens and sieged the city. Athens had already been weakened by famine and an
epidemic of plague, so Athens finally surrendered to Sparta and lost its empire. The Spartans formed a puppet government
called the Thirty Tyrants, which in turn only lasted one year.
Pericles

The great hero of the battle of Marathon and Salamis was

themistocles, a general coming from the populace. But the
Athenians, afraid of his popularity, ostracized him. They chose
Pericles to replace him. He is an aristocrat but also a democrat.
He reinforced Athenian democracy and wants to build up Athens
prestige. He uses the treasure of Delos (from the league) to build
the Parthenon and other great Athenian buildings. He also
supports arts and science.

However some historians say that his hunger for a greater

empire for Athens brought about the tragedy and end of the
city (as well as his own.)

Socrates greatly criticized the hegemonic wars of Athens and

democracy, he was sentenced to death in 399 BC.
The Parthenon Athens
The traditional site for the prison of Socrates
The Hellenistic period (323-147 BCE)
Philip of Macedon (359-336 BC) forced Greece into submission from 338 BCE. When Philip
was assassinated in 336 BCE, his son Alexander took his place. In 334 BCE, Alexander the
Great crossed the Hellespont and moved his armies east. By 324 BCE, he had conquered
Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, and was into India.

In 323 BCE, Alexander died in Babylon at 33 years of age. Alexanders generals divided his
empire. The most important effect of Alexander's short-lived empire was that it led to the
spread of Hellenistic, meaning Greek, culture all over the Mediterranean over the next two
hundred years. By 147 BCE, Greece was conquered by Rome.
Conclusion : The Greek Legacy

The western world civilization is deeply rooted in the Greek heritage. We owe them:

- Our way of thinking and seeking truth through reason and logic.
- A lot of mathematical and scientific knowledge (thales, Pythagoras, Archimedes,
hippocratesetc)
- The political concept of republic and democracy.
- Art and architecture.
- The New Testament

But we can also learn from what made

them strong and prosperous, and what
caused their fall and brought them to the
status of a mere Roman colony.

US Supreme Court Building

Paris:
La Madeleine