Greek notes


  • the “Homeric question” - Homer may have been a mythical creation himself
  • a blind wandering minstrel; an heroic figure
  • Iliad and Odyssey may be the culmination of many generations of storytelling
  • or…Homer actually existed and he was just that awesome
Warring City States
  • polis: fundamental political unit, made up of a city and the surrounding countryside
    • politics (affairs of the cities), policy, political, etc.
  • monarchy: rule by a single person (a king, in Greece)
  • aristocracy: rule by a small group of noble, very rich, landowning families
  • oligarchy: wealthy groups, dissatisfied with aristocratic rule, who seized power (often with military help)
  • tyrant: powerful individual who seized control by appealing to the common people for support 
  • During the seventh and sixth centuries BCE, aristocrats ran the show in most of Greece
  • Back then, rich people wielded much more influence in society, and held much more governmental power, than the middle class or the poor
    • Aristocrats: members of the ruling class
    • they attended symposiums, meetings where the elite men would enjoy wine and poetry, performances by dancers and acrobats, and the company of hetaeras (courtesans) while discussing politics
      • no women (except the “entertainment”)
      • no middle class
      • certainly, no slaves
      • sometimes, even certain aristocrats (who didn’t have the right connections or who fell out of favor) were excluded

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