Daniel Orrells, Gurminder K. Bhambra, and Tessa Roynon (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199595006
- eISBN:
- 9780191731464
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199595006.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, African History: BCE to 500CE
The appearance of Martin Bernal's Black Athena: The Afro-Asian Roots of Classical Civilization in 1987 sparked intense debate and controversy in Africa, Europe, and North America. His detailed ...
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The appearance of Martin Bernal's Black Athena: The Afro-Asian Roots of Classical Civilization in 1987 sparked intense debate and controversy in Africa, Europe, and North America. His detailed genealogy of the ‘fabrication of Greece’ and his claims for the influence of ancient African and Near Eastern cultures on the making of classical Greece, questioned many intellectuals' assumptions about the nature of ancient history. The transportation of enslaved African persons into Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean, brought African and diasporic African people into contact in significant numbers with the Greek and Latin classics for the first time in modern history. In this book chapters explore the impact of the modern African diaspora from the sixteenth century onwards on Western notions of history and culture, examining the role Bernal's claim has played in European and American understandings of history, and in classical, European, American, and Caribbean literary production. This book examines the history of intellectuals and literary writers who contested the white, dominant Euro-American constructions of the classical past and its influence on the present.Less
The appearance of Martin Bernal's Black Athena: The Afro-Asian Roots of Classical Civilization in 1987 sparked intense debate and controversy in Africa, Europe, and North America. His detailed genealogy of the ‘fabrication of Greece’ and his claims for the influence of ancient African and Near Eastern cultures on the making of classical Greece, questioned many intellectuals' assumptions about the nature of ancient history. The transportation of enslaved African persons into Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean, brought African and diasporic African people into contact in significant numbers with the Greek and Latin classics for the first time in modern history. In this book chapters explore the impact of the modern African diaspora from the sixteenth century onwards on Western notions of history and culture, examining the role Bernal's claim has played in European and American understandings of history, and in classical, European, American, and Caribbean literary production. This book examines the history of intellectuals and literary writers who contested the white, dominant Euro-American constructions of the classical past and its influence on the present.
Antony Black
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199533206
- eISBN:
- 9780191714498
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199533206.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
After the Reformation, European political philosophy blossomed and produced a diversity of ideas. Meanwhile Islamic political thought stagnated. These two political thought-worlds were now completely ...
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After the Reformation, European political philosophy blossomed and produced a diversity of ideas. Meanwhile Islamic political thought stagnated. These two political thought-worlds were now completely different and no longer comparable. The Byzantine ideology of sacred monarchy was adopted by Russia. Western ideas influenced first Russia, then the Muslim-majority countries. The influence on Russia has so far been more extensive. Russia contributed to the Western dialogue. Western influence among Muslims is contested by fundamentalists such as Qutb. To a certain extent the West was transmitting the heritage of classical Greece.Less
After the Reformation, European political philosophy blossomed and produced a diversity of ideas. Meanwhile Islamic political thought stagnated. These two political thought-worlds were now completely different and no longer comparable. The Byzantine ideology of sacred monarchy was adopted by Russia. Western ideas influenced first Russia, then the Muslim-majority countries. The influence on Russia has so far been more extensive. Russia contributed to the Western dialogue. Western influence among Muslims is contested by fundamentalists such as Qutb. To a certain extent the West was transmitting the heritage of classical Greece.
Peter Hunt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300109009
- eISBN:
- 9780300134858
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300109009.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Military History
In classical Greece, the independent city-states fought many wars against each other. When the wars became intense, often involving large navies, states used every available source of manpower ...
