ASPECTS OF GREEK HISTORY 750–323 BC
Aspects of Greek History 750–323 BC: A Source-Based Approach offers an indispensable introduction to the central period of Greek History for all students of classics, from pre-university to undergraduate level. Chapter by chapter, the relevant historical periods from the age of colonization to Alexander the Great are reconstructed. Emphasis is laid on the interpretation of the available sources, and the book sets out to give a clear treatment of all the major problems within a chronological framework.
This new edition brings the book up to date with the latest scholarship and includes a more detailed study of Sparta, Delian League and the Athe-nian Empire, expands the range of sources examined, and offers an extended discussion of the growth of Athenian Imperialism towards Samos, Mytilene and Melos.
It includes:
• A critical discussion of the lives, works, usefulness and reliability of the main literary sources: Thucydides, Herodotus, Xenophon, Plutarch, Diodorus and Aristotle
• Numerous quotations and references from these and other sources, including inscriptional and archaeological evidence, accompanied by a critical analysis of their worth
• Maps, a glossary of Greek terms, and a full chapter-based bibliography.
Aspects of Greek History is an invaluable aid to note-taking, essay preparation and examination revision.
Terry Buckley has retired from full-time teaching, having held the post of Head of Classics at Camden School for Girls and Roedean. He was also for many years a member of the J.A.C.T Ancient History Committee.
ASPECTS OF CLASSICAL CIVILISATION
ASPECTS OF GREEK HISTORY 750–323BC
A Source-Based Approach
Second Edition
Terry Buckley
ASPECTS OF ROMAN HISTORY 81BC–AD14
A Source-Based Approach
Mark Everson Davies and Hilary Swain
ASPECTS OF ROMAN HISTORY AD 14–117
Richard Alston
CLASSICAL LITERATURE: AN INTRODUCTION
Edited by Neil Croally and Roy Hyde
ASPECTS OF GREEK HISTORY 750–323BC
A Source-Based Approach
Second Edition
Terry Buckley
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First edition published 1996 by Routledge
Reprinted 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005
This second edition published 2010 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 1996, 2010 Terry Buckley
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Buckley, Terry, 1946-
Aspects of Greek history 750-323 BC : a source-based approach / Terry
Buckley. – 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Greece–History–To 146 B.C. 2. Greece–History–To 146 B.C.–
Historiography. I. Title.
DF214.B78 2010
938–dc22
2009030559
ISBN 0-203-86021-7 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0-415-54976-0 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0-415-54977-9 (pbk)
ISBN10: 0–203-86021–7 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-54976-9 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-54977-6 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-86021-2 (ebk)
TO MY BELOVED FAMILY
SUE, ERIKA AND SEAN
CONTENTS
List of maps xiii
Preface and acknowledgements xiv
Preface to the second edition xvi
List of abbreviations xvii
1 THE MAIN LITERARY SOURCES 1
Aristotle 1
Diodorus Siculus 5
Herodotus 8
Plutarch 14
Thucydides 18
Xenophon 24
2 THE CAUSES OF COLONIZATION IN ARCHAIC GREECE 30
Shortage of land 31
The importance of trade 35
Bibliography 39
3 THE AGE OF GREEK TYRANNY, C.650–510 40
The background and sources 40
Pheidon of Argos: the military cause 42
Cypselus of Corinth: the economic cause 47
Cleisthenes of Sicyon: the ethnic cause 52
Conclusion 54
Bibliography 54
4 THE ‘LYCURGAN’ REFORMS AND THE RISE OF SPARTA IN THE SEVENTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES 55
The sources 55
The background 61
The political reforms 65
The social and economic reforms 72
The rise of Sparta in the sixth century 77
Bibliography 82
5 THE REFORMS OF SOLON 83
The sources 83
The economic and political crisis in Athens 84
The reforms of Solon 90
Appraisal of Solon’s reforms 96
Bibliography 100
6 THE TYRANNY OF THE PEISISTRATIDS AT ATHENS 101
The rise of Peisistratus 101
The rule of the Peisistratids 104
The buildings and religious festivals of the Peisistratids 109
The fall of the tyranny 114
Bibliography 116
