Ancient States and Empires
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Cleisthenes. The increase of the Senate.
The Lacedæmonians did not retire until their king Cleomenes formed a close friendship with Isagoras, the leader of the aristocratic party—and no people were prouder of their birth than the old Athenian nobles. Opposed to him was Cleisthenes, of the noble family of the Alcmæonids, who had been banished in the time of Megacles, for the murder of Cylon, who had been treacherously enticed from the sanctuary at the altar of Athena. Cleisthenes gained the ear of the people, and prevailed over Isagoras, and effected another change in the constitution, by which it became still more democratic. He remodeled the basis of citizenship, heretofore confined to the four Ionic tribes; and divided the whole country into demes, or parishes, each of which managed its local affairs. All freemen were enrolled in the demes, and became members of the tribes, now ten in number, instead of the old four Ionian tribes. He increased the members of the senate from four to five hundred, fifty members being elected from each tribe. To this body was committed the chief functions of executive government. It sat in permanence, and was divided into ten sections, one for each tribe, and each section or committee, called prytany, had the presidency of the senate and ecclesia during its term. Each prytany of fifty members was subdivided into committees of ten, each of which held the presidency for seven days, and out of these a chairman was chosen by lot every day, to preside in the senate and assembly, and to keep the keys of the Acropolis and treasury, and public seal. Nothing shows jealousy of power more than the brief term of office which the president exercised.
The ecclesia.
The ecclesia, or assembly of the people, was the arena for the debate of all public measures. The archons were chosen according to the regulations of Solon, but were stripped of their power, which was transferred to the senate and ecclesia. The generals were elected by the people annually, one from each tribe. They were called strategi, and had also the direction of foreign affairs. It was as first strategus that Pericles governed—“prime minister of the people.”
Ostracism.
In order to guard against the ascendency of tyrants—the great evil of the ancient States, Cleisthenes devised the institution of ostracism, by which a suspected or obnoxious citizen could be removed from the city for ten years, though practically abridged to five. It simply involved an exclusion from political power, without casting a stigma on the character. It was virtually a retirement, during which his property and rights remained intact, and attended with no disgrace. The citizens, after the senate had decreed the vote was needful, were required to write a name in an oyster shell, and he who had less than six thousand votes was obliged to withdraw within ten days from the city. The wisdom of this measure is proved in the fact that no tyrannical usurpation occurred at Athens after that of Pisistratus. This revolution which Cleisthenes effected was purely democratic, to which the aristocrats did not submit without a struggle. The aristocrats called to their aid the Spartans, but without other effect than creating that long rivalry which existed between democracy and oligarchy in Greece, in which Sparta and Athens were the representatives.
About this time began the dominion of Athens over the islands of the Ægean and the system of colonizing conquered States, This was the period which immediately preceded the Persian wars, when Athens reached the climax of political glory.
Bœotia.
Next in importance to the States which have been briefly mentioned was Bœotia, which contained fourteen cities, united in a confederacy, of which Thebes took the lead. They were governed by magistrates, called bœtarchs, elected annually. In these cities aristocratic institutions prevailed. The people were chiefly of Æolian descent, with a strong mixture of the Dorian element, and were dull and heavy, owing, probably, to the easy facilities of support, in consequence of the richness of the soil.
Phocis.
At the west of Bœotia, Phocis, with its small territory, gained great consideration from the possession of the Delphic oracle; but its people thus far, of Achæan origin, played no important part in the politics of Greece.
Thessaly.
North of the isthmus lay the extensive plains of Thessaly, inclosed by lofty mountains. Nature favored this State more than any other in Greece for political pre-eminence, but inhabitants of Æolian origin were any thing but famous. At first they were governed by kings, but subsequently an aristocratic government prevailed. They were represented in the Amphictyonic Council.
Macedonia.
The history of Macedonia is obscure till the time of the Persian wars; but its kings claimed an Heraclid origin. The Doric dialect predominated in a rude form.
Epirus.
