The Conquest of Greek Democracy

							9 The Struggle for Greek Democracy




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 Monotheism as religion of empire
• 1) Animism (of Persian nomads)
• 2) Anthropomorphic polytheism (of Mesopotamia)
• 3) (Animistic) monotheism (of new Persian State)
  – Ethical religion of moral good versus evil
• Repeats Egyptian pattern of Akhenaton, but
  more successfully. Why?
  – Advantages for empire are abstract, in the future,
    remote from ordinary life
  – Disadvantages for local priests and powers are
    very evident
                                                         2
      Advantages of New Religion
• Advantages for Persians
   – Old animism is place-related
   – Conquering Persian rulers leave old places
   – So open to new belief in a God of Light
   – Preserves animistic (naturalistic) character
• Advantages for Mesopotamians:
   – Old Mesopotamian gods are arbitrary, oppressive,
   – not ethical (recall explanation of the Flood)



                                                        3
      Failure or Victory for Iron Age
        Mesopotamian Peasants?
• 1) Seek complete freedom on rain-watered
  lands
• 2) Provoke intensified violence of Assyrians
• 3) Final result: moderate rule of Persia
• > Great power of Persia dominates vast
  territory (135)
• 4) Confronts new iron age city-states of
  Greece

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                Three states
• Harappa: trade-based civilization
• Persia: old style of civilization channels spread
  of new iron-age agriculture
• Greece:
  – iron-age agriculture developing independently,
  – and trading state




                                                      5
                Outline re Greece
• 1) Geographical position and history
   – Riddle of the Sphinx = the Riddle of Greece
• 2) The implications of the new elements of history for
  democracy
   – Iron
   – Alphabet
   – Trade
• 3) The Struggle for Greek democracy: obstacles to freedom
   – From the outside
   – From within
• 4) Evolution of Greek Religion: from religion to philosophy


                                                                6
  1) Greek Peasants Gain Freedom
• Iron plow of free “man”
• Position in relation to Persia
  – Not too far
  – Not too close
• Protected from Persia by mountains, sea (p.
  150)



                                                7
   Geographical basis and history
• Inner geography: Plains separated by
  mountains
• > Independent, divided city states
• What does this lead to?
  – (compare with Mesopotamia)
• When do the Greeks fight each other?
  – 1) Persian war
  – 2) Peloponnesian war

                                         8
             Early Greek Unity
•   Greeks unite against Persian invader
•   Greeks win Persian War (490-465 BCE)
•   How?
•   Clue: Riddle of the Sphinx




                                           9
           Riddle of the Sphinx
• Sphinx (p. 74) symbol of Egypt, old order
• Sphinx guards narrow mountain pass
  – Dangerous passes to Greece
  – Persians defeated at Battle of Thermopylae (narrow
    coastal pass) (480) by Spartan “300” led by Leonidas
• Poses riddle: solve it or die
• Oedipus solves riddle
• “Man” is the higher principle of Greece (Hegel)—
  the free (male) human being


                                                           10
   “Man” as Solution of the Riddle
• Hunter-gatherers – dependent on nature
   – Nature religion (animism)
• Early state civilizations – ruled by outside powers,
  gods/God
   – Arbitrary tyranny of gods
   – But trend of ethical monotheism (Akhenaton, Zoroaster,
     Hebrew Bible)
• Greek discovery: the human being as an independent
  power
   – “Man is the measure of all things.” – Protagoras (481-420
     BCE)


                                                                 11
    Greek civilization breaks with nature
•   Many things cause terror and wonder, yet nothing
•   is more terrifying and wonderful than man.
•   This thing goes across the gray
•   sea on the blasts of winter
•   storms, passing beneath
•   waters towering 'round him. The Earth,
•   eldest of the gods,
•   unwithering and untiring, this thing wears down
•   as his plows go back and forth year after year
•   furrowing her with the issue of horses. (Antigone, 332-41)


                                                                 12
  2) New Elements in History (repeat)
• 1) From bronze age to iron age:
  – New material technology
• 2) Growing trade between societies
  – New social elements: merchants
• 3) From hieroglyphics to the alphabet:
  – New mental technology




                                           13
         Sources of democracy
• Iron technology
  – Bronze: aristocratic
  – Iron: democratic
• Alphabet
  – Hieroglyphic writing: aristocratic
  – Phonetic alphabet as democratic mental
    technology