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In classical Greece, the independent city-states fought many wars against each other. When the wars became intense, often involving large navies, states used every available source of manpower including their slaves. Because many of these slaves were crucial to the states' agriculture and urban economies, cities sometimes encouraged their opponents' slaves to rebel or desert while mobilizing their own slaves. This chapter looks at the practice of arming slaves and Helots in classical Greece, focusing on three cases: slaves from Scythia who performed police functions within Athens, slaves who accompanied hoplites on campaigns but were unarmed, and slaves who were sometimes armed as infantry soldiers. It then examines the practical problems, politics, and effects of arming slaves by considering two cases: the military roles of Sparta's serf-like Helot population and the use of slaves in the Athenian navy during the Peloponnesian War.Less
In classical Greece, the independent city-states fought many wars against each other. When the wars became intense, often involving large navies, states used every available source of manpower including their slaves. Because many of these slaves were crucial to the states' agriculture and urban economies, cities sometimes encouraged their opponents' slaves to rebel or desert while mobilizing their own slaves. This chapter looks at the practice of arming slaves and Helots in classical Greece, focusing on three cases: slaves from Scythia who performed police functions within Athens, slaves who accompanied hoplites on campaigns but were unarmed, and slaves who were sometimes armed as infantry soldiers. It then examines the practical problems, politics, and effects of arming slaves by considering two cases: the military roles of Sparta's serf-like Helot population and the use of slaves in the Athenian navy during the Peloponnesian War.
Anthony Snodgrass
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748623334
- eISBN:
- 9780748653577
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748623334.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
Classical archaeology has changed beyond recognition in the past generation, in its aims, its choice of subject-matter and the methods it uses. This book contains twenty-five chapters, some of them ...
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Classical archaeology has changed beyond recognition in the past generation, in its aims, its choice of subject-matter and the methods it uses. This book contains twenty-five chapters, some of them previously published only in rather inaccessible places, which have contributed to this change. The chapters cover four decades of work on pre-classical and classical Greece and some adjacent fields of scholarship, beginning in the 1960s when classical archaeology was not widely seen as a free-standing subject. They chart the progress of a movement for the intellectual independence of Greek archaeology and art, from history and textual studies and for recognition among other branches of archaeology. The key theme of the chapters is the importance of the Iron Age as the formative period in the making of classical Greece and the text varies this with comment on literature, history, anthropology, Aegean and European prehistory and Roman provincial archaeology. This collection represents innovative work in classical archaeology; challenges accepted boundaries and inhibitions; and is wide in scope, covering history, prehistory, art, literary interpretation, and field archaeology.Less
Classical archaeology has changed beyond recognition in the past generation, in its aims, its choice of subject-matter and the methods it uses. This book contains twenty-five chapters, some of them previously published only in rather inaccessible places, which have contributed to this change. The chapters cover four decades of work on pre-classical and classical Greece and some adjacent fields of scholarship, beginning in the 1960s when classical archaeology was not widely seen as a free-standing subject. They chart the progress of a movement for the intellectual independence of Greek archaeology and art, from history and textual studies and for recognition among other branches of archaeology. The key theme of the chapters is the importance of the Iron Age as the formative period in the making of classical Greece and the text varies this with comment on literature, history, anthropology, Aegean and European prehistory and Roman provincial archaeology. This collection represents innovative work in classical archaeology; challenges accepted boundaries and inhibitions; and is wide in scope, covering history, prehistory, art, literary interpretation, and field archaeology.
Barbara Kowalzig
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199219964
- eISBN:
- 9780191712968
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199219964.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This book develops an integrated religious, historical, and literary approach towards an old question in the study of religion — the relationship of myth and ritual. Focusing on ancient Greek ...
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This book develops an integrated religious, historical, and literary approach towards an old question in the study of religion — the relationship of myth and ritual. Focusing on ancient Greek religion, it exploits the joint occurrence of myth and ritual in archaic and classical Greek song-culture. The book shows how choral performances of myth and ritual, taking place all over the ancient Greek world in the early fifth century BC, helped to effect social and political change in their own time. Religious song emerges as integral to a rapidly changing society hovering between local, regional, and panhellenic identities and between aristocratic rule and democracy. Drawing on contemporary debates on myth, ritual, and performance in social anthropology, modern history, and theatre studies, this book establishes Greek religion's dynamic role and gives religious song-culture a place in the study of Greek history.Less
This book develops an integrated religious, historical, and literary approach towards an old question in the study of religion — the relationship of myth and ritual. Focusing on ancient Greek religion, it exploits the joint occurrence of myth and ritual in archaic and classical Greek song-culture. The book shows how choral performances of myth and ritual, taking place all over the ancient Greek world in the early fifth century BC, helped to effect social and political change in their own time. Religious song emerges as integral to a rapidly changing society hovering between local, regional, and panhellenic identities and between aristocratic rule and democracy. Drawing on contemporary debates on myth, ritual, and performance in social anthropology, modern history, and theatre studies, this book establishes Greek religion's dynamic role and gives religious song-culture a place in the study of Greek history.