Epirus, west of Thessaly and Macedonia, was inhabited by various tribes, under their own princes, until the kings of Molossus, claiming descent from Achilles, founded the dynasty which was so powerful under Pyrrus.
There is but little interest connected with the States of Greece, before the Persian wars, except Sparta, Athens, and Corinth; and hence a very brief notice is all that is needed.
Grecian colonies. The Ionian cities in Asia Minor.
But the Grecian colonies are of more importance. They were numerous in the islands of the Ægean Sea, in Epirus, and in Asia Minor, and even extended into Italy, Sicily, and Gaul. They were said to be planted as early as the Trojan war by the heroes who lived to return—by Agamemnon on the coast of Asia; by the sons of Theseus in Thrace; by Ialmenus on the Euxine; by Diomed and others in Italy. But colonization, to any extent, did not take place until the Æolians invaded Bœotia, and the Dorians, the Peloponnesus. The Achæans, driven from their homes by the Dorians, sought new seats in the East, under chieftains who claimed descent from Agamemnon and other heroes who went to the siege of Troy. They settled, first, on the Isle of Lesbos, where they founded six cities. Others made settlements on the mainland, from the Hermes to Mount Ida. But the greatest migration was made by the Ionians, who, dislodged by Achæans, went first to Attica, and thence to the Cyclades and the coasts of Asia, afterward called Ionia. Twelve independent States were gradually formed of divers elements, and assumed the Ionian name. Among those twelve cities, or States, were Sarnos, Chios, Miletus, Ephesus, Colophon, and Phocæa. The purest Ionian blood was found at Miletus, the seat of Neleus. These cities were probably inhabited by other races before the Ionians came. To these another was subsequently added—Smyrna, which still retains its ancient name. The southwest corner of the Asiatic peninsula, about the same time, was colonized by a body of Dorians, accompanied by conquered Achæans, the chief seat of which was Halicarnassus. Crete, Rhodes, Cos, and Cnidus, were colonized also by the same people; but Rhodes is the parent of the Greek colonies on the south coast of Asia Minor. A century afterward, Cyprus was founded, and then Sicily was colonized, and then the south of Italy. They were successively colonized by different Grecian tribes, Achæan or Æolian, Dorian, and Ionian. But all the colonists had to contend with races previously established, Iberians, Phœnicians, Sicanians; and Sicels. Among the Greek cities in Sicily, Syracuse, founded by Dorians, was the most important, and became, in turn, the founder of other cities. Sybaris and Croton, in the south of Italy, were of Achæan origin. The Greeks even penetrated to the northern part of Africa, and founded Cyrene; while, on the Euxine, along the north coast of Asia Minor, Cyzicus and Sinope arose. These migrations were generally undertaken with the approbation and encouragement of the mother States. There was no colonial jealousy, and no dependence. The colonists, straitened for room at home, carried the benedictions of their fathers, and were emancipated from their control. Sometimes the colony became more powerful than the parent State, but both colonies and parent States were bound together by strong ties of religion, language, customs, and interests. The colonists uniformly became conquerors where they settled, but ever retained their connection with the mother country. And they grew more rapidly than the States from which they came, and their institutions were more democratic. The Asiatic colonies especially, made great advances in civilization by their contact with the East. Music, poetry, and art were cultivated with great enthusiasm. The Ionians took the lead, and their principal city, Miletus, is said to have planted no less than eighty colonies. The greatness of Ephesus was of a later date, owing, in part, to the splendid temple of Artemis, to which Asiatics as well as Greeks made contributions. One of the most remarkable of the Greek colonies was Cyrene, on the coast of Africa, which was of peculiar beauty, and was famous for eight hundred years.
Political importance of the colonies.
