SEPTEMBER 26/27, OCTOBER 2/3: ARCHAIC GREECE: A SEARCH FOR ORDER
READING: Summary of the Odyssey; Lyric poems (handout); “Solon and Croesus” from Herodotus’ Histories (Procopy packet); webnotes on Greek pottery.
Summary:  For these two classes, I will begin with a brief overview of the history of fifth-century Athens to introduce unit two and supply a historical framework for our discussions of culture and thought in fifth-century Athens, the classical period of Greek civilization. The Athenian triumphs in the Persian Wars, the establishment of her leadership over other Greek cities, and her eventual defeat in the Peloponnesian War are crucial to an understanding of the flowering of classical Greek civilization: Greek drama, the architecture and sculpture of the Parthenon, the writing of history, and the philosophy of Socrates and Plato.  The story told by the fifth-century historian, Herodotus, of the Athenian lawgiver, Solon, and the wealthy Lydian king, Croesus, introduces some of the characteristic themes of Greek tragedy, and invites us to reflect on the impact of the Persian Wars on the Greeks’ view of themselves and their culture.  
     Then, we will backtrack to survey new forms of art, literature and thought in Archaic Greece (the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.):  lyric poetry, Ionian philosophy, the Greek temple, and the development of representation and narrative in pottery painting and sculpture. We will start by looking at how the Odyssey responded to issues raised in the Iliad. We will consider the poet's visions of order and disorder: his concern for a moral order, and his depiction of the norms of civilized society. We will also highlight his awareness of different and contrasting stories and viewpoints, and of the difficulty of distinguishing truth from falsehood. Our discussion of the Odyssey will introduce the development of philosophy and lyric poetry in the seventh and sixth centuries. Together, these illustrate competing tendencies in archaic Greek thought: the seach for order and the growth of individual self-consciousness. By the end of the seventh century B.C., the writing of laws, the organization of the polis (city-state), the design of the Greek temple, and the invention of the architectural orders offer further examples of the pervasive effort to discover or create order in Archaic culture and thought; the dramatic changes in painting and sculpture illustrate the importance of individual experience. 

ARCHAIC GREECE: KEY TERMS AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. HOMER'S ODYSSEY offers a sharper vision of order, justice, and the norms of civilized life - as the Greeks understood them. The poet struggles to relate his poem to the Iliad, with different visions of the hero's values and of storytelling. He presents diverse and contrasting stories, told by different narrators, and challenges his audience to distinguish truth from falsehood. His concern with order and his awareness of a range of viewpoints herald the work of Hesiod, the inquiries of Ionian philosophers, and the different voices of the lyric poets.

2. ARCHAIC CULTURE: POETS AND PHILOSOPHERS
-HESIOD (c. 700 B.C.): author of THEOGONY, an account of the origins and genealogies of the gods and goddesses, and WORKS and DAYS , a didactic poem providing practical and moral instruction.
-LYRIC POETS of the seventh and early sixth centuries B.C.: ARCHILOCHOS , SAPPHO, SOLON
-the IONIAN PHILOSOPHERS (“PRE-SOCRATICS”) of the sixth century B.C.: THALES, ANAXIMANDER, ANAXIMENES

3. ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE AND THE GREEK TEMPLE
-What distinguishes the temple from other forms of ancient Greek architecture?  What makes it “monumental”?
-What is the function of the Greek temple?  How is it different from religious buildings with which you are familiar?  How does the function of the Greek temple affect its form?
-What sources influenced the design of the earliest stone temples in Greece?
-What are the "ORDERS"?  What are the differences in the overall appearance of the Doric and Ionic temples?  How do individual elements contribute to those differences?
-Why did the form of the Greek temple change so little in the 6th and 5th centuries B.C.?
-How were mathematical proportions used in the Greek temple?
-What are the "REFINEMENTS" and what purposes do they serve

GREEK TEMPLES OF SOUTHERN ITALY AND SICILY SHOWN IN SLIDES:
Paestum (Poseidonia)
-first temple of Hera ("basilica"), c. 550 B.C.


-second temple of Hera ("Temple of Poseidon"), mid 5th century B.C.


Akragas (modern name, Agrigento/Sicily): so-called temple of Concord , mid 5th century B.C.


Selinus (modern name, Selinunte/Sicily): site of seven temples built between 550 B.C. and 450 B.C., including a colossal temple of Apollo


Segesta: site of an unfinished temple (Sicily) IMAGES

LEARN THE MAIN PARTS OF THE PLAN OF THE GREEK TEMPLE, THE ELEMENTS OF THE DORIC ( DRAWING ) AND IONIC ( DRAWING ) ORDERS, AND THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ORDERS
Elements of the plan: cella , opisthodomos , pronaos
Elements of the elevation: stylobate , column , capital , entablature , architrave , frieze , metope , triglyph , pediment

4. THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE ATHENIAN POLIS AND ITS INSTITUTIONS
-DRAKON (c. 621 B.C.): first Athenian law code
-SOLON (c. 594 B.C.), poet and statesman: economic reforms (elimination of debt slavery, cancellation of debts) and constitutional reforms (creation of four classes based on wealth not birth/rights and eligibility for office were determined by class membership); development of three-tiered political structure (AREOPAGOS, COUNCIL OF 400, ASSEMBLY)

5. TYRANNY IN SIXTH-CENTURY ATHENS AND ITS AFTERMATH
-the TYRANTS: PEISISTRATOS (c. 561 B.C., 559-556 B.C., 546-527 B.C.) and his sons, Hippias (c. 527-510 B.C) and Hipparchos: building programs on the Acropolis and at other sites, first Athenian coinage, Athenian domination of the market for black-figure pottery, development of red-figure pottery, incorporation of the Homeric poems into the festival of the GREATER PANATHENAIA , and development of the CITY DIONYSIA festival
-KLEISTHENES (c. 508 B.C.): political reorganization of the polis (creation of ten tribes, each including DEMES from the city, the hill country and the coast; creation of the COUNCIL OF 500; possible introduction of OSTRACISM)

6. THE PERSIAN WARS (described in HERODOTUS’ HISTORIES)
 -490 B.C., Persian army of king DARIUS defeated by the Athenians at MARATHON
 -480/79 B.C., king XERXES' invasion; the Persians defeated the Spartans at THERMOPYLAE, despite their heroic defense.  After the Persians sacked Athens, the  Greek fleet, led by the Athenians, defeated the Persian fleet at SALAMIS and the Persians were defeated on land at PLATAEA.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: THE STORY OF SOLON AND CROESUS
-What is Solon’s advice to Croesus?
-What does Herodotus mean when he says “nemesis fell upon Croesus”?
-What is the lesson of the story of Croesus’ son, Atys?

<>NEXT CLASS: OCTOBER 4/10 (GREEK TRAGEDY: ANTIGONE)
SCHEDULE OF READINGS: MONDAY/WEDNESDAY
SCHEDULE OF READINGS: TUESDAY NIGHT
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