Christopher Leslie Brown and Philip D. Morgan (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300109009
- eISBN:
- 9780300134858
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300109009.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Military History
Arming slaves as soldiers is a counterintuitive idea. Yet throughout history, in many varied societies, slaveholders have entrusted slaves with the use of deadly force. This book surveys the practice ...
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Arming slaves as soldiers is a counterintuitive idea. Yet throughout history, in many varied societies, slaveholders have entrusted slaves with the use of deadly force. This book surveys the practice broadly across space and time, encompassing the cultures of classical Greece, the early Islamic kingdoms of the Near East, West and East Africa, the British and French Caribbean, the United States, and Latin America. To facilitate cross-cultural comparisons, each chapter addresses four crucial issues: the social and cultural facts regarding the arming of slaves, the experience of slave soldiers, the ideological origins and consequences of equipping enslaved peoples for battle, and the impact of the practice on the status of slaves and slavery itself.Less
Arming slaves as soldiers is a counterintuitive idea. Yet throughout history, in many varied societies, slaveholders have entrusted slaves with the use of deadly force. This book surveys the practice broadly across space and time, encompassing the cultures of classical Greece, the early Islamic kingdoms of the Near East, West and East Africa, the British and French Caribbean, the United States, and Latin America. To facilitate cross-cultural comparisons, each chapter addresses four crucial issues: the social and cultural facts regarding the arming of slaves, the experience of slave soldiers, the ideological origins and consequences of equipping enslaved peoples for battle, and the impact of the practice on the status of slaves and slavery itself.
Sian Lewis
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781904675532
- eISBN:
- 9781781380550
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781904675532.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
The tyrants of Greece are some of the most colourful figures in antiquity, notorious for their luxury, excess and violence, and provoking heated debates among political thinkers. This book examines ...
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The tyrants of Greece are some of the most colourful figures in antiquity, notorious for their luxury, excess and violence, and provoking heated debates among political thinkers. This book examines the phenomenon of autocratic rule outside the law in archaic and classical Greece, offering a new interpretation of the nature of tyranny. The development of tyrannical government is examined in theory and in practice, embracing lesser-known rulers such as the tagoi of Thessaly and the Hecatomnids of Halicarnassus, as well as canonical figures like the Pisistratid rulers of Athens and the Dionysii at Syracuse. The book considers the different forms that sole rulership took – the violent usurper, the appointed magistrate, the general and the Hellenistic king – and the responses which tyranny evoked, both from the citizens of the polis and from intellectuals such as Plato and Aristotle. The author replaces the longstanding theory of an ‘age of tyranny’ in Greece with new arguments, suggesting that tyranny was a positive choice for many Greek states.Less
The tyrants of Greece are some of the most colourful figures in antiquity, notorious for their luxury, excess and violence, and provoking heated debates among political thinkers. This book examines the phenomenon of autocratic rule outside the law in archaic and classical Greece, offering a new interpretation of the nature of tyranny. The development of tyrannical government is examined in theory and in practice, embracing lesser-known rulers such as the tagoi of Thessaly and the Hecatomnids of Halicarnassus, as well as canonical figures like the Pisistratid rulers of Athens and the Dionysii at Syracuse. The book considers the different forms that sole rulership took – the violent usurper, the appointed magistrate, the general and the Hellenistic king – and the responses which tyranny evoked, both from the citizens of the polis and from intellectuals such as Plato and Aristotle. The author replaces the longstanding theory of an ‘age of tyranny’ in Greece with new arguments, suggesting that tyranny was a positive choice for many Greek states.
K. J. Doveri
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748613199
- eISBN:
- 9780748651016
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748613199.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
The Greeks regarded sexual enjoyment as the area of life in which the goddess Aphrodite was interested, as Ares was interested in war and other deities in other activities. Sexual intercourse was ...