So the Greeks, although they occupied a small territory, yet, by their numerous colonies in all those parts watered by the Mediterranean, formed, if not politically, at least socially, a powerful empire, and exercised a vast influence on the civilized world. From Cyprus to Marseilles—from the Crimea to Cyrene, numerous States spoke the same language, and practiced the same rites, which were observed in Athens and Sparta. Hence the great extent of country in Asia and Europe to which the Greek language was familiar, and still more the arts which made Athens the centre of a new civilization. Some of the most noted philosophers and artists of antiquity were born in these colonies. The power of Hellas was not a centralized empire, like Persia, or even Rome, but a domain in the heart and mind of the world. It was Hellas which worked out, in its various States and colonies, great problems of government, as well as social life. Hellas was the parent of arts, of poetry, of philosophy, and of all æsthetic culture—the pattern of new forms of life, and new modes of cultivation. It is this Grecian civilization which appeared in full development as early as five hundred years before the Christian era, which we now propose, in a short chapter, to present—the era which immediately preceded the Persian wars.
CHAPTER XVI.
GRECIAN CIVILIZATION BEFORE THE PERSIAN WARS
Early civilization. We understand by civilization the progress which nations have made in art, literature, material strength, social culture, and political institutions, by which habits are softened, the mind enlarged, the soul elevated, and a wise government, by laws established, protecting the weak, punishing the wicked, and developing wealth and national resources.
Such a civilization did exist to a remarkable degree among the Greeks, which was not only the admiration of their own times, but a wonder to all succeeding ages, since it was established by the unaided powers of man, and affected the relations of all the nations of Europe and Asia which fell under its influence.
It is this which we propose briefly to present in this chapter, not the highest developments of Grecian culture and genius, but such as existed in the period immediately preceding the Persian wars.
Legislation.
One important feature in the civilization of Greece was the progress made in legislation by Lycurmis and Solon, But as this has been alluded to, we pass on to consider first those institutions which were more national and universal.
The Amphictyonic Council.
The peculiar situations of the various States, independent of each other, warlike, encroaching, and ambitious, led naturally to numerous wars, which would have been civil wars had all these petty States been united under a common government. But incessant wars, growing out of endless causes of irritation, would have soon ruined these States, and they could have had no proper development. Something was needed to restrain passion and heal dissensions without a resort to arms, ever attended by dire calamities. And something was needed to unite these various States, in which the same language was spoken, and the same religion and customs prevailed. This union was partially effected by the Amphictyonic Council. It was a congress, composed of deputies from the different States, and deliberating according to rules established from time immemorial. Its meetings were held in two different places, and were convened twice a year, once in the spring, at Delphi, the other in the autumn, near the pass of Thermopylæ. Delphi was probably the original place of meeting, and was, therefore, in one important sense, the capital of Greece. Originally, this council or congress was composed of deputies from twelve States, or tribes—Thessalians, Bœotians, Dorians, Ionians, Perrhæbians, Magnetes, Locrians, Octæans, Phthiots, Achæans, Melians, and Phocians. These tribes assembled together before authentic history commences, before the return of the Heracleids. There were other States which were not represented in this league—Arcadia, Elis, Æolia, and Acarnania; but the league was sufficiently powerful to make its decisions respected by the greater part of Greece. Each tribe, whether powerful or weak, had two votes in the assembly. Beside those members who had the exclusive power of voting, there were others, and more numerous, who had the privilege of deliberation. The object of the council was more for religious purposes than political, although, on rare occasions and national crises, subjects of a political nature were discussed. The council laid down the rules of war, by which each State that was represented was guaranteed against complete subjection, and the supplies of war were protected. There was no confederacy against foreign powers. The functions of the league were confined to matters purely domestic; the object of the league was the protection of temples against sacrilege. But the council had no common army to execute its decrees, which were often disregarded. In particular, the protection of the Delphic oracle, it acted with dignity and effect, whose responses were universally respected.
The Delphic oracle.
As the Delphic oracle was the object which engrossed the most important duties of the council, and the responses of this oracle in early times was a sacred law, the deliberations of the league had considerable influence, and were often directed to political purposes. But the immediate management of the oracle was in the hands of the citizens of Delphi. In process of time the responses of the oracle, by the mouth of a woman, which were thus controlled by the Delphians, lost much of their prestige, in consequence of the presents or bribery by which favorable responses were gained.
