36 The Rise of Classical Greece
Learning Objective
- Understand the significance of Cleisthenes’ reforms to the rise of Classical Greece
Key Points
- The classical period followed the Archaic period, and was succeeded by the Hellenistic period.
- Much of modern Western politics, artistic and scientific thought, literature, and philosophy derives from this period of Greek history.
- Through Cleisthenes’ reforms, the people endowed their city with isonomic institutions, and established ostracism.
- A corpus of reforms made to Athenian political administration during this time led to the emergence of a wider democracy in the 460s and 450s BCE.
Terms
Classical Greece
A 200 year period in Greek culture, lasting from the 5th through 4th centuries BCE.
Cleisthenes
A noble Athenian of the Alcmaeonid family, credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens, and setting it on a democratic footing in 508/7 BCE.
isonomic
A word used by ancient Greek writers to refer to various kinds of popular government with the general goal of “equal rights.”
ostracism
A procedure under Athenian democracy by which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years.
trittyes
Population divisions in ancient Attica, established by the reforms of Cleisthenes in 508 BCE.
Classical Greece was a 200-year period in Greek culture lasting from the 5th to the 4th centuries BCE. This period saw the annexation of much of modern-day Greece by the Persian Empire, as well as its subsequent independence. Classical Greece also had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire, and greatly influenced the foundations of Western civilization. Much of modern Western politics, artistic and scientific thought, literature, and philosophy derives from this period of Greek history. The classical period was preceded by the Archaic period, and was succeeded by the Hellenistic period.
Rise of the City-States
The term “city-state,” which is English in origin, does not fully translate the Greek term for these same entities, polis. Poleis were different from ancient city-states in that they were ruled by bodies of the citizens who lived there. Many were initially established, as in Sparta, via a network of villages, with a governance center being established in a central urban center. As notions of citizenship rose to prominence among landowners, polis came to embody an entire body of citizens and the term could be used to describe the populace of a place, rather than the physical location itself. Basic elements of a polis often included the following:
- Self-governance, autonomy, and independence
- A social hub and financial marketplace, called an agora
- Urban planning and architecture
- Temples, altars, and other sacred precincts, many of which would be dedicated to the patron deity of the city
- Public spaces, such as gymnasia and theaters
- Defensive walls to protect against invasion
- Coinage minted by the city
Polis were established and expanded by synoecism, or the abso