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The Greeks regarded sexual enjoyment as the area of life in which the goddess Aphrodite was interested, as Ares was interested in war and other deities in other activities. Sexual intercourse was aphrodisia, ‘the things of Aphrodite’. Sexual desire could be denoted by general words for ‘desire’, but the obsessive desire for a particular person was eros or love. Our own culture has its myths about the remote past, and one myth which dies hard is that the ‘invention’ of sexual guilt, shame and fear by the Christians destroyed a golden age of free, fearless, pagan sexuality. That most pagans were in many ways less inhibited than most Christians is undeniable. This chapter explores attitudes to sexual behaviour in classical Greece, focusing on inhibition, women's segregation and adultery, commercial sex, resistance to sexual desire, homosexuality, class and status, and Greek philosophy and sexual intercourse.Less
The Greeks regarded sexual enjoyment as the area of life in which the goddess Aphrodite was interested, as Ares was interested in war and other deities in other activities. Sexual intercourse was aphrodisia, ‘the things of Aphrodite’. Sexual desire could be denoted by general words for ‘desire’, but the obsessive desire for a particular person was eros or love. Our own culture has its myths about the remote past, and one myth which dies hard is that the ‘invention’ of sexual guilt, shame and fear by the Christians destroyed a golden age of free, fearless, pagan sexuality. That most pagans were in many ways less inhibited than most Christians is undeniable. This chapter explores attitudes to sexual behaviour in classical Greece, focusing on inhibition, women's segregation and adultery, commercial sex, resistance to sexual desire, homosexuality, class and status, and Greek philosophy and sexual intercourse.
Kevin W. Saunders
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814741443
- eISBN:
- 9780814708750
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814741443.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
This chapter examines the history of how societies have treated sexual images by focusing on the classical period. It begins with an overview of art, sex, and religion in classical Greece and Rome ...
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This chapter examines the history of how societies have treated sexual images by focusing on the classical period. It begins with an overview of art, sex, and religion in classical Greece and Rome before turning to an extended period, after the end of the classical era, in which public art became less sexual and sex and pornography came to be accompanied by a shame that was not present for the Greeks and Romans. It then explores what it was about the classical cultures that led to the wide acceptance of sex and sexual depictions. It shows how the Greeks and Romans became very accepting of sexual images, especially in drama and in the arts. It also discusses the sex life of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses and suggests that Greek and Roman culture was characterized by an accepted and open sexuality.Less
This chapter examines the history of how societies have treated sexual images by focusing on the classical period. It begins with an overview of art, sex, and religion in classical Greece and Rome before turning to an extended period, after the end of the classical era, in which public art became less sexual and sex and pornography came to be accompanied by a shame that was not present for the Greeks and Romans. It then explores what it was about the classical cultures that led to the wide acceptance of sex and sexual depictions. It shows how the Greeks and Romans became very accepting of sexual images, especially in drama and in the arts. It also discusses the sex life of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses and suggests that Greek and Roman culture was characterized by an accepted and open sexuality.
Glen Van Brummelen
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691175997
- eISBN:
- 9781400844807
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691175997.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This book traces the rich history of spherical trigonometry, revealing how the cultures of classical Greece, medieval Islam, and the modern West used this forgotten art to chart the heavens and the ...
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This book traces the rich history of spherical trigonometry, revealing how the cultures of classical Greece, medieval Islam, and the modern West used this forgotten art to chart the heavens and the Earth. Once at the heart of astronomy and ocean-going navigation for two millennia, the discipline was also a mainstay of mathematics education for centuries and taught widely until the 1950s. The book explores this exquisite branch of mathematics and its role in ancient astronomy, geography, and cartography; Islamic religious rituals; celestial navigation; polyhedra; stereographic projection; and more. The book conveys the sheer beauty of spherical trigonometry, providing readers with a new appreciation of its elegant proofs and often surprising conclusions. It is illustrated throughout with stunning historical images and informative drawings and diagrams. It also features easy-to-use appendices as well as exercises that originally appeared in textbooks from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries.Less
This book traces the rich history of spherical trigonometry, revealing how the cultures of classical Greece, medieval Islam, and the modern West used this forgotten art to chart the heavens and the Earth. Once at the heart of astronomy and ocean-going navigation for two millennia, the discipline was also a mainstay of mathematics education for centuries and taught widely until the 1950s. The book explores this exquisite branch of mathematics and its role in ancient astronomy, geography, and cartography; Islamic religious rituals; celestial navigation; polyhedra; stereographic projection; and more. The book conveys the sheer beauty of spherical trigonometry, providing readers with a new appreciation of its elegant proofs and often surprising conclusions. It is illustrated throughout with stunning historical images and informative drawings and diagrams. It also features easy-to-use appendices as well as exercises that originally appeared in textbooks from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries.
