Readings:
Walbank, p. 141-158.
A divided country
Polis (Greek city-state): the fundamental political cell.
Greece divided between hundreds of poleis.
Natural, ethnic and cult divisions.
Polis only known through histories of Athens, Sparta, and a few others.
What is a Polis?
Centered on one walled town.
Countryside, citadel (acropolis), marketplace (agora).
Government centered in the town.
Corporation of citizens who all participated in its different aspects.
Various forms of government.
Government usually formed by an assembly, a council, and magistrates.
Citizens and non-citizens.
Cities: central point of civilization.
The decline of Greek city in the 4th century
The Peloponnesian War (431-404BC) forced people to reconsider the system of the poleis.
Various state failed to impose their rule on the whole of Greece.
Persia &Macedonia: dominant powers in Greece.
Philip: an unifier (Isocrates)?
Demosthenes: try to maintain the independence of the individual polis.
Loss of independence, but freedom to manage domestic affairs.
The point of view of Moses Finley
Typically, 4th century BC seen as a period of decline for the Greek polis.
Disillusionment following the Peloponnesian War?
Inability to control wars?
Moses Finley: the Greek polis could flourish only under unusual circumstances and only for a short period of time.
The loss of a middle-class
It marks a failing of the community, and therefore of the polis.
Use of mercenaries deprived citizens of economical satisfaction.
Concentration of lands (loss of the citys middle-class).
Increasing of the importance of outsiders.
Loss of values and tradition, according to Finley.
The so-called decline of the Greek cities
"Decline: dangerous word.
Not a decline in all aspects.
Yet, the fourth century was the time when the Greek polis declined (unevenly), according to Finley.
After Alexander: a sham polis, accepting all sorts of servitudes as they came.
Financial problems and unwillingness to contribute to the State
In the fourth century, seperation of the civil and the military.
The generals: now professional and mercenary soldiers, outside politics.
This cleavage weakened the sense of community.
In the navy: more evasion of responsibility.
Unsatisfactory system of distributing the burden.
Was the Greek city viable?
Could decline have been averted?
Accident (Macedonia) or the result of inherent structural weaknesses?
Plato: hope for a philosopher king.
Failure of the demos and the demagogues?
Failure to unite in a national state?
Finley: the polis was a brilliant but fragile conception, needing special conditions.
Some reservations about this notion of decline
Imperialist cities (Athens, Sparta and Thebes) in decline.
For the other less powerful cities, no real change.
Rise of powerful federations (Achaean and Aetolian Leagues).
Some other will brightly keep their independence (Rhodes).
Many new Greek cities
But the number of Greek cities will considerably increase.
The Hellenistic kings will found dozens of colonies.
The main objective: to control the territory and the trade lines.
Also, political will to mark their roots in the countries they ruled over.
Cities in the heart of Hellenistic life
Greek cities continued to be in the center of civilization.
Common identity (common language: koine).
Cities continued Greek traditions.
Hellenistic kings tended to allow considerable freedom in local government.
The wealthy spent lavishly to decorate and enhance their cities.
More diversity in their populations.
The Nature of the Hellenistic City
Continuation of the social, political, and cultural institutions of the classical Greek city.
Cities generally independent in local affairs.
Dominated by the landholding aristocracy.
Blend of "eastern" and "western" elements.
The cult of the ruler, used to promote loyalty.
Economic considerations
Kings were expecting peace within their kingdom.
This encouraged trade, economic specialization, and greater overall wealth.
These economic conditions allowed cities to grow far larger.
Much more mixing of population.
Breakdown of barriers among cities: citizenship more easily granted.
Easier for people to immigrate elsewhere.
Social considerations
Hellenistic city: a complex place, with a considerable mix of population and economic opportunity.
Nobody really had political power: kind of equality (except between rich and poor).
Gain of economic prosperity.
Economic and social opportunity, but loss of common identity.
Loss of the sense of close community identity and unity that had characterized the classical city.
Royal authority, increasing hierarchical structure.
Complex relationship between sovereigns and cities
Many ways for a king to control a city:
Presence of royal troops (garrison),
Control of the city by a royal official,
Payment of a tribute.
Relationships often dominated by a political model: euergetism (system of benefactors).
The king as a benefactor, receiving special honors in counterpart.
Cities: rarely major actors in the Hellenistic era, but they maintained most of their identity.
Relationships between cities
The cities had now to avoid war or disputes, and use more peaceful ways:
They could call in the king or in other members of the same league (mediator).
And for messy but internal affair, they could call in foreign judges.
Breakdown of barriers among cities, more immigration.