The Olympic games.
More powerful than this council, as an institution, were the Olympic games, solemnized every four years, in which all the states of Greece took part. These games lasted four days, and were of engrossing interest. They were supposed to be founded by Hercules, and were of very ancient date. During these celebrations there was a universal truce, and also during the time it was necessary for the people to assemble and retire to their homes. Elis, in whose territory Olympia was situated, had the whole regulation of the festival, the immediate object of which were various trials of strength and skill. They included chariot races, foot races, horse races, wrestling, boxing, and leaping. They were open to all, even to the poorest Greeks; no accidents of birth or condition affected these honorable contests. The palm of honor was given to the men who had real merit. A simple garland of leaves was the prize, but this was sufficient to call out all the energies and ambition of the whole nation. There were, however, incidental advantages to successful combatants. At Athens, the citizen who gained a prize was rewarded by five hundred drachmas, and was entitled to a seat at the table of the magistrates, and had a conspicuous part on the field of battle. The victors had statues erected to them, and called forth the praises of the poets, and thus these primitive sports incidentally gave an impulse to art and poetry. In later times, poets and historians recited their compositions, and were rewarded with the garland of leaves. The victors of these games thus acquired a social pre-eminence, and were held in especial honor, like those heroes in the Middle Ages who obtained the honor of tournaments and tilts, and, in modern times, those who receive decoration at the hands of kings.
The Pythian games.
The celebrity of the Olympic games, which drew spectators from Asia as well as all the States of Greece, led to similar institutions or festivals in other places. The Pythian games, in honor of Apollo, were celebrated near Delphi every third Olympic year; and various musical contests, exercises in poetry, exhibitions of works of art were added to gymnastic exercises and chariot and horse races. The sacrifices, processions, and other solemnities, resemble those at Olympia in honor of Zeus. They lasted as long as the Olympic games, down to A.D. 394. Wherever the worship of Apollo was introduced, there were imitations of these Pythian games in all the States of Greece.
The Nemæan and Ithmian games.
The Nemæan and Ithmian games were celebrated each twice in every Olympiad, the former on the plain of Nemæa, in Argolis; the latter in the Corinthian Isthmus, under the presidency of Corinth. These also claimed a high antiquity, and at these were celebrated the same feats of strength as at Olympia. But the Olympic festival was the representation of all the rest, and transcended all the rest in national importance. It was viewed with so much interest, that the Greeks measured time itself by them. It was Olympiads, and not years, by which the date of all events was determined. The Romans reckoned their years from the foundation of their city; modern Christian nations, by the birth of Christ; Mohammedans, by the flight of the prophet to Medina; and the Greeks, from the first recorded Olympiad, B.C. 776.
Effect of these festivals.
It was in these festivals, at which no foreigner, however eminent, was allowed to contend for prizes, that the Greeks buried their quarrels, and incited each other to heroism. The places in which they were celebrated became marts of commerce like the mediæval fairs of Germany; and the vast assemblage of spectators favored that communication of news, and inventions, and improvements which has been produced by our modern exhibitions. These games answered all the purposes of our races, our industrial exhibitions, and our anniversaries, religious, political, educational, and literary, and thus had a most decided influence on the development of Grecian thought and enterprise. The exhibition of sculpture and painting alone made them attractive and intellectual, while the athletic exercises amused ordinary minds. They were not demoralizing, like the sports of the amphitheatre, or a modern bull-fight, or even fashionable races. They were more like tournaments in the martial ages of Europe, but superior to them vastly, since no woman was allowed to be present at the Olympic games under pain of death.
Changes in government. Erection of temples. Legal equality and political rights.
