The Greeks: An Introduction to Their Culture

306 Pages·2014·7.386 MB·English

by  Robin Sowerby

The Greeks
TheGreekshas provided a concise yet wide-ranging introduction to the culture of
ancient Greece. In this new and expanded third edition, the best-selling volume offers
alucid survey that covers all the key elements of ancient Greek civilization from the
age of Homer to the Hellenistic period. It provides detailed discussions of the main
trends in literature and drama, philosophy, art and architecture, with generous
reference to original sources, and places ancient Greek culture firmly in its political,
social and historical context.
The new edition has expanded coverage of the post-Classical period with major
expansions in the areas of Hellenistic history, literature and philosophy. More
emphasis is placed on the Greek world as a whole, especially on Sparta, and the focus
on social history has been increased. TheGreeksis an indispensable introduction for
all students of Classics, and an invaluable guide for students of other disciplines who
require grounding in Greek civilization.
Robin Sowerbywas Senior Lecturer in English Studies at the University of Stirling,
Scotland. Trained as a classicist, his research interests centre upon the Classical
tradition. He has written introductory studies of the major Classical epics and is
author of Early Augustan Virgil (2010), The Augustan Art of Poetry (2006) and The
Classical Legacy in Renaissance Poetry(1994).
Peoples of the Ancient World
This series stands as the first port of call for anyone who wants to know more about
the historically important peoples of the ancient world and the early middle ages.
Reliable, up to date and with special attention paid to the peoples’ enduring
legacy and influence, Peoples of the Ancient World will ensure the continuing
prominence of these crucial figures in modern-day study and research.
THE PERSIANS
Maria Brosius
THE EGYPTIANS
Robert Morkot
THE BABYLONIANS
Gwendolyn Leick
THE TROJANS AND THEIR NEIGHBOURS
Trevor Bryce
MYCENAEANS
Rodney Castleden
THE ISRAELITES
Antony Kamm
THE NEANDERTHALS
Friedemann Schrenk and Stephanie Müller
Forthcoming:
THE ROMANS
Third edition
Antony Kamm and Abigail Graham
The Greeks:
An Introduction to
Their Culture
Third edition
Robin Sowerby
First published 1995.
Second edition published 2009.
This third edition published 2015
by Routledge
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©2015Robin Sowerby
The right of Robin Sowerby to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him/her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Acatalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-415-72728-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-72729-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-74572-5 (ebk)
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CONTENTS
List of figures vii
Preface xi
1 EARLY GREECE: HOMER AND HESIOD 1
Bronze Age Greece 1
Minoan civilization 1
Mycenaean civilization 5
The Dark Age 9
The Homeric Poems 11
TheIliad 15
TheOdyssey 21
Homeric ideals: civilized social living 26
Homeric ideals: poetry and art 27
The Greek love of beauty and Homer’s style 30
Hesiod 32
2 HISTORY 34
The main historical sources 34
The city state before the Persian Wars 45
The Persian Wars 56
Democracy and empire: Periclean Athens 61
The Peloponnesian War 68
Spartan hegemony and the Second Athenian League 70
The rise of Philip of Macedon 72
The opposition of Demosthenes 75
Alexander the Great 80
The Hellenistic Kingdoms 84
VI CONTENTS
3 RELIGION AND SOCIAL LIFE 93
Religion 93
Pan-Hellenic games 111
The gymnasium 115
The symposium 117
‘Greek love’ 121
Women 127
Slaves 135
4 LITERATURE 140
Introduction 140
Tragedy: festivals and conventions 145
Aeschylus (525–456) 149
Sophocles (c.496–406) 153
Euripides (c.485–406) 159
Old Comedy: Aristophanes (c.450–c.385) 163
Oratory and prose 168
Literature of the Hellenistic age 175
