The Values and Virtues of Greeks - Case Study Example

How and why did Greek painters and sculptors compare and contrast the values and virtues of Greeks and ‘Barbarians’? Greek history has uncertain beginnings and varying boundaries because it encompasses eras of expansion and contraction over many centuries. When the Greek civilization was at the height of its powers in the archaic and classical periods, from around 800 BC until about 300 BC it ruled vast areas of the Eastern Mediterranean and much further inland, exacting tribute from conquered peoples and passing on its illustrious literature and culture to many other tribes and nations. In this context Greek authors, artists and sculptors simply took it for granted that Greek culture was superior to the cultures that could not demonstrate the advanced technologies that the Greeks possessed. Some cultures like the Egyptians, for example, had great cities, stone monuments and works of literature which earned the respect of the Greeks, but those who preferred a nomadic lifestyle were regarded simply as ‘barbarians.’ Very often this label was used in ignorance, and it served to make as big a distance as possible in Greek minds between those who were within its extended territorial reach, and those who were beyond it. In short, all that was culturally good and proper and admirable was Greek, and all that the barbarian cultures represented was depicted in opposite terms. In modern language we would call this a stereotype, and then, as now, there was some truth in this stereotype, but it was by no means the full story. This paper explores the way that Greeks define and depict themselves and the barbarians through various artefacts including literature, painting and sculpture. It covers the values and the virtues of Greek and of barbarian as seen from the Greek point of view, both positive and negative, as demonstrated through actions and outward appearance. Hall points out that there were hundreds of tragedies written for fifth century Athenian theatre and that more than half of them introduce barbarian characters, choruses and locations, even when there is no need for these details in the main plot: “Supernumerary foreign characters or choruses, and the ubiquity of allusions to the other, inferior, world beyond Hellas, therefore provide evidence that barbarians were a particular preoccupation of the Greek tragedians. 1 Hall identifies two main areas of difference between Greeks and barbarians. The first is political, thanks to the Greek commitment to democracy as a form of government for a modern state: “Greeks are democratic and egalitarian; the barbarians are tyrannical and hierarchical”2 although this conveniently overlooks the fact that Greek wealth and leisure to depended upon a large underclass of slaves who were mostly non-Greeks. The second area of difference that Hall observes is harder to define, and lies in the area of psychology and attitude, whereby the barbarian is cast in the role of “other.” This notion permeates Greek thinking and this kind of polarization is a tendency which has been present in European history ever since. It is important to remember that our modern understanding of race and nationhood may not exactly match the way that these ideas were understood in early Greek history. Greece was made up of a collection of small city states, and they had ties with the center of Greek culture in Athens, but they also had ties with the geographical areas surrounding them, some of which differed greatly from the Athenian norms. Different Greek cities had different perspectives. Geary notes that the fifth century Greek historian Herodotus indulges in a certain amount of simplistic “us and them” thinking, but at the same time probes the backgrounds of the peoples such as the Persians whom the Greeks encountered as enemies in long and bitter wars: “Herodotus invented both history and ethnography.” 3 This is not, however ethnography as we would understand it today. Geary explains that for Herodotus it is not biological or political factors that connect a group into a nation: “Although physical characteristics may be part of Herodotus’s description of peoples, these tend to be more the result of geography than heredity.”4 This reveals that the interest of the Greeks in the barbarians was mainly territorial and not so much biological. They were perceived as occupiers of other slots on the map, and as such fair game for Greek expansion. For Herodotus, what made people Greeks was common blood, common way of life, common temples and sacrifices and common language. Greeks could never submit to slavery, neither as a people nor as individuals and this also distinguished them from barbarians, and the Greek language was seen as a prerequisite for civilized society. The two most famous Ancient Greek epic poems, the Odyssey and the Iliad are both