End as of 2/13/95
Generosity
Artaxerxes' gift to the laborer (p. 1253/2.647)
The Caunian who'd given him water (2.652-3)
Savagery
Good queen Parysatis
Supports her "baby" Cyrus against her eldest son, finances an attempted coup
Poisons likeable (accessible), p. 1253 Statira (p. 1263)
Horrible death of Mithridates (p. 1260) (boats), the Carian who'd wounded Cyrus (rack), p. 1259.
Parysatis (the rocks), p. 1262-3.
Both together: Story of Xerxes and the Pythius of Celaenae_rich man, feeds ARMY, and the death of his son. (481, Herodotus)
Why are the Persians important?
Because (Invaders from the North!) they forced the Greeks to notice them.
Persians conquer Greek (Lydian) cities of Asia Minor
Ionian revolt of 499: Sardis=Miletus
Darius's Invasion of Greece,
Eretria burned
Marathon, 490
Xerxes's Invasion of 480
Thermopyle, Artemisium: Anecdotes
Salamis: Aeschylus's Persae (sympathy_triumph)
Plataea_479
Cimon's Campaigns_the Eurymedon in 468
Egypt in 459-8
Persia during the Peloponnesian War_Kerosene on the Flames
Tissaphernes' humiliation of the Greeks, and what happened, p. 1265.
(Same page) Financing of Athenian counterrevolution against Spartan hegemony, Cnidos 395; Corinth, 394.
King's Peace of 386: Isocrates and pan-Hellenism
Alexander's Campaigns_336-323
Romans and Parthians_Carrhae, 54 and later--Life of Crassus for further details.
Basic Indo-European Similarity
Aeschylus's Persae, again
Plutarch's Life of Artaxerxes, complete with tragic flaw: Like Theseus, Murders Sons (2.664-5); succeeded by horrible Ochus
Back to 478--The War's Over--Now What Do We Do? (cf. 1945)
Who were the Spartans? Theme here--Social Engineering and Western Civilization's Enduring legacy of a willingness to accept DRASTIC social Engineering (Marxism, Nazism)
One of the largest and most prosperous Mycenean cities, home of Menelaius and Helen "of Troy."
Conquered by Dorians, with a major military asset, near the richest iron mines in Greece
Had conquered neighboring Messenia in the 7th Century as opposed to colonizing their excess population
Noted as a cultural and artistic center
Messenian revolt of 640 terrible, bloody, struggle
Spartan shock--rallying to poetry of Tyrtaeus:
Maxims of Lycurgus
Tactical truths--"never fight the same enemy too long."
Chants used to improve use of phalanx formation previously invented by Argos
Grim Messenian resistance
Mt. Ithome
Aristomenes and the "Battle of the Ditch,"
Final Collapse c. 620
Lycurgus' reforms of Spartan Society: Militarize or lose everything you have:
Sparta: Love it or Leave it--many did, Tarentum,
Tarentum's belief in its divine role of conquest--the Victory over the Globe statue
Conflict with Rome-
Tarentine Gulf Incident
Appeal to Dorian state, Epirus, see Life of Phyrrhus for further details
Achilles descendants vs. Aeneas's.
Final Conquest by Rome
Villages unite in polis-style single government
Equals (homoioi); perioikoi, helots
Two check-mating kings (cf. Roman consuls!), gerousia(=boule), rhetra(=ecclesia), ephors (=prytaneis)
COMPLETE restructuring of society!
Newborn infants publically inspected, sickly and deformed left to "die a natural death" (exposed) on a hillside
Boy at seven taken from mother, issued one cloak, pulled reeds for sleeping mat, one cold bath a year
If he wanted more, he had to steal it, if he was caught, he was whipped (Spartan boy story)
At adolescence, whipped into countryside for "life of the werewolf"/Official use as the krypteia (secret police)
At twenty, enrolled in syssition, "regimental mess,"
Army life, encouraged homosexuality/pederasty
Red cloak, long hair, lamba on shields
Tactical virtuousity--fake run,Thermopylae
Issued lot and helots to go with it, from which supplied his share of the Mess
Women encouraged to compete in athletic events to bear healthy little hoplites
Trained nekkid
Ran Sparta while men gone/With it or on it
Slave labor--but at what cost?
