Ancient Greek Logos

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Irresistibly tasty

An interesting passage from Plato's "Phaedrus" (275a-b) on books:

"You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise".

Based on this passage Plato thinks of books as being predominantly a tool of reminding (ὑπομνήματα) rather than a source of wisdom. His argumentation rests upon the fact that an ignorant person can't reach wisdom only through reading books - written words by someone else. Relying on teachings of his mentor, Socrates, Plato instead recommends learning through debating with an actual living being. Reading encourages the reader to rely on other's opinions about a subject.

His objections are in tune with the fact that the Ancient Greeks lived in a society of oral tradition and the rhetoric culture. Also, Plato had lived in a time before written word had more influence, which came with Aristotle and especially the Alexandrian scholarly work in the Hellenistic period.

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The word of the day - democracy

Democracy was originally the term used to describe a polity (constitution) in Ancient Greece. As the etymology itself says, democracy implies the rule of the people (demos - people + kratein - to rule).

The origins of democracy come from Athens. Solon was the politician regarded as the one who had laid the foundation for the development of democratic rule (early 6th century BC). However, the true father of democracy is Cleisthenes. His reforms were vital for establishing the Athenian democratic system.

It is important to mention that modern and Ancient Greek democracy differ in certain aspects. In Athens the political rights exclusively belonged to citizen male population over the age of 20. The main political organ was the Assembly of Athenian citizens (Ecclesia).

Delos is one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean sea. In Ancient times Delos was considered the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. It featured an important sanctuary dedicated to Apollo.

In late 5th century BC a quinquennial festival of Delian games was established. After the Greek victory over Persia in 479/8 BC the island became the center of the Delian league.

In the Hellenistic and Roman periods Delos could be considered a metropolitan region since a variety of traders, artisans and artists from all over the Mediterranean used to conduct business on the island. In those times Delos was a home to a vast number of cults from the Hellenistic world (mainly from Egypt and Asia Minor).

Quote of the day

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The battle of Arginusae was fought between Athens and Sparta during the Peloponnesian war in 406 BC near Le**os. The Athenian fleet was led by 8 strategoi which managed to defeat the Spartan fleet commanded by Callicratidas.

However, news of victory weren't welcomed warmly in Athens, as one might expect. Namely, the officers failed to rescue fellow Athenians from wrecked ships due to a storm (Diod. Sic. XIII 101). On the incentive of angry relatives of fallen soldiers, the Athenian Assembly decided to punish the surviving officers with death.

It happened so that Socrates performed the duty of a prytanis in the Council of 500 at that time. He stepped out and argued it would be unjust to do such thing (Xen. Hell. I 7; Mem. I 1, 17; Pl. Apol. 32b). His call to reason wasn’t accepted and the officers suffered capital punishment.

The Athenian victory at Arginusae seemed to have given a dominant position in the war over the Spartans. In the following year (405 BC) Lysander managed to annul this by crushing the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami and de facto seal the fate of Athens in the Peloponnesian war.

Know your festival bro

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Emerging victorious and politically stronger than ever, 5th century BC Athens also became a vital center of cultural activity. The 6th century BC saw the emergence of philosophical thought in Ionia. It didn’t take much time for mainland Greeks to consider partaking in philosophical activities. The presocratics laid out the foundation for future generations who were to bring philosophy to a full-fledged discipline in Ancient Greece.
Socrates was born in Athens, deme Alopece in 470 BC. During the Peloponnesian war he fought alongside his fellow citizens as a hoplite at Potidaea (432-429 BC), Delion (424 BC) and Amphipolis (422 BC). It was said that Socrates saved Alcibiades' life twice during battles: first time at Potidaea and then at Delion (Plut. Alc. 7; Pl. Symp. 221a).
Unlike his pupil Plato, Socrates didn't leave any written word about his teachings nor did he establish a school. He used to be out and about on the streets of Athens and converse with fellow citizens, examining a variety of topics.
Being a man of principles and righteous, Socrates was opposed to punishing the surviving officers of the battle of Arginusai (406 BC) who failed to rescue sailors on wrecked ships. Yet again, during the rule of the Thirty tyrants (404 BC) Socrates refused to participate in persecutions of fellow citizens. Only the timely fall of the tyrannical regime saved Socrates from their retribution.
In 399 BC Socrates was charged with the accusation of "not believing in the same gods the state worships, inventing new gods and corrupting the youth of Athens" (Xen. Apol. 10; Mem. I 1, 1; Diog. Laert. II 40). After a series of court sessions Socrates had been found guilty and was punished with death, becoming a martyr who stood by his beliefs. It was too late when the Athenians had realized what was done. The 3 prosecutors of Socrates were exiled/sentenced to death and a bronze statue in honour of Socrates was erected.
Since most of his teachings are known through Plato we can't differentiate with utmost certainty what belongs strictly to Socrates and what is Plato's. One thing is for sure: Socrates was a sincere devotee of truth. Being a philosopher that lived up to his name by sticking to his ethical beliefs Socrates had paid the full price but in return became immortalized as one of the founders of Western philosophy and ethics.