concerned with military campaigns at in territories outside Greece itself. Putting aside the difficult issue of proving who wrote the work, it is clear that it contains formulaic portions intended more to be recited aloud than to be read in a book. The function of these epics is to tell stirring tales of the past and capture Greek historical facts for future generations. This means that the depiction of Greeks tends to be flattering and positive, showing strength in battle, and dogged determination in the face of all kinds of obstacles. An important feature in the narrative is the pantheon of Greek gods and goddesses, who look down on the human characters and from time to time get involved in the action. In these early works the barbarians are noted as those who do not speak the Greek language. They also do not share the aristocratic values of the wealthy citizens in the heartland of Greece, including all the trappings of the city state, with its obligation to take part in civic duties and its great pride in education, law and politics. Homer distinguishes these cultural features but he does not depict the barbarian peoples in a demeaning way. Barbarian armies are brave and loyal to their own leaders, and in some ways this respectful treatment reflects back on the Greeks: fighting a strong and admirable enemy is a much more heroic act than fighting a despicable one. Homer also sees parallels in the way that barbarians and Greeks pursue their religious beliefs: “Even though epics such as the Iliad celebrated the confrontation between Greeks and Trojans, Homer has the opponents sacrifice to the same gods, and there is little evidence for the Trojans being stereotyped in the derogatory way that Aiskhylos was to practise with regard to the Persians.”5 Negative attitudes to barbarians appear to have crept into Greek thinking after the time of Homer, then, perhaps as a result of the mixed fortunes that Greek armies suffered in territorial wars. Relations between the Greeks and the Persians provide an interesting case study in the changing concept of barbarian identity in Greek thinking. This nation played the role both of arch enemy in wartime, and longstanding trade partner exchanging goods along a lengthy frontier in peacetime. Persian gold was much coveted by the Greeks, and their fashions and customs were eagerly copied in Greek high society. Margaret C. Miller points out that many artefacts found in monumental imperial art contain features which derive from Persian sources, and that these features are intended to function as status symbols.6 The Greeks valued modesty and temperance, and they characterized the barbarian culture of the Persians as excessive and decadent. This explains why they can at one and the same time gather Persian art, jewels and artefacts and look down on the people who made them. One way of distinguishing Greek and barbarian figures on vases and frescoes is by their use of different weapon styles, with Greeks preferring the spear or sword and barbarians often depicted holding distinctive double-curved bows. Cohen notes that the Scythians, in particular are depicted as bowmen and contrasted with Greek heroes like Herakles but that by the sixth century BC archer imagery, and even Scythian styles come to be used in depictions of Herakles on vases.7 The association appears to have stuck, so that in later works there is even a suggestion that Herakles has Scythian connections and this shows that the Greek and barbarian cultures in some periods were growing closer and becoming more interchangeable. Homer mentions this feature in the Odyssey (8. 223-225). As the wars with different surrounding areas were waged, Greek sensibility to barbarian images changed. It seems that these weapon differences had great symbolic meaning for the Greeks and in times of conflict, at very prestigious locations, visual connections with barbarian technology are not used. So for example at Olympia Herakles bears an ancient Greek club, and not a more modern bow and arrows: “The Olympia metopes naturally foster a newly established tradition of Herakles as a home-grown clubman and suppress, for a moment in Greek art, the archer hero perceived as kin to barbarian foreigners. Thus the arming of Herakles at Olympia specifically supports an interpretation of the metopic cycle of his labors as both a product and a symbol of Hellenic unity, pride and chauvinism after the Greek victory in the Persian war.”8 Greeks often decorated their temples with sculptures of both Greeks and barbarians, and one motif that recurs quite often is the woman warrior, usually depicted in Persian dress and with connotations conquest: “There can be little doubt that the Amazons were favoured by the Greek artists partly as an example of ‘the defeated barbarian’ type… in the literary accounts the Amazons can be seen to represent an inversion of