The Discovery of Freedom in Ancient Greece: Revised and Updated Edition

432 Pages·2004·18.308 MB·English

by  Kurt Raaflaub

THE DISCOVERY OF FREEDOM
IN ANCIENT GREECE
KURT RAAFLAUB

The Discovery of Freedom
in Ancient Greece
KURT RAAFLAUB

FIRST ENGLISH EDITION,
REVISED AND UPDATED FROM THE GERMAN
TRANSLATION BY RENATE FRANCISCONO
Revised by the Author

Contents
Preface _xi
Introduction
1.1, Objectives and State of Research 1
1.2. History of Conce pts: Approaches and Methodology 5
1 .3. Evidence: Value and Limit ations 9
1 .4. A “Greek” Conce pt of Freedom?1 4

1.5. Plurality of Statuses and the Value of Freedom 14
1.6. Thematic and Chronolog ical Limits 17
1 .7. Doulos and Eleuthe ros in Greek Bronze Age Society 19

Awareness of Freedom in Archaic Greek Society
In
2 1. Eleutheros and Doulos i n the Archaic Period 23
The Evidence + Conclusion s and Questions
2.2. T he Limited Value of Freedom in Early Greek Society 29
Homeric Society + The World of Hesiod » Conclusions

2.3. Political Awareness of Freedom: Beginnings in Solonian Athens 45
Individual Freedom as a Political Issu e: Liberation from Debt Bondage +
Freedom and Citizenship + The Citiz en as Slave of a Tyrant: A Political
Concept of Servitude » Conclusions

The Emergence of the Political Concept of Freedom
3 .1. Polis Independence and t he Persian Wars 58
The Persian Wars as Fre edom Wars: Origins of a Historical Tradition »
M eanings of Freedom in the Persian Wars * Wars and Loss of Freedom
in Greece before the Persian Wars « Limited Polis Independence before
the Persian Wars + The Defense of F reedom against Non-Greek Powers:
Principle and Limitations « The Emer gence of the Term “Freedom” in
the Persian Wars
viii
CONTENTS
3.2. Tyranny and the Citizen’s Freedom in the Polis 89
Sources and Problems + Aris tocratic Equality and Opposition to Tyranny +

The Emergence of the Term “Freedom” as a Contrast to “Tyranny”
3.3. Reflections in the Religious Sp here: The Cult of Zeus Eleutherios 102
Early Cults of Zeus Eleutherios and Th eir Common Features + Zeus Soter
and Zeus Eleutherios: Cult Change a nd Conceptual Development +
The Samian Cult of 522: A Histori cizing Fiction * Conclusions:
Z eus Eleutherios and Power Poli tics

The Concept of Freedom after the Persian Wars:
Its Meaning and Differen tiation in Interstate Relations 1
4 .1. Contemporary Expectations and the Rise of the Athenian Empire 118
Empire, Subjection, and Freedom: Prob lems and Questions « Relationships
in the Peloponnesian League + The Dou leia of Greek Poleis under Persian Rule
4.2. Freedom and Servitude of a Polis: Terminology and Definitions 128
The Terminology of Servitude + The T erminology of Domination »
The Emergence of the Terminology of Servitude: Time and Reasons +
The Emergence of the Phrase Polis Turannos » Conclusions: Elements
o f Polis Freedom
4.3. Emergence and Meaning of the Concept of Autonomia 147
Evidence and Questions + The Fu nction of Autonomia and Its Relationship to
Eleutheria + The Coining of Autonomia: A Reaction to Athens's Imperial Rule
4.4. Polis Freedom: A Concept of Relat ive Value 160

5 “Freedom” in Ideology and Propaganda 166
5.1. Athens: Freedom Justifies Domination 166
The Preservation of Gre ek Freedom and Athens’s Claim to Rule + Rule over
Those Unworthy of Freedom + Rule in the Best Interest of the Subjects +
The Empire as Guarantor of Athens’s Own Freedom » Conclusions: Freedom
a s a Propaganda Slogan
5.2. The Athenian Concept of Absolute Freedom 181
Absolute Sovereignty + Abso lute Self-Sufficiency (Autarkeia) + Absolute
Freedom + Conclusions: Freedom th rough Power

5.3. S parta's Freedom Pro paganda 193
The Legitimacy an d Intensity of Sparta’s Propaganda of Liberation « The
R ealization of the Program: Liberatio n under Dark Clouds + The Effectiveness
of Sparta’s Freedom Propaganda