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Oxi!

Since the adoption and the modification of the Phoenician alphabet, the Greeks developed a variety of their own alphabets according to their dialects. The Attic Greek dialect was primarily spoken in Ancient Athens but became the basis of the "common tongue", also known as koine (κοινή) in the Hellenistic period. The Attic based koine was the stem for Byzantine Greek and through it for Modern Greek.
The Attic Greek dialect was usually the preferred choice for Ancient authors and was used in the Middle Ages by Byzantine writers. The first preserved literary work written in Attic Greek is the "Constitution of the Athenians" (Ἀθηναίων πολιτεία) which was attributed to Xenophon but that is doubtful. Hence the consensus in science about the author being called Pseudo-Xenophon or the Old Oligarch.
With Thucydides Attic Greek reached its full potential in literature. And today, when students of Classics study Ancient Greek, they in fact learn about the Attic dialect which was considered the dialect of science and literature.

Herodotos wasn't the first Greek to write history. Although modern science doesn't consider them proper historians writing in accordance with methodological principles like for example Thucydides, the logographers were the first ones to try to record and narrate history. Most of their work is preserved only in fragments but perhaps the best known author is Hekataios (lat. Hecataeus) of Miletos who lived during the reign of Darius I (522/1-486).
Hekataios was a respected citizen of Miletos who belonged to old Milesian aristocracy. According to Herodotos, Hekataios boasted about supposedly being the 16th generation descendant of a god (Hdt. II 143; claims like these were quite common among Greek aristocrats). Most of what is known about him comes from Herodotos who is rather critical of Hekataios. We learn of his political endeavours: following the outbreak of the Ionian revolt Hekataios advised the Greeks to establish supremacy on the seas by seizing the riches from the nearby temple of Branchidai, but his proposal was rejected (Hdt. V 36). During the later part of the revolt, Hekataios tried to advise Aristagoras to fortify the parameter on the island of Leros (Hdt. V 125). His appeal remained futile yet again. In 494 he was participating in a Greek delegation sent to Artaphernes (the Lydian satrap and Darius' brother) with the goal of securing best terms possible for the defeated Greeks and partially succeeded. It seems Hekataios traveled a lot and visited Egypt.
His 2 main works are "Geography" (Περίοδος/Περιήγησις γῆς) and "Genealogies" (Γενεηλογίαι). The first work is concerned with geographical description of Europe and Asia, followed by a brief history of city founding and a display of his traveling. He is also credited with improving an existing geographical map of Anaximander. He thought of the world as being encircled by the Ocean (Ὠκεανός). The "Genealogies" is the first scientific (or partly so) effort of providing mythological events with a proper chronological system. Hekataios approaches the Hellenic tradition with a dose of criticality. The opening sentence says: "Hecataeus of Miletos says this: "I write as i see fit since Greek stories are in my opinion numerous and ridiculous"" (FHG I 332). After all, Hekataios was a Greek living in Ionia, the cradle of rationality.

DELPHI
The ancient sanctuary of Delphi, also called Pytho, lies on the slopes of mount Parnassos in Phocis. The Ancient Greeks considered the center of world to be located in Delphi since the famous stone monument was to be found there - the Omphalos (navel, center of Earth/Gaia). According to myths, Zeus determined the site of Delphi by sending two eagles from the East and the West. They had met each other at Delphi, where the omphalos was found.
From mid II millennium up until the fall of the Mycenaean civilization on the site of Delphi a settlement and sanctuary dedicated to a female deity existed. Excavation at this site shows artifacts increasing steadily in volume during the last quarter of the 8th century BC. Delphi experienced flourishing with the beginning of the 6th century BC. From then it played a significant role in Ancient Greek politics.
Visitors would come to seek advice from Apollo, whose will was conveyed through oracles in verse, promulgated by Pythia, the famous priestess of the oracle in Delphi. Individuals asked questions regarding their private life, but every Greek city-state used to send official embassies, seeking guidance about various topics: war and peace, founding of colonies, important decisions concerning state politics and so on. Answers Pythia gave often sounded ambiguous: the Lydian king Croesus (560-546) wanted to consult Delphi before waging war on Cyrus the Great and asked whether he should attack Persia. Pythia responded by stating that if Croesus attacked the Persians he would destroy a great empire (Hdt. I 53). Little did he know the prophecy was referring to his empire.
Delphi was a place where the panhellenic Pythian games were hosted ever since the Sycionian tyrant Cleisthenes (the grandfather of the Athenian Cleisthenes) established them in 582 BC after helping Delphi in the First Sacred War fought against Kirrha. They were held every four years in honour of Apollo and included competitions in athletics, art and dance. The winners received a wreath of bay laurel and were praised in their cities.
With the Hellenistic period (323-30 BC) and especially the Roman era (30 BC-476 AD) the sanctuary lost its political significance and entered a period of declining. The existence of the oracle at Delphi was finally terminated during the reign of the byzantine emperor Theodosios I (379-395).