5 PHILOSOPHY 187
The Pre-Socratics 187
Socrates (469–399) and the sophists 189
Plato (c.427–347) 196
Aristotle (384–322) 203
Hellenistic philosophy: post-Aristotelians 209
Medicine and science 214
6 ART 219
Geometric beginnings (ninth and eighth centuries) 220
The Archaic period (seventh and sixth centuries) 222
The Classical period (fifth and fourth centuries) 230
The Hellenistic period (from the conquest of Alexander in 323) 258
Appendices 275
1 Chronological table 275
2 Translations cited in the text 281
Glossary of terms 284
Index 288
FIGURES
1 Plan of the palace at Cnossus 2
2 Fresco at Cnossus; bull-jumping 3
3 Fresco at Cnossus 4
4 Plan of Mycenae 6
5 Plan of Nestor’s palace at Pylos 7
6 Lion Gate, Mycenae 8
7 Gold face mask of Agamemnon 9
8 Rhyton in the shape of a bull's head 10
9 Troy 12
10 Mycenaean boar’s tusk helmet 13
11 The world of Odysseus 23
12 The Chigi vase 48
13 The reforms of Cleisthenes 51
14 The Near East and the Persian empire 57
15 The plain of Marathon 58
16 Torso of a hoplite found at Sparta 60
17 Athens in the Classical era 63
18 Piraeus and the Long Walls after the Persian Wars 64
19 The Greek world in the Classical era showing the Athenian
empire in the second half of the fifth century 66
20 The conquests of Alexander the Great 81
21 Map of Hellenistic Kingdoms c.185 BC 85
22 Theogony of Olympian deities 94
23 Plan of Delphi c.350 BC 100
24 The ‘Charioteer of Delphi’ 101
25 The reconstructed Treasury of Athens at Delphi 102
26 The reconstructed tholos in the Athena Pronaia sanctuary
at Delphi 103
VIII FIGURES
27 Herm: detail of Attic red-figure kraterby the Pan-painter 109
28 A gold stater with the head of Alexander the Great 111
29 Serapis: a Grecian head with an Egyptian headdress 112
30 Athletes with javelin and discus in the palaestra 119
31 Symposium fresco from the tomb of the diver at Paestum 119
32 Symposium with hetairaifrom Campanian bell-krater 120
33 Attic red-figure kylixby the Byrgos-painter 124
34 Statue group of the tyrant-slayers, Aristogeiton (left) and
Harmodius (right) 126
35 Bronze figure of a Spartan woman semi naked in athletic pose 133
36 A woman pours an offering from a jug over a flaming altar,
Attic red-figure vase by Macron 134
37 Tattooed Thracian slave girl with a jar on her head 138
38 A Greek papyrus 143
39 The theatre of Dionysus at Athens 147
40 The theatre at Epidaurus 147
41 Delphi: theatre and site of the temple of Apollo, one of the
spiritual centres of the Greek world 190
42 The elements of Plato’s thought in the Republic 199
43 The Stoa of Attalus (c.155) as reconstructed 210
44 The Dipylon vase 221
45 Corinthian jug c.630 BC 223
46 Vase of Exekias 224
47a Archaic kouros 228
47b Critian boy 229
48 Olympian Apollo 231
49 and 50 God of Artemisium 232
51 Myron: discoboulos 233
52 Athenian cup: girl going to wash 234
53 Niobid vase 236
54 Model restoration of the Athenian Acropolis 238
55a Drawing of Doric order 240
55b Drawing of Ionic order 240
55c Drawing of a Corinthian capital 241
55d Sectional drawing of the reconstructed Parthenon 241
56a The Parthenon 243
56b The temple of Poseidon (now thought to be a temple of Hera) 243
57 Polyclitus:doryphoros 246
58 Marble portrait bust of Pericles 247
FIGURES IX
59 Marble head of the horse of Selene from the east pediment of
the Parthenon 249
60 Lapith and Centaur, marble metope from the Parthenon 250
61 Deities from the Parthenon frieze 251
62 Marble sculpture of Iris from the Parthenon’s west pediment 252
63 Lekythos bythe Achilles-painter 255
64 Praxiteles: Hermes 257
65 Praxiteles: Aphrodite 259
66 Apoxyomenosafter Lysippus (Roman copy) 261
67 Head of Alexander, school of Lysippus 263
68 Pergamum altar, Berlin 264
69 Detail from the Pergamum frieze 265
70 Detail of head of giant 266
71 The dying Gaul: Roman copy of bronze original 267
72 Laocoon 269
73 Aphrodite from Melos 271
74 Mosaic of a stag hunt, ‘The Deer Hunt’ 272
75 Drunken old woman 273