Meaning and Function of Freedom within the Polis 203
6 .1. Freedom and Democracy 203
Freedom versus Tyranny + The Identification of Freedom with Democracy:
Evidence « The Equation of Democracy and Freedom: Causes and Time +
Confirmation: From Equality of Spee ch to Freedom of Speech
CONTENTS
6.2. Freedom in Democracy and in Oligarchy 225
Questions + Definitions o f Democratic Freedom + Elements of Democratic
Freedom » Freedom and Law in Democracy » Democratic Freedom versus
Oligarchic Claims to Exclusive Power: The Theory » Corroboration in
Practice: The Experiences of 411 and 404 * Freedom as the Monopoly of
Democracy + An Aristocratic-Oligarchic Counterconcept: The Fully Free
Citizen
6.3 Conclusions 247

Z Summary and Final Considerations
7 .1. Summary 250
7.2. Characteristics of the Greck Concept of Freedom 265

Abbreviations 279
Notes 283
Bibliography 357
Index of Terms 407
Index of Selected Ancient Sources 411
G eneral Index 413

Preface
The first edition of this book (Die Entdeckung der Fretheit: Zur historischen
Semantik und Gesellschaftsgeschichte eines politischen Grundbegriffs der Grie-
chen), published in 1985, was a revised version of my Habilitationsschrift, de-
fended at the Freie Universität in Berlin in 1979. I began thinking of this
project even much earlier, while teaching at a secondary school and holding
a part-time position as an assistant at the Institute for Ancient History at the
University of Basel. Christian Meier, who had been my dissertation advisor,
urged me to pursue it. From him I learned much about the methodology |
adopted in this study. My debt to him will be visible throughout, and my grat-
itude for his advice, encouragement, and friendship cannot be expressed in
a few words. The other scholar whose work, especially on Greek social ter-
minology, helped shape my views, is M. I. Finley. His positive reaction to
some of my publications was most gratifying.
In Berlin, then a divided city, the topic was especially meaningful. In
completing the first draft of the book, discussions with my colleagues in the
Institute for Ancient History at the Freie Universitat were especially helpful.
I single out two names. Jürgen Deininger’s lively interest in my ideas and his
pointed questions forced me to persist in “digging deeper” than ] might have
done otherwise; together with Alexander Demandt and Hartmut Galsterer,
he served as a referee for my Habilitation. Daily conversations with Walter
Eder, with whom I shared an office for five years, and his detailed criticism
of several chapters helped advance my understanding of many issues.
The book was revised for publication at Brown University in Providence,
where I moved in 1978, and was completed in the fall of 1983, twenty years
ago. Earlier, in 1976-77, a Junior Fellowship at the Center for Hellenic Stud-
ies in Washington, D.C., had offered me the leisure to complete a prelimi-
nary study, published in 1981, and to embark on a book-length treatment of
xi
xii PREFACE
the subject. In 1992, my wife, Deborah Boedeker, and I returned to the Cen-
ter as its directors, where we served in that capacity until 2000. Toward the
end of this period, I began the task of revising and updating the book for a
new edition, in English, which many friends and colleagues had urged me
to prepare. Renate Franciscono’s translation served as a useful foundation. I
thank her and apologize that my urge to reformulate and rethink compelled
me to change so much of her text. I am grateful to the Kommission für Alte
Geschichte und Epigraphik of the German Archaeological Institute for ac-
cepting the first edition for its monograph series, Vestigia, to the University
of Chicago Press for acquiring the rights for an English edition, to Susan
Bielstein, the Press's classics editor, for her patience and encouragement,
and to Lawrence Tritle for critically reading a first draft of this new version.
I believe that my analysis utilizes all the ancient sources that are relevant
for the topic. Given the multitude of historical problems that needed to be
discussed or at least touched upon, it was impossible to aim even at near-
completeness in references to modern bibliography. In the first edition, I
tried to include all the work that I found helpful and essential. Since 1982,
the bibliography on archaic and classical Greek history has grown at a
frightening pace. | fear that my efforts to incorporate all relevant discussions
have been only partly successful. The book is much revised throughout, al-
though I have tried mostly to strengthen my arguments and have seen little
reason to change my views. Except where I have indicated otherwise, | have
used the translations of the Loeb Classical Library and the Penguin Clas-
sics series. Cross-references within the book point not to pages but to spe-
cific notes or to the text at a specific note (e.g., “see chap. 6.1, n. 17,” or “see
chap. 6.1 at n. 17”).
Finally, I dedicated the first edition to Debby and to our friends in the
western and eastern sectors of Berlin. By now, their city is no longer en-
circled by the Iron Curtain and divided by the Berlin Wall and thus no lon-
ger a symbol of freedom in the midst ofa n enslaved world. I think with grat-
itude of the five years of my life that I shared with them. The friendships
formed then have stood the test of time. The debt of gratitude I owe to
Debby, however, is immeasurably larger and deeper. Without her love, pa-
tience, support, and intelligence, | would not be what I am, both as a person
and as a scholar. To her I dedicate this new edition as well.