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ATHENS BEFORE SOLON
In the very beginning Attica was home to several independent communities. Through time Athens managed to unite these communities under her rule: synoecism (συνοικισμός - "living together") or the act of unification of a geographic region under one dominant city-state in Greece was attributed to Theseus, the mythical king of Athens, around the 13th century BC. In honour of this an annual festival was celebrated in Athens - Synoikia (τὰ Συνοίκια). As usual with the rest of Greece, monarchy died off in Athens not long after entering the Archaic era (c. 776-500). Codros was the last king and a rule of aristocracy followed. Although the kingship had been abolished, it was partially preserved in the form of the archon basileus. This office lost its political significance but preserved its prerogatives with affairs concerning state religion. Kingly power was now distributed among 3 political factors: the Areopagos, the eponymous archon and the archon polemarch. The Areopagos was an oligarchic council of aristocrats (called eupatridai in Athens) and was in fact the political power which ruled Athens during this period. The council was the supreme court in matters of criminal law and felonies. The archon polemarch received judicial prerogatives concerning military affairs and supreme command over the army. Perhaps the most influential position was the eponymous archon: his office was considered the most prestigious in Athens; the Athenian year was named after him (for example if an event happened in 403/2 when Euclides was the eponymous archon, the usual phrase in Athenian documents would be "in the year of Euclides' archonship the following happened"); he was the supreme magistrate in the sphere of civil law. With Solon's reforms Athens started gradually shifting towards a democratic polity.

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New findings concerning Mycenaean civilization

Archaeologists in Greece find 3,500-year-old royal tombs, NICHOLAS PAPHITIS | Kathimerini US archaeologists have discovered two monumental royal tombs dating from about 3,500 years ago near a major Mycenaean-era palace in Greece's southern Peloponnese region, the Greek culture ministry said Tuesday.

The inventing of coinage is considered to have happened in Ancient Lydia, the powerful neighbor of Greeks living in Asia Minor. It could be possible that it happened during the reign of the Lydian king Alyattes (c. 610-560). The used substance for first coins was electrum, named after the Greek word for the colour of amber - ἤλεκτρον. Electrum is a mixture of gold and silver which came in different ratios and could be found in silts of Hermos and Pactolos rivers in Asia Minor. This kind of coinage was emitted by Miletos, Ephesos and Phocis. It was mainly used for private affairs, mostly trade, and not larger transactions by the official state. During Croesus' rule (560-546) coins started being produced mainly out of gold and silver for the first time - the Croesids, as Herodotos remarks (I 94)

Around the beginning of the second millennium a magnificent culture started flourishing on the island of Crete. The Cretan civilization, also known as the Minoan civilization, wasn't of Indo-European origin. Power was concentrated in several cities like Knossos, Phaestos or Malia, each with its own system of palace governance. The Cretans developed 2 scripts: the older, hieroglyphic kind (modelled after Egyptian hieroglyphs) and the newer, syllabic script called the Linear A script. The Cretan civilization reached its pinnacle around mid second millennium BC. It was believed that the mythical king Minos managed to establish naval supremacy in the Aegean basin. This enabled the Cretans to maintain trading relations with both Western and Eastern Mediterranean (especially Egypt). A distinct type of art was developed on Crete featuring motifs from nature. With the Mycenaean conquest of Crete around 14th century BC this magnificent civilization ceased to exist.

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Dionysos is the Greek god of wine, theatre, fertility, ritual ecstasy and fluids. In cult practice he was also known as Bacchos. The origin of this deity is uncertain, but most likely it is not Indo-European. The Greeks probably adopted him from Thrace or Asia Minor. In the Orphic religion, which was in Ancient Greece considered a type of a sect, Dionysos was the chief deity. The followers of his cult were practicing consumption of wine and ritual dances with timpana and cymbals in order to reach an ecstatic state of mind. It was believed that through the ecstatic madness Dionysos delivered his followers from their worldly pains. Greek tragedy is closely linked to Dionysos as its patron god.

Do you even Thucydides bro?
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