                                             14
    Promise of the new technology
• Iron as a democratic metal v bronze
• Greater productivity of labor, surpluses
• More leisure time for arts, science, philosophy
• > A state (government?) of free people ruling
  themselves
• But in Mesopotamia, the old Bronze Age state
  channels the new forces within the old
  framework
                                                15
   Rational Philosophy and Trade
• Relation between Corn and Wine?
  – Qualitative differences in appearance
• Trade: X Corn = Y Wine ??
  – What makes two different things equal?
• X Corn = $20
• Y Wine = $20
• Quantitative calculations of reason replaces
  qualitative experiences
• =>Reason seeks truth under appearances

                                                 16
        How democratic was it?
• 1) Early non-state societies
• 2) Hierarchical state, monarchy
• 3) Greek “democratic” state
  – State or government?
  – Free men: 1/6 of population of Athens
  – = a minority rules over a majority
• Hegel on movement of history:
  – One is free > Some are free > All are free


                                                 17
    3) Two obstacles to freedom
• External: the old bronze-age state
  – “Dynamism” of Mesopotamia
  – > Moderate, but powerful state of Persia
  – But Greece defeats the old state;
  – has opportunity to develop the full potentialities
    of iron age agriculture
• Internal
  – Growth of inequality from within

                                                         18
   Rise of Inequality from Within
• Natural development of unequal wealth
  – Population growth
  – From rich to poor lands
  – > Impoverishment and enslavement
  – Debt servitude




                                          19
   Two solutions: Flight and Fight
• Importance of emigration in early Greek
  history
  – Sea travel improves, opens up new paths to
    freedom
  – Colonies grow up on coast of Asia Minor (p. 150)
     • Cause of Persian War
• Threat of internal war between classes
  – Wars between rich and poor


                                                       20
  Military advantages of the poor
• No powerful state (yet)
• Cheap iron weapons
• > Hoplite (phalanx) formation (119)
  – Versus aristocratic chariot, unfree infantry
  – Requires discipline, leisure > wealth
  – Egalitarian military formation
• > Freedom of citizens is essential to military
  strength of polis

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4) “Religion” of the free, beautiful man
• See statue of dying Gaul
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_Gaul
• Compare Darius (138)
• Hegel: free, beautiful man (male) as central
  “religion” for Greeks




                                                 22
  Blocked Evolution of Greek Religion
• Homeric religion: see Hektor’s prayer, 142
  – Reflects bronze-age warrior aristocracy
  – Powerful, arbitrary gods rule over humans?
• Contradicts ideas of
  – “free beautiful individuality” and “man” as center
    (answer to Riddle of Sphinx)
  – reason seeking truth behind appearances
• Further evolution -- to monotheism?
• But the beautiful Homeric poetry blocks
  further development re gods, divine
                                                     23
          No Religion of Empire
• (Animistic) monotheism of Akhenaton, Zoroaster
  – Unites people of radically different religions
  – Difficulties of Pantheon method of unification of
    religions
• But Greek city states do not unite
  – Homer’s Pantheon of gods remains in place
• -> Failure of Alexander’s Empire
  – No unifying new belief system to unite Greece, Persia,
    Egypt, India …

                                                         24
   Transformation of Greek Religion
• See Athena (149)
  – = symbol of Athens, the city-state—the polis
• New function of religion: Focus on the (free)
  city-state
• => Worship ourselves!
• Oracle at Delphi: Know Yourself
• Philosophy: Think for yourself!


                                                   25
        History of Greek Thought
• 1) Animism (religion of mother Earth)
   – Trampled on by Man, with iron plow
• 2) Anthropomorphic polytheism of Homer’s Iliad and
  Odyssey
   – Beauty of expression, psychological accuracy of the
     anthropomorphic qualities of the gods
   – Blocks further evolution of religious thought
   – > Failure of Greek empire of Alexander
• 3) Philosophy: Know yourself! Think for yourself

                                                           26
    From Religion to Philosophy
• Socrates: Is something good because the gods
  command it, or do the gods command it
  because it is good? (Plato’s Euthyphro)
  – It is good (only) because the Gods say so
  – The gods say so because it is good (independent
    of what the gods or anyone might think)




                                                      27
            Socrates’ “crime”
• Socrates/Plato replace focus on religious
  authority with philosophy: people can think
  for themselves about what is good.
• Is this “impiety” to the gods? Atheism?
• Alleged crimes of Socrates: “he denies the
  gods and corrupts the youth”




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