Robert Wokler
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520200104
- eISBN:
- 9780520916227
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520200104.003.0011
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Theory and Practice
Political science was manifestly not invented in the Enlightenment and may in fact be the oldest of all the human sciences. Indeed, so striking for much of its career since classical Greece, the ...
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Political science was manifestly not invented in the Enlightenment and may in fact be the oldest of all the human sciences. Indeed, so striking for much of its career since classical Greece, the science of politics has apparently sifted the base metal of human nature rather than refined the ore that at its birth gave it a special luster. Two main lines of enquiry, largely distinct but occasionally connected even within the same works, were pursued by eighteenth-century political scientists: on the one hand, the theoretical study of the principles of legislation, authority, and the structure of government; on the other, the analysis of political behavior and development, including the forces that drive individuals to personal domination or collective action, and societies to historical change.Less
Political science was manifestly not invented in the Enlightenment and may in fact be the oldest of all the human sciences. Indeed, so striking for much of its career since classical Greece, the science of politics has apparently sifted the base metal of human nature rather than refined the ore that at its birth gave it a special luster. Two main lines of enquiry, largely distinct but occasionally connected even within the same works, were pursued by eighteenth-century political scientists: on the one hand, the theoretical study of the principles of legislation, authority, and the structure of government; on the other, the analysis of political behavior and development, including the forces that drive individuals to personal domination or collective action, and societies to historical change.
Kevin W. Saunders
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814741443
- eISBN:
- 9780814708750
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814741443.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
This chapter examines the history of how societies have treated sexual images by focusing on the classical period. It begins with an overview of art, sex, and religion in classical Greece and Rome ...
More
This chapter examines the history of how societies have treated sexual images by focusing on the classical period. It begins with an overview of art, sex, and religion in classical Greece and Rome before turning to an extended period, after the end of the classical era, in which public art became less sexual and sex and pornography came to be accompanied by a shame that was not present for the Greeks and Romans. It then explores what it was about the classical cultures that led to the wide acceptance of sex and sexual depictions. It shows how the Greeks and Romans became very accepting of sexual images, especially in drama and in the arts. It also discusses the sex life of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses and suggests that Greek and Roman culture was characterized by an accepted and open sexuality.
Less
This chapter examines the history of how societies have treated sexual images by focusing on the classical period. It begins with an overview of art, sex, and religion in classical Greece and Rome before turning to an extended period, after the end of the classical era, in which public art became less sexual and sex and pornography came to be accompanied by a shame that was not present for the Greeks and Romans. It then explores what it was about the classical cultures that led to the wide acceptance of sex and sexual depictions. It shows how the Greeks and Romans became very accepting of sexual images, especially in drama and in the arts. It also discusses the sex life of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses and suggests that Greek and Roman culture was characterized by an accepted and open sexuality.
Rune Frederiksen
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199578122
- eISBN:
- 9780191808289
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199578122.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter investigates the evidence of destruction of various walls throughout history in an attempt to look at this study of pre-Classical walls through the right perspective. It covers research ...
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This chapter investigates the evidence of destruction of various walls throughout history in an attempt to look at this study of pre-Classical walls through the right perspective. It covers research about the destruction of walls in modern times caused by new constructions and modern farming activities; destruction in antiquity and Middle Ages by wars and city renovations; destruction prompted by disrepair; and destruction triggered by natural causes. It is important to identify the degree of destruction in order to fully recognize its impact on the remaining city walls.Less
This chapter investigates the evidence of destruction of various walls throughout history in an attempt to look at this study of pre-Classical walls through the right perspective. It covers research about the destruction of walls in modern times caused by new constructions and modern farming activities; destruction in antiquity and Middle Ages by wars and city renovations; destruction prompted by disrepair; and destruction triggered by natural causes. It is important to identify the degree of destruction in order to fully recognize its impact on the remaining city walls.