Asylum will be granted to individuals, cities or sanctuaries.
Sympoliteia: a complete federal union of states (merging of cities into a single entity), with share of citizenship.
Isopoliteia: citizens resident are given justice according to their own ancestral laws.
Diminution of parochialism.
Rise of federal states
The city-states of Greece proper now unable to compete against well organized kingdoms.
But still a way to resist to the Macedonian armies: federal alliance.
Middle of the 3rd century: some remarkable developments in confederation.
Epirus, Boetia, Aetolia.
The Achaean League
The best-known of the confederacies.
Created during the 4th century.
It fell apart after the death of Alexander the Great.
The 10 surviving cities renewed their alliance in 280 BC.
They appointed:
a common secretary (according to a rota),
two generals (later, only one),
and 10 magistrates (demiourgoi).
In 251: coming of Aratus.
By 245, elected general.
He led the league in the work of liberation, freeing Corinth and winning Megara and some cities of the Argolid.
Agis and Cleomenes revolution
Sparta was a shadow of its former self.
No more than 700 Spartan citizens.
The land was in the hands of only a few.
Agis IV tried economic and social reform by abolishing debts and redistributing land (murdered).
Later new king Cleomenes began to fight against the aristocracy and to redistribute the land.
The revolution spread
Cleomenes was stopped by Aratus, who joined Macedonia against him.
Loss of independence
After that, Macedonians came and conquered.
Aratus and the league allowed to retain a shadow of independence.
The Achaean League combined, for a time, the distinctive character of the city-state with a wider vision.
The second Macedonian War
Later, during the Second Macedonian War, the Achaean League joined Rome (198) against Macedonia.
This led to the incorporation of nearly the whole Peloponnesus into the Achaean League.
Success, but eventual friction with Sparta and with expansionist Rome.
War broke out between the league and Rome in 146 BC.
Victorious Rome dissolved the Achaean League in 146.
The Aetolian League
Aetolia not well urbanized at that time.
League probably based on a looser tribal community.
By c. 340 one of the leading military powers in Greece.
Rapidly grew in strength during the ensuing period of Macedonian weakness.
It expanded into Delphi (centre of the Amphictyonic Council) and allying with Boeotia (c.300).
270: alliance with Antigonus Gonatas (Macedonia): they helped in the defeat of the Boeotians at Chaeronea.
End of the 3rd century: extended to Cephallenia and several Aegean islands.
Wars against Macedonia
Most of the time the Aetolians will fight against Macedonians and Achaean League.
Joined Rome against Philip V (200-197).
Their cavalry prevailed at Cynoscephalae (197).
The Romans handed over some territories to the Aetolians, but they withheld their former Thessalian possessions.
Aetolia attempted to fight Rome (192), soliciting the support of Antiochus III.
Defeat at Magnesia.
End of their independence.
Constitution of the Aetolian League
Aetolia probably a model for the Achaean League.
Two main ruling bodies:
a primary assembly, presided over by the annually elected general (strategos),
and a council (boule or synedrion), to supervise administration (cities represented in proportion to their populations).
Leadership always kept in Aetolian hands: more distant states linked to the confederacy by isopolity (potential citizenship), but without political rights.
Pergamum
Ancient Greek city in Mysia, situated a lofty isolated hill.
Pergamum existed at least from the 5th century BC.
But it became important only in the Hellenistic Age (residence of the Attalid dynasty).
The Attalids
Formal autonomy under the Attalids.
Initially vassals of the Seleucid Kingdom (but Eumenes I declared himself independent in 263 BC).
His successor Attalus I assumed the royal title.
The original Attalid territory around Pergamum (Mysia) was greatly expanded by 188 BC with:
the addition of Lydia (excluding most Greek coastal cities),
part of Phrygia,
Lycaonia,
and Pisidia (from 183 BC), all former Seleucid territories.
This expansion was the result of Eumenes II's alliance with Rome in its conflict with the Seleucid Antiochus III.
Bequeathed to Rome
When Eumenes' son and second successor, Attalus III, died without an heir, he bequeathed the kingdom to Rome (133).
Rome accepted it and set up the province of Asia (129).
The kingdom of Pergamum yielded much wealth (agriculture and silver).
A rich Hellenistic city
One of the most important and beautiful of all Greek cities in the Hellenistic Age.
One of the most outstanding examples of city planning in that period.
A famous library.
The Attalids collected many works of art from Greece.
Population estimated 200,000 at Roman time.
Its monuments included:
a theatre;
the temple to Athena Nicephorus (victory bearer);
and the great altar of Zeus (masterpiece of Hellenistic art).