7 THE REFORMS OF CLEISTHENES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY 117
The sources 117
The political background to the reforms, 511/0–507/6 117
The motives of Cleisthenes 119
The deme and tribal reforms of Cleisthenes 122
The development of democracy 128
Bibliography 131
8 ATHENIAN POLITICS FROM CLEISTHENES TO THE OUTBREAK OF THE PERSIAN WAR 132
The sources 132
Ostracism and its use in the 480s 132
Athenian politics, 508/7–490 136
Athenian politics, 489–481 142
Bibliography 146
9 THE PERSIAN WAR: GREEK STRATEGY AND THE LEADERSHIP OF SPARTA IN 480–479 147
The sources 147
Preparations for war, 484–481 149
Greek strategy and Spartan leadership in 480 151
Greek strategy and Spartan leadership in 479 163
Bibliography 170
10 THE DELIAN LEAGUE AND ATHENIAN EMPIRE 171
The establishment of the Delian League 171
From ‘League’ to ‘Empire’, 478/7–446/5 177
Aftermath: Samos, Mytilene and Melos 195
Bibliography 209
11 ATHENIAN POLITICS, 478–462/1 211
The sources 211
Foreign policy, 470s 212
Domestic policy, 478–462/1 215
The fall of Themistocles 217
Athenian foreign policy, 460s 218
Bibliography 220
12 SP
ARTAN FOREIGN POLICY AND PROBLEMS IN THE PELOPONNESE, 478–446/5 222
The evolution of the Peloponnesian League 222
Constitution of the Peloponnesian League 223
Sparta, 478–462/1 226
Sparta, 462/1–446/5 234
Bibliography 236
13 THE DEMOCRATIC REFORMS OF EPHIALTES AND PERICLES, 462/1–451/0 237
Political background to the reforms 237
The reform of the Areopagus 239
The Athenian political institutions after Ephialtes’ reforms 242
Bibliography 245
14 THE INSTITUTIONS OF ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY 247
The sources 247
The Boule 247
The Ecclesia 251
The Heliaea 258
Bibliography 265
15 ATHENIAN FOREIGN POLICY IN THE FIRST PELOPONNESIAN WAR, 462/1–446/5 266
The sources 266
Bibliography 275
16 THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE: MEANS OF CONTROL, BENEFITS AND POPULARITY 276
The means of control 276
Athenian benefits from the Empire 283
Allied benefits and the popularity of the Athenian Empire 287
Bibliography 298
17 THE CAUSES OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 299
The background, 446/5–435 300
The grounds of complaint (‘aitiai’) 302
The prelude to the war 313
Athens and Sparta: the ultimate responsibility 316
Bibliography 320
18 PERICLES AND THE NATURE OF ATHENIAN POLITICS 321
Pericles’ early career to 444/3 322
Pericles’ career, 444/3–429 326
The demagogues 332
Bibliography 336
19 ATHENIAN AND SPARTAN STRATEGY IN THE ARCHIDAMIAN WAR, 431–421 337
Athenian strategy 337
Spartan strategy 339
431–428 341
427–424 343
424/3–421 348
Bibliography 352
20 SPARTA, THE PELOPONNESE AND THE OUTBREAK OF THE DECELEAN WAR, 421–413 354
The Peace of Nicias and its immediate aftermath 355
The challenge to Sparta’s hegemony of the Peloponnese 357
Outbreak of the Decelean War 362
Bibliography 365
21 ATHENS AND THE WEST, 458–413 366
458/7–428 366
427–424 367
416–413 369
The causes of the Athenian defeat 381
Bibliography 383
22 PERSIAN INTERVENTION IN THE IONIAN WAR, 413–404 384
Persia and the Greeks, 431–414 385
Persia and the Greeks, 413–404 387
Bibliography 397
23 THE RISE AND FALL OF THE OLIGARCHIC MOVEMENT IN ATHENS, 411–410 399
The rise of oligarchy 399
The rule of The Four Hundred 406
The rule of The Five Thousand 411
Bibliography 413
24 SPARTAN FOREIGN POLICY, 404–387/6 414
Asia Minor, 404–394 415
Greece, 404–395 420
The Corinthian War, 395–387/6 424
Bibliography 429
25 THE ‘HEGEMONY’ OF THEBES, 371–362 430
The rise of Thebes, 386–371 430
Theban foreign policy, 371–365 436
Theban foreign policy, 364–362 443
The causes of the failure of the Theban ‘hegemony’ 446
Bibliography 450
26 THE RISE OF MACEDON (359–336): DIPLOMACY AND WARFARE UNDER PHILIP II 451
The consolidation of Macedon in the North, 359–354 451
The rise of Macedon in Greece, 353–346 455
The further rise of Macedon in Greece, 346–338 461
The Macedonian hegemony of Greece, 338–336 467
Bibliography 471
27 ALEXANDER’S GENERALSHIP AT THE BATTLES OF THE RIVER GRANICUS (334), ISSUS (333) AND GAUGAMELA (331) 472
The sources 472
Alexander’s army 473
The battle of the River Granicus (334) 477
The battle of Issus (333) 482
The battle of Gaugamela (331) 488
Bibliography 495
Glossary 497
Bibliography 502