No crime/No leisure/No comfort (Mind you, the other Greeks thought that this was GREAT--from a distance
Constant danger of Helot revolts
Couldn't compete in boxing or wrestling at the Olympics out of the danger of loss of prestige
They VOTED this system in (Nazis)--The Democracy from Hell
What happens when the Democracy from Hell meets the Democracy from Attica?
Previous suspicion--
Expulsion of Hippias (510)
Invasion of 509
Themistocles and the Walls anecdote
Cimon 's (aristocratic Athenian) Policy--We can kick the Persians while they're down and Sparta watches our back
Militiades and the Hoplites at Marathon
Aristocrats had commanded ships, helped evacuate Athens during the Persian Invasion/
League of Delos--join us and support the fleet
Eurymedon in 464
Cyprus
Egypt (terrible loss!) in 454
Transfer of Treasury to Athens in 454 (prophasis)
Collapse of independent navies
Carystos forced in, Naxos forced back
Reduction of Thasos in 465 after revolt
Earthquake of 464 (Starr, p. 309, Plutarch Cimon 1.656)
The first thing the Spartan king Archidamus did once he crawled from the rubble was to sound the alarm
The Helots were instantly in revolt and entrenched, once again, on Mt. Ithome
Athenian experts asked in in 462
Opposition in Athens
Ephialtes: Now's the chance/War is inevitable (now THERE's a self-fulfilling prophecy!)
Cimon's "Yoke Fellow" Argument
Spartan suspicion of Athenian democracy/Paranoia/Undercutting of Cimon
WHICH leads us to--the Life of Pericles!
Party and Reforms of Ephialtes
Repudiation of Cimon allowed popular anger (remember: Athenian soldiers could vote!) to transmute into votes against Cimon and the Aristocrats
Cimon ostracized--banished for ten years (Plutarch, 1.208)
Ephialtes and Pericles restrict Areopagus (House of Lords parallel) to murder trials--just important enough to get passed
Murder of Ephialtes in 461 gave Pericles "the bloody shirt" at first
THEN, use of League funds for public works and art competitions(1.211-213)
Plutarch quotes Thucydides on democracy vs. actual single rule (1.209)
Libel preserved in Idomeneus (1.209) that Pericles had assassinated Ephialtes himself--does this sound familiar?
Justification of the Empire: the allies cannot complain if they are, in fact, protected from the Persians (but who will protect the allies from the Athenians?)(Starr, pp. 311-313) Note, by the way, that S tarr uses our translation when he quotes Plutarch (p. 310, n.5)
Note (1.214-215) his coalition tactics--THIS Thucydides is NOT the historian
Constant generalship
Powerful office, but left crumbs for others (1.216),
Conduct (careful records to protect against prosecution, 1.216-7)
Foreign Policy--
Effort in 449 to convene "common peace" conference and imply that Athens alone had won Persian wars (1.217)
Failure/30 years peace with Persia
Sparta: Thucydides' argument that the Spartans could not allow the Athenians to grow that powerful
Megarian decree & Aristophanes' The Acharnians
Aegina--destroyed at the very start
Outbreak of War
Naval policy and PERIPLOUSES
Did NOT convene the Assembly until forced to; fined.
"Iron Triangle"--the Long Walls
But (oops) the Plague
Damage to War Effort: Triremes, army
Damage to Pericles' Position
Damage (fatal!) to Pericles (cf. Camus, _The Plague_)
Lysander: Sparta Triumphant, Bought, and Sold to Persia
The Athenians did all they could to help the Spartans win. The "Whale" kept grounding itself.
Harsh treatment of allies substantiated Spartan claims to be liberators, Brasidas in the North (Starr, p. 342)
Athenian commercial and territorial expansion made Corinth and Thebes strong Spartan Allies
Athens could hurt the Corinthians and Spartans at sea (Phormio in the Gulf, 429, Pylos trap in 424)
Thebans could maul the Athenians on land: Delium, 424
Peace of Nicias, 421--As Aristophanes said, "This smells like tar and sawdust! Gave Sparta time to make Naval Preparations and
Failed alliance with Argos (Mantinea, 418)
The Incredibly Disastrous and Stupid Syracusan Expedition of 415
Sicily was a source of allies, money, grain BUT
It was on the WRONG SIDE of the Peloponnese AND
Syracuse was a strong and well-fortified city in its own right.
