Ancient Greece from Homer to Alexander: The Evidence
Joseph Roisman
Language: English
Pages: 688
ISBN: 1405127767
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
With fresh, new translations and extensive introductions and annotations, this sourcebook provides an inclusive and integrated view of Greek history, from Homer to Alexander the Great.
- New translations of original sources are contextualized by insightful introductions and annotations
- Includes a range of literary, artistic and material evidence from the Homeric, Archaic and Classical Ages
- Focuses on important developments as well as specific themes to create an integrated perspective on the period
- Links the political and social history of the Greeks to their intellectual accomplishments
- Includes an up-to-date bibliography of seminal scholarship
- An accompanying website offers additional evidence and explanations, as well as links to useful online resources
A Commentary on Lysias, Speeches 1-11
A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War
472, focused on the Greek naval victory over the Persian fleet in Salamis. Both authors describe as hubristic King Xerxes’ construction of a floating bridge over the Hellespont so that his army could cross over to Europe, and especially his scourging of the sea after a storm had broken the bridge. In Aeschylus Persians, Darius’ ghost gives a Greek perspective of the bridge over the water. 17.1.A The Bridging of the Hellespont Aeschylus Persians 745–752 Xerxes expected to stay the flow of the
triremes was too expensive and, hence, this is probably an inaccurate figure. See WEB 19.14.II for Pericles’ leadership following Thucydides’ exile, and WEB 19.14.I for his public building program (cf. WEB 22.1: “Pericles’ Public Building”). Questions 1. What were Thucydides’ and Pericles’ respective methods of garnering support? 2. What issues informed the controversy between Pericles and Thucydides ( 19.13, WEB 19.14.I)? 3. Describe the relationship between the demos and its leader in
the greathearted elders beside the ship of Nestor, the king born in Pylos. ( 55) Calling together the elders he devised a cunning strategy. “Listen, friends,” he said. “A heavenly dream came to me in my sleep during the divine night, and in form, size, and stature it most resembled illustrious Nestor. It stood over me and addressed me as follows: Agamemnon repeats the dream’s words. ( 71) With these words the dream went flying away, and sweet sleep let go of me. But come now, let us try to put
aristocrats to share power. Many tyrants were consequently banished or eliminated. Tyranny, however, did not become extinct. During the Classical Age tyrants, often acting as military leaders, ruled important cities and communities in Sicily as well as in Greece. This chapter reproduces Aristotle’s survey of the different ways Greek tyrants attained power in different poleis. It illustrates tyrannical rule through the Corinthian tyranny of Cypselus and his son Periander. The chapter concludes
Wealth was especially recognizable in the costly chariot race. In short, sport enabled members of the elite to demonstrate their individual superiority over peers and commoners. There was no team sport. See WEB 12.10 for additional information on Greek games, links to websites on ancient Greek sport, and for a dissenting voice that questioned the value Greeks set on athletic victories and victors. The most famous Greek games were international. In addition, there were many local games. Among