Websites 508
Index 509
MAPS
1
Greek colonization, eighth–sixth centuries BC 37
2
The Peloponnese 81
3
Cleisthenes’ tribal reforms 125
4
Persian wars 168
5
The Athenian Empire 206
6
The Peloponnesian War, 431–404 BC 350
7
The Long Walls of Athens 352
8a
Sicily 374
8b
The siege of Syracuse 375
9
The Peloponnese and central Greece 448
10
Growth of Macedonian power, 359–336 BC 468
11
The battle of the River Granicus 479
12
The battle of Issus 486
13
The battle of Gaugamela 490
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As a teacher of J.A.C.T. Ancient History, Section A topics (i.e. military and political) for the past twenty years, I have been acutely aware of the need for a textbook which, first, not only covers a historical period or theme in sufficient depth, but also is structured in such a way so as to help students to take notes, write essays and revise for the most commonly set ‘A’ level topics; second, includes a large amount of source evidence either in direct quotations or specific source references; finally, encourages students to become aware of the limitations of the literary evidence – both in particular historical instances and generally in the main literary authors – and thereby develop their critical faculties for historical analysis. At present there are three kinds of reading material for ‘A’ level students: the standard Ancient History textbooks which cover social, economic and cultural themes, and therefore do not treat political and military topics in sufficient depth nor supply sufficient primary source material for critical study as required by modern ‘A’ level Ancient History syllabuses; the specialist articles and books which assume a high degree of in-depth knowledge and, very often, a fluency in Greek and Latin; and source books which, although quoting in English many of the more inaccessible primary sources, provide insufficient explanation for the average ‘A’ level student to have a full and coherent understanding of their relevance to a particular topic. Therefore it has been the main aim of this textbook to fill this perceived gap in order to meet the examination needs of current ‘A’ level Ancient History students.
I am also very aware of the continually increasing curricular and pastoral demands that are being made upon teachers and that, more than ever, the time for preparation of lessons is being drastically squeezed. Therefore, in addition to a general bibliography at the end of the book, I have stated at the end of each chapter the specific articles and the relevant chapters of the books that I found the most useful and informative – hopefully, this will save valuable time for hard-pressed teachers. Furthermore, this will be an aid to the more able ‘A’ level students who wish to research a given topic more widely. Finally, it is also hoped that this book will be of use to ‘A’ level Greek students, when reading a Greek historian as a set-book, and to the increasing number of ‘A’ level Classical Civilization students who need to place writers such as Aristophanes in their historical context.
Finally, my sincerest thanks are owed to a number of people and institutions: first and foremost, to Dr Paul Cartledge of Clare College, Cambridge, whose constructive criticism, constant encouragement and friendly support throughout the last two and a half years have earned my eternal gratitude; to Andrew Wallace-Haddrill, who recommended me to Routledge when this book was first proposed; to Richard Stoneman a
nd his staff at Routledge for their unfailing kindness and courtesy; to J.A.C.T. for their kind permission to use quotations from Lactor 1 The Athenian Empire;to my former ‘A’ level students at Camden School for Girls and at Roedean whose unstinting enthusiasm for Ancient History made teaching such a joy and helped me to shape my approach to this book; and finally, to my longsuffering family who have tolerated the full spectrum of my moods, ranging from exhilaration to despair, according to how well each chapter was progressing or not. Writing is a lonely pursuit, and so I look forward to a welcome return to the companionship, the shared endeavours, the banter and fun of the staffroom and the classroom.
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