Еhe Greek and Greco-Macedonian societies
the Greek and Greco-Macedonian societies
Between 1150 and 800 B.C.E., the ancient Greeks (or Hellenes) formed a distinct culture, united by a common language and the worship of the Olympian gods. In the centuries that followed, and especially during the classical period (ca. 500s–300s B.C.E.), they built a society of Greek city-states and colonies not just in Greece itself, but throughout the eastern Mediterranean, from Italy to the Turkish coast. (The Greek term for “city-state,” polis, is the root of our word “politics.”)
Excellent mariners, the Greeks traded widely in the Mediterranean, exporting olives and wine. Some of Greece’s city-states were monarchies, but most were oligarchies, in which a small elite class of rich, powerful families ruled. The most influential of the classical city-states were Sparta and Athens. Sparta exploited the labour of agricultural slaves called helots and subjected all freeborn males to a regimented, militaristic upbringing—producing the Greek world’s finest and most feared army. Athens focused on cultural and political advancement, relying on maritime trade for wealth and basing its military might on naval power.
While Sparta handled its helots with infamous brutality, slavery was common in all Greek city-states. As much as a quarter of a city’s population might be slaves, although many were used not for the most crushing forms of hard labour, but as highly valued household servants and skilled workers.
In most Greek city-states, women were treated as distinct social and political inferiors—it was in Sparta, interestingly, that women had the most rights. Despite slavery and patriarchalism, ancient Greece hit upon one of the ancient world’s most significant political innovations. This was democracy, or rule by the people, which began in Athens in 508 B.C.E. and reached its peak during the 400s B.C.E.—although even in Athens, women and slaves were excluded from political life.
Overall, Greece was a patriarchal society with fairly strict social divisions. Women were under the authority of their fathers, husbands, and then, sons. Most women owned no land and they often wore veils in public. Their one public position could be that of a priestess of a religious cult. Literacy, however, was common among upper-class Greek women, and Spartan women took part in athletic competitions.
The Hellenic culture gave rise to philosophy, scientific thinking, Greek dramas, and some of the world’s finest architecture and sculpture.
Politically, the Greek city-states remained highly decentralized, although most of them banded together to resist conquest during the Persian Wars (492–479 B.C.E.). A generation later, rivalry between Sparta and Athens led to a devastating conflict known as the Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C.E.). Although Sparta and its allies triumphed, both sides were exhausted, leaving Greece open to domination by its neighbour to the north, Macedonia.
It was from this Greek-Macedonian kingdom that the ancient world’s most gifted commander, Alexander the Great (356–323 B.C.E.), launched one of the most successful military campaigns of all time. Alexander crossed into Asia, toppled the Achaemenid Persian empire, and conquered territory all the way to India’s northwest border. Before dying, he had led his army on a journey lasting almost ten years and covering more than 20,000 miles. His generals split his empire among them, preserving Greek-Macedonian rule for many years in places like Egypt, Persia, and Central Asia. More important in the long term than his battle victories was Alexander’s promotion of Greek culture and the fusing of it with other societies’ traditions to create Hellenistic (“Greek-like”) culture. Hellenistic influences spread across a huge portion of Eurasia, from North Africa and the Mediterranean to the Indian frontier, where the Greco-Buddhist culture mentioned in the last chapter flourished. Alexander’s grand capital, the Egyptian city of Alexandria, with its Great Library, became one of the ancient world’s greatest centres of trade, learning, and culture.
Questions for experts
1. What were the most significant features of the Greek and Greco-Macedonian societies?
2. What were the most important factors which influenced the Greek and Greco-Macedonian societies?
3. What are the main legacies of the considered societies?
4. Which of the below given factors caused the decline of the Greek and Greco-Macedonian societies? Explain your choices in detail.
· Unwise or corrupt political leadership
· Rebellions and social tensions caused by overtaxation or injustice on the part of the elite
· Civil wars
· Conquest of more territory than one could effectively govern
· Economic downturns and disruptions of regional trade patterns
· Neglect of infrastructure, such as roads
· War with one or more advanced states or the sudden appearance of a powerful enemy
· Constant, long-term harassment by raiding or migrating nomads
· External environmental factors, such as climate change, natural disasters, or the appearance of new diseases (such as smallpox, measles, or bubonic plague)
· Self-inflicted environmental problems, such as overpopulation, overuse of wood (deforestation), overuse of water (desertification), or the silting of rivers and erosion of soil caused by overfarming or large construction projects.
Questions for mixed groups
1. What was common between the societies?
2. What was different between the societies?
3. Compared to the previous period (5.500 – 1000 BCE) what changed and what remained the same in the world?
4. What legacy did the considered societies leave?