4.5: Archaic Greece
The Archaic period appears to have been a time of growing contacts and connections between different parts of mainland Greece. Furthermore, the establishment of overseas colonies and cities brought the Greeks to Italy and Sicily in the West, and Asia Minor and the Black Sea in the East. This period also witnessed the rise of a Pan-Hellenic identity, as all Greeks saw themselves connected by virtue of their common language, religion, and Homeric values. This Pan-Hellenic identity was ultimately cemented during the Persian Wars: two invasions of Greece by the Persian Empire at the end of the Archaic period.
4.5.1: Rise of the Hoplite Phalanx and the Polis
A Corinthian vase, known today as the Chigi Vase (mid-seventh century BCE), presents a tantalizing glimpse of the changing times from the Dark Ages to the Archaic Period. Taking up much of the decorated space on the vase is a battle scene. Two armies of warriors with round shields, helmets, and spears appear to be marching in formation towards each other in preparation for attack.
Modern scholars largely consider the vase to be the earliest artistic portrayal of the hoplite phalanx, a new way of fighting that spread around the Greek world in the early Archaic Age and that coincided with the rise of the polis , or city-state. From the early Archaic period to the conquest of the Greek world by Philip and Alexander in the late fourth century BCE, the polis was the central unit of organization in the Greek world.
While warfare in the Iliad consisted largely of duels between individual heroes, the hoplite phalanx was a new mode of fighting that did not rely on the skill of individuals. Rather, it required all soldiers in the line to work together as a whole. Armed with a helmet, spear and the round shield ( hoplon), the soldiers were arranged in rows, possibly as much as seven deep. Each soldier carried his shield on his left arm, protecting the left side of his own body and the right side of his comrade to the left. Working together, the phalanx would execute the othismos (a mass shove) during battle, with the goal of shoving the enemy phalanx off the battlefield.
Historians do not know which came into existence first, the phalanx or the polis . Each polis was a fully self-sufficient unit of organization, with its own laws, definition of citizenship, government, army, economy, and local cults. The survival of the polis depended on the dedication of all its citizens to the collective well-being of the city-state. This dedication included service in the phalanx. As a result, citizenship in most Greek city-states was closely connected to military service, and women were excluded from citizenship.
Since hoplites had to provide their own armor, these citizen-militias effectively consisted of landowners. The poorer citizens were not entirely excluded from serving their city. On the Chigi Vase., an unarmed man is playing a double-reed flute (see Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)). Since the success of the phalanx depended on marching together in step, the flute player’s music would have been essential to ensure that everyone kept the same tempo during the march.
4.5.2: Greek Religion
One modern theory argues that the Greeks of the Archaic period built city-states around these precincts of various gods in order to live closer to them and protect them. While impossible to know for sure if this theory is true, the building of temples in cities during the Archaic period shows the increasing emphasis that the poleis were placing on religion.
Greek religion seems to have been an element of continuity from the Bronze Age to the Archaic period and beyond. The important role that the gods play in the Homeric epics attests to their prominence in the oral tradition, going back to the Dark Ages. Furthermore, names of the major gods worshipped in the Archaic period were found on the deciphered Linear B tablets:
- Zeus, king of the gods and god of weather, associated with the thunderbolt
- Hera, Zeus’ wife and patroness of childbirth
- Poseidon, god of the sea
- Hermes, messenger god and patron of thieves and merchants
- Athena, goddess of war and wisdom and patroness of women’s crafts; Ares, god of war;
- Dionysus, god of wine
- twins Apollo, god of the sun and both god of the plague and a healer, and Artemis, goddess of the hunt and the moon.
All of these gods continued to be the major divinities in Greek religion for its duration, and worshipped as patron gods of individual cities, such as Artemis at Sparta, and Athena at Athens.
A few local cults achieved truly Pan-Hellenic appeal. One of the most famous examples is the cult of Asclepius at Epidaurus. Asclepius, son of Apollo, was a healer god, and his shrine at Epidaurus attracted pilgrims from all over the Greek world. Visitors suffering from illness practiced incubation, (spending the night in the temple), in the hopes of receiving a vision in their dreams suggesting a cure. In gratitude for the god’s healing, some pilgrims dedicated casts of their healed body parts. Archaeological findings include a plentitude of ears, noses, arms, and feet.
Several religious festivals included athletic competitions as part of the celebration. Beginning in 776 BCE, the Olympic Games were held in Olympia every four years in honor of Zeus. They drew competitors from all over the Greek world, even Persia. The Pan-Hellenic appeal of the Olympics is signified by the impact that these games had on Greek politics. For instance, a truce was in effect throughout the Greek world for the duration of each Olympics. In addition, the Olympics provided a Pan-Hellenic system of dating events by Olympiads or four-year cycles.