Marek Wecowski
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199684014
- eISBN:
- 9780191766169
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199684014.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter is a detailed reconstruction of the ceremonial of the archaic and classical symposion and of its varied types of entertainment, including drinking games, contests of agility and the ...
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This chapter is a detailed reconstruction of the ceremonial of the archaic and classical symposion and of its varied types of entertainment, including drinking games, contests of agility and the predominant intellectual pastimes which mark off the symposion as a very peculiar convivial occasion. Still, a necessary prerequisite for any historical study of the symposion, and thus a real challenge in treating the matters treated in this chapter, is to define the social group whose members enjoyed the symposia in the archaic period. Despite some recent attempts to prove otherwise, and in keeping with the traditional view advocated in a number of ground-breaking studies by Oswyn Murray, it is argued that before the 5th century b.c. the symposion was fundamentally an aristocratic phenomenon. However, a clear definition of this social group is still lacking. This chapter is an attempt at bridging this gap in recent scholarship.Less
This chapter is a detailed reconstruction of the ceremonial of the archaic and classical symposion and of its varied types of entertainment, including drinking games, contests of agility and the predominant intellectual pastimes which mark off the symposion as a very peculiar convivial occasion. Still, a necessary prerequisite for any historical study of the symposion, and thus a real challenge in treating the matters treated in this chapter, is to define the social group whose members enjoyed the symposia in the archaic period. Despite some recent attempts to prove otherwise, and in keeping with the traditional view advocated in a number of ground-breaking studies by Oswyn Murray, it is argued that before the 5th century b.c. the symposion was fundamentally an aristocratic phenomenon. However, a clear definition of this social group is still lacking. This chapter is an attempt at bridging this gap in recent scholarship.
David A. Blome
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781501747526
- eISBN:
- 9781501747625
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501747526.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This book assesses the nature and broader significance of warfare in the mountains of classical Greece. Based on detailed reconstructions of four unconventional military encounters, the book argues ...
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This book assesses the nature and broader significance of warfare in the mountains of classical Greece. Based on detailed reconstructions of four unconventional military encounters, the book argues that the upland Greeks of the classical mainland developed defensive strategies to guard against external aggression. These strategies enabled wide-scale, sophisticated actions in response to invasions, but they did not require the direction of a central, federal government. The book brings these strategies to the forefront by driving ancient Greek military history and ancient Greek scholarship “beyond the polis” into dialogue with each other. As it contends, beyond-the-polis scholarship has done much to expand and refine our understanding of the ancient Greek world, but it has overemphasized the importance of political institutions in emergent federal states and has yet to treat warfare involving upland Greeks systematically or in depth. In contrast, the book scrutinizes the sociopolitical roots of warfare from beyond the polis, which are often neglected in military histories of the Greek city-state. By focusing on the significance of warfare vis-à-vis the sociopolitical development of upland polities, the book shows that although the more powerful states of the classical Greek world were dismissive or ignorant of the military capabilities of upland Greeks, the reverse was not the case. The Phocians, Aetolians, Acarnanians, and Arcadians in circa 490–362 BCE were well aware of the arrogant attitudes of their aggressive neighbors, and as highly efficient political entities, they exploited these attitudes to great effect.Less
This book assesses the nature and broader significance of warfare in the mountains of classical Greece. Based on detailed reconstructions of four unconventional military encounters, the book argues that the upland Greeks of the classical mainland developed defensive strategies to guard against external aggression. These strategies enabled wide-scale, sophisticated actions in response to invasions, but they did not require the direction of a central, federal government. The book brings these strategies to the forefront by driving ancient Greek military history and ancient Greek scholarship “beyond the polis” into dialogue with each other. As it contends, beyond-the-polis scholarship has done much to expand and refine our understanding of the ancient Greek world, but it has overemphasized the importance of political institutions in emergent federal states and has yet to treat warfare involving upland Greeks systematically or in depth. In contrast, the book scrutinizes the sociopolitical roots of warfare from beyond the polis, which are often neglected in military histories of the Greek city-state. By focusing on the significance of warfare vis-à-vis the sociopolitical development of upland polities, the book shows that although the more powerful states of the classical Greek world were dismissive or ignorant of the military capabilities of upland Greeks, the reverse was not the case. The Phocians, Aetolians, Acarnanians, and Arcadians in circa 490–362 BCE were well aware of the arrogant attitudes of their aggressive neighbors, and as highly efficient political entities, they exploited these attitudes to great effect.