Athenians had a divided command: Nicias, Alcibiades, and Demosthenes (Lives of first two--different Demosthenes)
Sparta sent one competent soldier, Gylippus, and the Corinthians (Syracuse was a Colony of Corinth) had figured out how to beat the Athenian fleet
Utter disaster--quarries--slaughter
Alcibiades defects, and the Spartans fortify Decelea in 413
Sparta learns to swim:
Cynossema, Cyzicus, 411-10: "Ships gone, Mindaros dead, don't know what to do" (Starr, p. 345)
Sparta goes to Persia and Gets Money for a fleet, 412
Arginusae, 406--the Whale can still bite, BUT
Athenian Admirals executed because of scandal
Arrogance, Incompetence, and Opportunism: Aegos Potamou (Goat River), 405--you don't have an excuse for Pearl Harbor in 1945
Speaking of Opportunism: Lysander's Political Career
Plutarch, 1.584, the original kiss-up
More truthful than you migh think! Spartan Pederasty, his affair with Agesilaius (2.39-40)
How to succeed in a monarchial system: tell those in power they have a problem, and offer to solve it for them
Opportunism again: Brasidas had been destroyed by political intrigue at Sparta, but Lysander adopted his policy of going for Athens' jugular--the Hellespont
Friendship with Cyrus and playing him off against Tissaphernes (most hated of all Persians) (1.585-6), rower's pay story
How to win friends and influence people: give them something
Asian & Athenian oligarchs (1.586, 594)
Agesilaius supported for the Throne (2.41)
The Athenians left him a chance, he took it.
You can, however, go too far...
Decline of Spartan Hegemony and Greek polis civilization in general:
Initial Efforts: harmosts and decarchies
Too much to support at the same time
Legendary corruptibility of Spartans
Pausanias in Mardonius's tent: "Behold, the people who came to rob us in our poverty."=I want it.
Gylippus and the loot from the Athenian Empire (1.595), bags, receipts, and the "owls under the eaves."
Lysander and the two dresses--the opportunist again (1.585)
Not a good idea for an "Equal" to stand out too much--Statues at Delphi (1.596);
Slaughter of the Milesians (1.597)
Lysander's fall
Went too far with Agesilaius (1.600, 2.44)
Greek Outrage at expanded Persian Influence
Callicratidas at Pharnabazus's Court (1.587)
Sparta allows march of the 10,000: Persian treachery and military inferiority
Agesilaius tries to expiate Sparta's Guilt with the Asia Minor Expedition of 396
Too much under the rug, Persians stir up trouble in Greece, Lysander bites it in 396
Persians rebuild Athens, navy--Cnidus in 394, Conon, the Athenian (sole surviving officer of Aegospotami)
King's Peace of 387 (Starr, p. 363)--Persia will keep Sparta over the Greeks
Agesilaius's Conservatism
Spartan arrogance--sacrifice at Aulis and lack of consideration for Thebans (2.43)
Putting half-brother Teleutias in charge of fleet--oops (2.54)
Phoebidas seizes the Cadmaea in 382(2.56-7)
Why bother to make peace with Sparta at all?
Sphodrias's disastrous raid on Attica, 379-8,and resulting hand-slap (2.58)
Rage of all parties directed against Persia and Sparta
Refusal to create more Spartiates and reliance upon mercenaries (Starr, p. 365)
Refusal to negotiate common peace with Thebans out of personal feelings:Verbal duel with Epaminondas in 371
Thebans seeking (post expulsion of garrison in 379) to build on Greek hatred of Sparta (2.59)
Ageslaius seeks to dissovle Boetian league under the terms of the King's Peace "Free and Independent" Clause vs. Laconian villages' traditional enslavement
No Peace, and a reckoning
Leuctra (371) and Mantinea (362)
Spartan conservatism fails before new Theban tactics
Thebans with invasions and restoration of Messenia and Arcadian League (Megalopolis) take steps to keep the Spartans down
End as of 2/20/95