Perhaps the most politically influential of the Pan-Hellenic cults was the oracle of Apollo at Delphi , established sometime in the eighth century BCE. Available for consultation only nine days a year, the oracle spoke responses to the questions asked by inquirers through a priestess, named the Pythia . The Pythia’s responses came in the form of poetry and were notoriously difficult to interpret. Nevertheless, city-states and major rulers throughout the Greek world considered it essential to consult the oracle before embarking on any major endeavor, such as war or founding a colony.
4.5.3: Maritime Trade and Colonization
According to the historian Herodotus, sometime c. 630 BCE, the king of the small island of Thera traveled to Delphi to offer a sacrifice and consult the oracle on a few minor points. To his surprise, the oracle’s response had nothing to do with his queries. Instead, the Pythia directed him to found a colony in Libya, in North Africa. Having never heard of Libya, the king ignored the advice. A seven-year drought ensued, and the Therans felt compelled to consult the oracle again. Receiving the same response as before, they finally sent out a group of colonists who eventually founded the city of Cyrene.
While this story may sound silly, it is similar to other foundation stories of Greek colonies and emphasizes the importance of the Delphic oracle. At the same time, this story leaves open the question of motive: why did so many Greek city-states of the Archaic period send out colonies to other parts of the Greek world? Archaeology and foundation legends suggest two chief reasons:
- population pressures along with shortage of productive farmland in the cities on mainland Greece
- increased ease of trade that colonies abroad facilitated
In addition to resolving these two problems, the colonies had the unforeseen impact of increasing interactions of the Greeks with the larger Mediterranean world and the ancient Near East. These interactions are visible in the so-called Orientalizing style of art in the Archaic period, a style the Greeks borrowed from the Middle East and Egypt.
As section 4.5.5 will show, the presence of Greek colonies in Asia Minor played a major role in bringing about the Greco-Persian Wars.
4.5.4: Aristocracy, Democracy, and Tyranny in Archaic Greece
According to later Greek historians, including Herodotus and Thucydides, most Greek poleis started out with a monarchical or quasimonarchical government. Over time the people gained greater representation, and an assembly of all citizens had at least some degree of political power. However, some degree of strife typically materialized between the aristocrats and the poorer elements. Taking advantage of such civic conflicts, tyrants came to power in most city-states for a brief period before the people banded together and drove them out, thenceforth replacing them with a more popular form of government.
Many modern historians are skeptical about the origins of some poleis. For example, it is questionable whether the earliest Thebans truly were born from dragon teeth Nevertheless, oral tradition suggests that city-states likely went through periods of turmoil and change in their form of government before developing a more stable constitution. This line of development accurately describes the early history of Athens, the best-documented polis .
In the early Archaic period, Athens largely had an aristocratic constitution. Widespread debt slavery caused significant civic strife in the city and led to the appointment of Solon as lawgiver for the year 594/3 BCE. Solon created a more democratic constitution. He left poetry justifying his reforms, as well as different citizens’ reactions to them. Most controversial of all, Solon instituted a one-time debt-forgiveness, seisachtheia , which literally means “shaking off.” He proceeded to divide all citizens into five classes based on income, assigning a level of political participation and responsibility to each class.
Shortly after Solon’s reforms, Peisistratus illegally seized control of Athens and remained in power off and on from 561 to 527 BCE. He seems to have been a reasonably popular ruler who had the support of a significant portion of the Athenian population. However, his two sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, appear to have been less well-liked. Two men assassinated Hipparchus in 514 BCE. Then, in 508 BCE, the Athenians, with the help of a Spartan army, permanently drove out Hippias. In subsequent Athenian history, the two assassins, Harmodius and Aristogeiton, were considered heroes of the democracy.
Immediately following the expulsion of Hippias, Athens underwent a second round of democratic reforms, led by Cleisthenes. The Cleisthenic constitution remained in effect, with few changes, until the Macedonian conquest of Athens in the fourth century BCE and is considered to be the Classical Athenian democracy . Central to the democracy was the participation of all citizens in two types of institutions:
- the ekklesia , an assembly of all citizens, which functioned as the chief deliberative body of the city
- the law-courts, to which citizens were assigned by lot as jurors.
Two chief offices, the generals and the archos, ruled over the city and were appointed for one-year terms. Ten generals were elected annually by the ekklesia for the purpose of leading the Athenian military forces. Finally, the leading political office each year, the nine archons, were appointed by lot (drawing, such as in a lottery) from all eligible citizens. This action exemplified the Athenians’ pride in their democracy and their belief that all Athenian citizens were equally valuable and capable of leading their city-state.
Sparta was seen by other Greek poleis as a very different sort of city from the rest. Ruled from an early period by two kings – one from each of the two royal houses that ruled jointly – Sparta was a true oligarchy, in which the power rested in its gerousia , a council of thirty elders, whose number included the two kings. While an assembly of all citizens existed as well, its powers were much more limited than were those of the Athenian assembly. Because of much more restrictive citizenship rules, Spartan assembly of citizens would have felt as a more selective body, as Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\) illustrates.