It has already been shown that the form of government in the States of Ancient Greece, in the Homeric ages, was monarchical. In two or three hundred years after the Trojan war, the authority of kings had greatly diminished. The great immigration and convulsions destroyed the line of the ancient royal houses. The abolition of royalty was in substance rather than name. First, it was divided among several persons, then it was made elective, first for life, afterward for a definite period. The nobles or chieftains gained increasing power with the decline of royalty, and the government became, in many States, aristocratic. But the nobles abused their power by making an oligarchy, which is a perverted aristocracy. This aroused hatred and opposition on the part of the people, especially in the maritime cities, where the increase of wealth by commerce and the arts raised up a body of powerful citizens. Then followed popular revolutions under leaders or demagogues. These leaders in turn became tyrants, and their exactions gave rise to more hatred than that produced by the government of powerful families. They gained power by stratagem, and perverted it by violence. But to amuse the people whom they oppressed, or to please them, they built temples, theatres, and other public buildings, in which a liberal patronage was extended to the arts. Thus Athens and Corinth, before the Persian wars, were beautiful cities, from the lavish expenditure of the public treasury by the tyrants or despots who had gained ascendency. In the mean time, those who were most eminent for wealth, or power, or virtue, were persecuted, for fear they would effect a revolution. But the parties which the tyrants had trampled upon were rather exasperated than ruined, and they seized every opportunity to rally the people under their standard, and effect an overthrow of the tyrants. Sparta, whose constitution remained aristocratic, generally was ready to assist any State in throwing off the yoke of the usurpers. In some States, like Athens, every change favored the rise of the people, who gradually obtained the ascendency. They instituted the principle of legal equality, by which every freeman was supposed to exercise the attributes of sovereignty. But democracy invariably led to the ascendency of factions, and became itself a tyranny. It became jealous of all who were distinguished for birth, or wealth, or talents. It encouraged flatterers and sycophants. It was insatiable in its demands on the property of the rich, and listened to charges which exposed them to exile and their estates to confiscation. It increased the public burdens by unwise expenditures to please the men of the lower classes who possessed political franchise.
Different forms of government.
But different forms of government existed in different States. In Sparta there was an oligarchy of nobles which made royalty a shadow, and which kept the people in slavery and degradation. In Athens the democratic principle prevailed. In Argos kings reigned down to the Persian wars. In Corinth the government went through mutations as at Athens. In all the States and cities experiments in the various forms of government were perpetually made and perpetually failed. They existed for a time, and were in turn supplanted. The most permanent government was that of Sparta; the most unstable was that of Athens. The former promoted a lofty patriotism and public morality and the national virtues; the latter inequalities of wealth, the rise of obscure individuals, and the progress of arts.
Commercial enterprise.
The fall of the ancient monarchies and aristocracies was closely connected with commercial enterprise and the increase of a wealthy class of citizens. In the beginning of the seventh century before Christ, a great improvement in the art of ship-building was made, especially at Corinth. Colonial settlements kept pace with maritime enterprise; and both of these fostered commerce and wealth. The Euxine lost its terrors to navigators, and the Ægean Sea was filled with ships and colonists. The Adriatic Sea was penetrated, and all the seas connected with the Mediterranean. From the mouth of the Po was brought amber, which was highly valued by the ancients. A great number of people were drawn to Egypt, by the liberal offers of its kings, who went there for the pursuit of knowledge and of wealth, and from which they brought back the papyrus as a cheap material for writing. The productions of Greece were exchanged for the rich fabrics which only Asia furnished, and the cities to which these were brought, like Athens and Corinth, rapidly grew rich, like Venice and Genoa in the Middle Ages.
Increase of wealth. Introduction of art.
Wealth of course introduced art. The origin of art may have been in religious ideas—in temples and the statues of the gods—in tombs and monuments of great men. But wealth immeasurably increased the facilities both for architecture and sculpture. Artists in old times, as in these, sought a pecuniary reward—patrons who could afford to buy their productions, and stimulate their genius. Art was cultivated more rapidly in the Asiatic colonies than in the mother country, both on account of their wealth, and the objects of interest around them. The Ionian cities, especially, were distinguished for luxury and refinement. Corinth took the lead in the early patronage of art, as the most wealthy and luxurious of the Grecian cities.