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226155463
- eISBN:
- 9780226155494
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226155494.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This chapter, which provides a sketch of ancient Greek athletics, compares Stephen Miller's nuanced and generally positive assessment of ancient athletics and Nigel Spivey's contrasting stance. It ...
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This chapter, which provides a sketch of ancient Greek athletics, compares Stephen Miller's nuanced and generally positive assessment of ancient athletics and Nigel Spivey's contrasting stance. It also comments on Spivey's assertion that the values of physical culture articulated in Classical Greece have conquered the modern world. The chapter suggests that one of the most prominent features of ancient Greek athletics was the attention paid to the fairness of the games.Less
This chapter, which provides a sketch of ancient Greek athletics, compares Stephen Miller's nuanced and generally positive assessment of ancient athletics and Nigel Spivey's contrasting stance. It also comments on Spivey's assertion that the values of physical culture articulated in Classical Greece have conquered the modern world. The chapter suggests that one of the most prominent features of ancient Greek athletics was the attention paid to the fairness of the games.
Andrea Stone
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780813062570
- eISBN:
- 9780813051604
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813062570.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, African-American Literature
Emulating more the conventions of the almanac than those of wildly popular early- to mid-nineteenth-century emigration narratives authored by British émigrés to Canada, Mary Ann Shadd and Martin ...
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Emulating more the conventions of the almanac than those of wildly popular early- to mid-nineteenth-century emigration narratives authored by British émigrés to Canada, Mary Ann Shadd and Martin Delany urge black evacuation through a claim for black health and well-being, vivifying the crucial relation they see between corporeal and political ideals. Each advocates the connection between a healthy black body and black political independence, irreconcilable with U.S. residency. Their quest for and designation of healthful places of settlement draw from classical Greek characterizations, which idealize hygia. Such an ideal forms the primary vehicle for their propaganda.Less
Emulating more the conventions of the almanac than those of wildly popular early- to mid-nineteenth-century emigration narratives authored by British émigrés to Canada, Mary Ann Shadd and Martin Delany urge black evacuation through a claim for black health and well-being, vivifying the crucial relation they see between corporeal and political ideals. Each advocates the connection between a healthy black body and black political independence, irreconcilable with U.S. residency. Their quest for and designation of healthful places of settlement draw from classical Greek characterizations, which idealize hygia. Such an ideal forms the primary vehicle for their propaganda.
Christopher Leslie Brown
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300109009
- eISBN:
- 9780300134858
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300109009.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, Military History
A comparative analysis of the arming of slaves may shed light on the problems regarding the dynamics of power within slave societies, the nature of domination and resistance, and the paradoxes of ...
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A comparative analysis of the arming of slaves may shed light on the problems regarding the dynamics of power within slave societies, the nature of domination and resistance, and the paradoxes of mastery and enslavement. This book has provided case studies on the arming of slaves throughout thousands of years of history, focusing on the use of slave soldiers in regions from classical Greece to western Africa and the Middle East. It has examined how the arming of slaves expressed itself in either military slavery or the less sophisticated schemes commonly used in the Americas. It has also discussed slave recruitment and deployment and the reasons behind the arming of slaves, including blacks. In addition, the book has explored the consequences of the arming of slaves both for the enslaved and the institution of slavery itself.Less
A comparative analysis of the arming of slaves may shed light on the problems regarding the dynamics of power within slave societies, the nature of domination and resistance, and the paradoxes of mastery and enslavement. This book has provided case studies on the arming of slaves throughout thousands of years of history, focusing on the use of slave soldiers in regions from classical Greece to western Africa and the Middle East. It has examined how the arming of slaves expressed itself in either military slavery or the less sophisticated schemes commonly used in the Americas. It has also discussed slave recruitment and deployment and the reasons behind the arming of slaves, including blacks. In addition, the book has explored the consequences of the arming of slaves both for the enslaved and the institution of slavery itself.