A crucial moment in Spartan history was the city’s conquest of the nearby region of Messenia in the eighth century BCE.
The Spartans annexed the Messenian territory to their own and made the Messenians helots . While the helots could not be bought or sold, they were permanently tied to the land in a status akin to medieval European serfs. The availability of helot labor allowed the Spartans to focus their attention on military training. Eventually, Sparta became the ultimate military state in the Greek world, widely respected by the other Greek poleis for its military prowess. Other Greeks were fascinated by such Spartan practices as the communal bringing up of all children apart from their parents and the requirement that all Spartan girls and women, as well as boys and men, maintain a strict regimen of exercise and training.
But while Athens and Sparta sound like each other’s diametrical opposites, the practices of both poleis ultimately derived from the same belief. In order to ensure their city’s survival, the citizens must place their city-state’s interests above their own. A democracy simply approached this goal with a different view of citizen qualifications than did an oligarchy.
4.5.5: The Persian Wars
Despite founding colonies, the Greeks seem to have remained in a state of relatively peaceful coexistence with the rest of their Mediterranean neighbors. In the mid-sixth century BCE, Cyrus, an ambitious king of Persia, embarked on a swift program of expansion. He ultimately consolidated the largest empire of the ancient world and earned for himself the title “ Cyrus the Great .”
Cyrus’ Achaemenid Empire bordered the area of Asia Minor that had been previously colonized by the Greeks. This expansion brought the Persians into direct conflict with the Greeks, serving as the origin of the Greco-Persian Wars, the greatest military conflict the Greek world had known up until that point.
Over the second half of the sixth century, the Persians had taken over the region of Asia Minor, also known as Ionia, installing tyrants loyal to Persia. In 499 BCE, the Greek city-states joined forces to rebel against the Persian rule. Athens and Eretria sent military support for this Ionian Revolt, and the rebelling forces marched on the Persian capital of Sardis, burning it in 498 BCE. The revolt was finally subdued by the Persians in 493 BCE.
Seeking revenge on Athens and Eretria, the Persian king Darius launched an expedition in 490 BCE.
Darius’ forces captured Eretria in mid-summer, destroyed the city, and enslaved its inhabitants. Sailing a short distance across the bay, the Persian army then landed at Marathon. The worried Athenians sent a plea for help to Sparta. The Spartans, in the middle of a religious festival, refused to help. So, on September 12, 490 BCE, the Athenians, with only a small force of Plataeans helping, faced the much larger Persian army in the Battle of Marathon . The decisive Athenian victory showed the superiority of the Greek hoplite phalanx and marked the end of the first Persian invasion of Greece. Furthermore, the victory demonstrated to the rest of the Greeks that Sparta was not the only great military power in Greece.
Darius died in 486 BCE. In 480 BC, his son, Xerxes , launched a second invasion of Greece, with an army so large that it allegedly drank entire rivers dry on its march. Led by Athens and Sparta, some seventy Greek poleis formed a sworn alliance to fight together against the Persians. This alliance allowed the allies to split forces strategically in order to guard against Persian attacks by both land and sea. The few Greek city-states who declared loyalty to the Persian Empire instead–most notably, Thebes–were seen as traitors for centuries to come by the rest of the Greeks.
Marching through mainland Greece from the north, the Persians first confronted the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae, a narrow mountain pass. In this now-legendary battle, 300 Spartans, led by their king Leonidas, successfully defended the pass for two days. Then, they were betrayed by a local and the Persians were able kill them to the last man. Although a loss for the Greeks, the Spartans were considered the heroes of Thermopylae.
The victory at Thermopylae fulfilled the old dream of Darius, as it allowed access to Athens for the Persians. A Delphic oracle stated that wooden walls will save Athens. In response, the Athenian statesman Themistocles ordered a full evacuation of the city by sending all of the city’s inhabitants to safety in a massive fleet of ships. The Persians captured and burned the mostly empty city.
The Athenians proceeded to defeat the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis, off the coast of Athens, turning the tide of the war in favor of the Greeks. Finally, in June of 479 BCE, the Greek forces were able to strike the two final blows, defeating the Persian forces on the same day in the Battle of Plataea (on land) and the Battle of Mycale (on sea). Xerxes was left to sail home to his diminished empire.
Seen by historians as the end-point of the Archaic Period, the Persian Wars cemented Pan-Hellenic identity. In addition, the Persian Wars showed the Greek military superiority over the Persians on both land and sea. Finally, the wars showed Athens in a new light to the rest of the Greeks. As the winners of Marathon in the first invasion and the leaders of the navy during the second invasion, the Athenians emerged from the wars as the rivals of Sparta for military prestige among the Greeks.