The Ancient Greeks: New Perspectives (Understanding Ancient Civilizations Series)

486 Pages·2004·6.85 MB·English

by  Stephanie Lynn Budin

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The Ancient Greeks
New Perspectives
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ABC-CLIO’s
Understanding Ancient Civilizations
The Ancient Maya
Ancient Canaan and Israel
The Romans
Forthcoming
The Ancient Celts
The Ancient Egyptians
Ancient Mesopotamia
The Aztecs
The Incas
Santa Barbara,California
Denver,Colorado Oxford,England
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The Ancient
Greeks
New
Perspectives
STEPHANIE LYNN BUDIN
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Copyright © 2004 by Stephanie Lynn Budin
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a
review, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Budin, Stephanie Lynn.
The ancient Greeks : new perspectives / Stephanie Lynn Budin.
p. cm. — (Understanding ancient civilizations)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-57607-814-0 (Hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 1-57607-815-9 (e-book)
1. Greece—Civilization—To 146 b.c. I. Title. II. Series.
DF77.B92 2004
938—dc22
2004017620
07 06 05 04 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an e-book.
Visit abc-clio.com for details.
ABC-CLIO, Inc.
130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911
Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
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Contents
Series Editor’s Preface ix
Preface and Acknowledgments xi
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1 Introduction 3
What Did the Greeks Contribute to Modern Society? 3
PART 2: GREEK CIVILIZATION
Chapter 2 Location of Greek Civilization and
Environmental Setting 11
The Greek Mainland 11
Crete 13
Cyclades 13
Asia Minor’s West Coast 14
Cyprus 15
Chapter 3 Historical and Chronological Setting 16
The History of Greek Studies 16
Sources for the Study of Greek History 26
Chronology 35
Chapter 4 Origins,Growth,and Decline of Greek Civilization 39
Crete 39
The Mainland 47
The Dark Age 58
The Eighth-Century Renaissance and the Archaic Age 62
The Classical Period—From the Persian Invasions to the
Death of Alexander 69
The Rise and Fall of the Hellenistic Kingdoms: 323–30 b.c.e. 84
v
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vi Contents
Chapter 5 Economics 91
Palace Economies of the Aegean Bronze Age 91
Trade in the Late Bronze Age 96
The Dark Age 97
The Early Emporia 98
Archaic and Classical Greece 101
Chapter 6 Social Organization and Social Structure 116
Divisions 116
Unions 136
Groups 154
Chapter 7 Politics 175
Minoan Crete: Kings? Queens? Priestesses? Priests? 175
Bronze Age Greece 180
The Dark Age and “Epic” Kingship 184
The Archaic Age: Synoecism, Aristocracy, and Tyranny 186
Forms of Rule in the Classical Period: Oligarchy and Democracy 193
Politics beyond the Polis 202
Alexander and the Hellenistic Monarchies 207
Ancient Greek Law 210
Chapter 8 Religion and Ideology 221
Minoan Religion 221
MycenaeanReligion 234
Greek Religion in the Historical Periods 244
Chapter 9 Material Culture 312
Architecture 312
Sculpture 329
Pottery 343
Clothing 350
Arms and Armor 353
The Art of Death 357
Chapter 10 Intellectual Accomplishments 363
Literature 363
Science 379
Philosophy 388
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Contents vii
PART 3: CURRENT ASSESSMENTS
Chapter 11 Major Controversies and Future Directions
in the Study of Greek Civilization 403
Excavation 403
Linear A 404
Minoan Deities 405
The Dark Age 405
Non-Athenian Culture 406
Foreign Relations 407
Women in Ancient Greece 408
Glossary 411
Chronology 437
Resources for Further Study 441
Index 451
About the Author 469
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Series Editor’s Preface
In recent years, there has been a significant and steady increase of academic
and popular interest in the study of past civilizations. This is due in part to the
dramatic coverage—real or imagined—of the archaeological profession in pop-
ular film and television, and to the extensive journalistic reporting of spectac-
ular new finds from all parts of the world. Yet, because archaeologists and
other scholars have tended to approach their study of ancient peoples and civ-
ilizations exclusively from their own disciplinary perspectives and for their
professional colleagues, there has long been a lack of general factual and other
research resources available for the nonspecialist. The Understanding Ancient
Civilizations series is intended to fill that need.
Volumes in the series are principally designed to introduce the general
reader, student, and nonspecialist to the study of specific ancient civilizations.
Each volume is devoted to a particular archaeological culture (for example, the
ancient Maya of southern Mexico and adjacent Guatemala) or cultural region
(for example, Israel and Canaan) and seeks to achieve, with careful selectivity
and astute critical assessment of the literature, an expression of a particular civ-
ilization and an appreciation of its achievements.
The keynote of the Understanding Ancient Civilizations series is to provide,
in a uniform format, an interpretation of each civilization that will express its
culture and place in the world as well as the qualities and background that
make it unique. Series titles include volumes on the archaeology and pre-
history of the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Mesopotamia,
as well as the achievements of the Celts, Aztecs, and Inca, among others. Still
more books are in the planning stage.
I was particularly fortunate in having Kevin Downing from ABC-CLIO con-
tact me in search of an editor for a series about archaeology. It is a simple state-
ment of the truth that there would be no series without him. I am also lucky to
have Simon Mason, Kevin’s successor from ABC-CLIO, continue to push the
production of the series. Given the scale of the project and the schedule for pro-
duction, he deserves more than a sincere thank you.
JOHN WEEKS
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