Sian Lewis
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- October 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198804208
- eISBN:
- 9780191842405
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198804208.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
The chapter explores the part played by letters in how tyrants in the world of fifth- and fourth-century BCE Greece exercised power, with a specific emphasis on processes of decision-making and the ...
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The chapter explores the part played by letters in how tyrants in the world of fifth- and fourth-century BCE Greece exercised power, with a specific emphasis on processes of decision-making and the role of state institutions that embedded the ruler within the wider political community. The focus is on the place and function of letters in the traditions surrounding the rulers of Syracuse (Dionysius I and II, Timoleon, and, moving into the Hellenistic period, Agathocles). A nuanced picture emerges: whereas the classical tyrants did not attempt to impose a model of rule through written communication within their poleis, where traditional oral methods of rule continued, in communications outside the polis tyrants moved gradually towards the letter as part of the consolidation of their rule.Less
The chapter explores the part played by letters in how tyrants in the world of fifth- and fourth-century BCE Greece exercised power, with a specific emphasis on processes of decision-making and the role of state institutions that embedded the ruler within the wider political community. The focus is on the place and function of letters in the traditions surrounding the rulers of Syracuse (Dionysius I and II, Timoleon, and, moving into the Hellenistic period, Agathocles). A nuanced picture emerges: whereas the classical tyrants did not attempt to impose a model of rule through written communication within their poleis, where traditional oral methods of rule continued, in communications outside the polis tyrants moved gradually towards the letter as part of the consolidation of their rule.
Hallie M. Franks
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- October 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190863166
- eISBN:
- 9780190863197
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190863166.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, History of Art: pre-history, BCE to 500CE, ancient and classical, Byzantine
In the Greek Classical period, the symposium—the social gathering at which male citizens gathered to drink wine and engage in conversation—was held in a room called the andron. From couches set up ...
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In the Greek Classical period, the symposium—the social gathering at which male citizens gathered to drink wine and engage in conversation—was held in a room called the andron. From couches set up around the perimeter of the andron, symposiasts looked inward to the room’s center, which often was decorated with a pebble mosaic floor. These mosaics provided visual treats for the guests, presenting them with images of mythological scenes, exotic flora, dangerous beasts, hunting parties, or the specter of Dionysos, the god of wine, riding in his chariot or on the back of a panther. This book takes as its subject these mosaics and the context of their viewing. Relying on discourses in the sociology and anthropology of space, it argues that the andron’s mosaic imagery actively contributed to a complex, metaphorical experience of the symposium. In combination with the ritualized circling of the wine cup from couch to couch around the room and the physiological reaction to wine, the images of mosaic floors called to mind other images, spaces, or experiences, and, in doing so, prompted drinkers to reimagine the symposium as another kind of event—a nautical voyage, a journey to a foreign land, the circling heavens or a choral dance, or the luxury of an abundant past. Such spatial metaphors helped to forge the intimate bonds of friendship that are the ideal result of the symposium and that make up the political and social fabric of the Greek polis.Less
In the Greek Classical period, the symposium—the social gathering at which male citizens gathered to drink wine and engage in conversation—was held in a room called the andron. From couches set up around the perimeter of the andron, symposiasts looked inward to the room’s center, which often was decorated with a pebble mosaic floor. These mosaics provided visual treats for the guests, presenting them with images of mythological scenes, exotic flora, dangerous beasts, hunting parties, or the specter of Dionysos, the god of wine, riding in his chariot or on the back of a panther. This book takes as its subject these mosaics and the context of their viewing. Relying on discourses in the sociology and anthropology of space, it argues that the andron’s mosaic imagery actively contributed to a complex, metaphorical experience of the symposium. In combination with the ritualized circling of the wine cup from couch to couch around the room and the physiological reaction to wine, the images of mosaic floors called to mind other images, spaces, or experiences, and, in doing so, prompted drinkers to reimagine the symposium as another kind of event—a nautical voyage, a journey to a foreign land, the circling heavens or a choral dance, or the luxury of an abundant past. Such spatial metaphors helped to forge the intimate bonds of friendship that are the ideal result of the symposium and that make up the political and social fabric of the Greek polis.