everything which a Greek male (in particular an Athenian male) would have expected of a woman.”9 The half-clad statues recalled the mythical goddesses, and were intended as a stark contrast to the statelyt Athenian wife and mother figure. This is a very clear example of cultural difference between Greeks and barbarians since only barbarian women were allowed to take part in battles and present this assertive and challenging image. The Greek women who appear in Homer’s poem, such as Helen, play a very important role since they symbolize Greek refinement and beauty, and their safety is a matter of honour for the men. They are not active participants in the action, however, and are expected to let the men sort out their fate. The depiction of Amazons in sculpture stresses the contours of the woman’s body, in a way that depictions of Greek women did not. Statues of the wives of rich Athenians were always carefully dressed in long robes, and elaborate headwear is the norm. Images of Amazons, however, are scantily clad, sometimes with and exposed breast, or even a cut off breast, presumably to allow better functioning of the bow and arrow. This is a conflicting depiction, both sexually alluring and culturally unacceptable in polite society and it reflects Greek ambivalence about non-Greek culture. Greekness is associated with cultured femininity, modesty and compliance with societal norms. The Amazons in Greek art depict a much wilder, more active and impulsive womanhood that both entices and repels. There is a sense in which these images are intended as examples to admire, but certainly not imitate. Another famous motif in art and literature is the mythical figure of Medea, made famous by the play of that name by Euripides which was written in 351 BC. This character is decpicted as a sorceress who uses magic to help the Greek hero Jason complete certain mystical tasks. Sorcery was seen as a barbarian practice, which the Greeks looked down upon as primitive and sneaky. When Jason fails to keep his word and marry her, she takes dreadful revenge and causing the deaths of her own children and also Jason’s new wife. The tragic aspect of the play demonizes her as being emotionally out of control and a danger to the Greek way of life. Jason’s treachery is underplayed, and indeed his exploits are praised, even though he relied on Medea to rise to fame. This reveals a double standard in the way that Euripides judges Greeks and foreigners. The strong and active female figure of Medea is characterised as a bad person, while the somewhat weaker male hero Jason is portrayed in more positive terms. In summary, then, we can see that there is, especially in early Greek literature and art, an appreciation of barbarian skill and strength in battle, even to the extent that the Greeks learn to imitate the barbarian styles and techniques. Homer’s approach is to present the barbarian enemy as a worthy foe, and so his strength in battle is presented as equal to that of the Greeks. The barbarian images which were used for decorative purposes in Greek cities tended to emphasize aspects of barbarian culture which contrasted with Greek culture, and it is clear that barbarian goods can be seen as plunder, and luxurious extras rather than the more sober and permanent art of the Greeks. In the depiction of women, and especially in later periods, there are some more overtly negative connotations but at the same time there is ambivalence and attraction. The Greeks had an ambivalent attitude to barbarians, valuing some of their qualities such as bravery and skill in warfare, and despising other qualities such as their materialistic love of treasures and dubious use of magic. As the ultimate victors in the struggle for supremacy in the archaic and classical periods, the Greeks were free to lump many peoples into this umbrella term, and define what it meant. The reality of so-called barbarian values and virtues was no doubt rather more diverse than the Greek record would suggest but thanks to the writers, artists and sculptors the Greek view is what has been handed down through history. References Blundell, Sue. Women in Ancient Greece. Harvard: Harvard University Press, 1992. Cohen, Beth. “From Bowman to Clubman: Herakles and Olympia.” The Art Bulletin 6 (4), 1994, pp. 695-715 Geary, Patrick J. The Myth of Nations: the medieval origins of Europe. Princeton NJ: University of Princeton Press, 2003. Grant, Michael. Greek and Roman Historians: Information and Misinformation, NewYork: Routledge, 1995. Hall, Edith. Inventing the Barbarian: Greek Self-Definition through Tragedy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. Hall, Jonathan. Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Miller, M.C. Athens and Persia in the Fifth Century B.C. : A Study in Cultural Receptivity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Read More