Aristotles Politics and Lawgivers in Greece - Assignment Example

Ancient History Sparta Tutorial Questions Term paper [Date] [Name] [Name of institution] Ancient History Sparta Tutorial Questions Week 3 Aristotle’s Politics and lawgivers in Greece Answer 1 According to Aristotle, Lycurgus was a normal lawgiver. As Aristotle believed that normal lawgivers is based on a one man rule and work only for the good of society. Lycurgus’s code of Sparta is a prefect example of this.i As he gave the citizens a complete set of laws on how to live a healthy and good life. Here, one may note that the laws had nothing to do with his personal benefits or interests Answer2 Daniel Ogden’s claim that his understanding of the rhetra provides a ‘simple and linear model for the development of the Spartan constitution, and the beginnings of the Greek invention of democracy’ means that he considered the rhetra to be the beginning of Greek constitution as it was set of rules and responsibilities of the Spartan Republicii. The fact that he thought it to be the invention of Greek democracy was because there was limited permission and the Spartan system was further restricted to yes or no approval of suggestions put to it ruler. Answer 3 Mait Kõiv right to argue that the tradition about Lycurgus ‘was presented rather completely already by Ephoros and Aristotle, that is in the 4th century BC’ but if it is carefully analyzed then one may note that may be found in Plutarch’s biography of Lykourgosiii. According to this even Aristotle gave this point. He added the Lykourgos and the founding of Rhetra back to the period of king Charillos. Information regarding Theopompos and Polydoros was added after 2 generations .therefore, keeping in mind the before given ancient accounts, the Spartan constitution may be dated back to the 8th century. Answer4 Changes in the tradition about Lycurgus appear to be attributable to the half-millennium between the fourth century BC and Plutarch’s lifetime is basically that the Greek constitution came into being around the 8th century apart from this by the mid of the fourth century it was accepted that he was a part of the Eurypontid house . Thus, the view that Lycurgus had belonged to the 9th century BC came into being. Answer5 W.G. Forrest’s view of the rhetra as ‘a genuine prose oracle delivered to Theopompos and Polydoros in 675 B.C.’ this view can be supported by the fact that the Polydoros and Theopompos were the were important topics in the ἔνεικαν in the first line in the Plutarch’s version,iv this may support the fact that as per Tyrtaios the oracle was delivered to Polydoros and Theopompos. Thus if this is the case, there may be two arguments to support this assumption. Tyrtaios might have considered it as consent of the supplement by the kings to a constitution which was already implemented almost in the same manner as Aristotle thought or instead, the poet might have considered the oracle as a source to authorize the most beginning of the establishment of the Rhetra. Thus in this scenario it would attribute to the kings the establishment of the entire constitution thus it may be easily concluded that, genuine prose oracle delivered to Polydoros and Theopomposv Week 4 Answer1 The importance of pro-Spartan factions in Peloponnesian cities undeniable. Pro Spartan factions aided the Peloponnesian cities in battles not only that but helped them to be successful in almost all of the battles they fought as many garrisons were trained for battle from these fractions. Thus it may be noted that the importance of pro-Spartan factions also may be seen in the fact that treaties were made to defend them within the Peloponnesian cities Answer2 David C. Yates’vi argument that before the mid-fifth century Spartan allies were not obliged to follow Sparta’s foreign policy is convincing as he has accurately given evidence to support the argument. He claimed that till the end of the five year truce in 451 the Spartan alliance was not bound by foreign policy obligations but by a series of treaties whose function the institution and preservation of a pro Spartan faction within the allied cites. These treaties permitted Sparta to exert its influence on the allied cites but they would not oblige them to align their foreign polices with Sparta. Answer 3 Ignace H.M. Hendriksvii was not right to date the battle of Sepeia to 494. He had no strong evidence to prove his argument as he does not associate battle with the framework of Spartan history. But instead he associated to the suicide of Cleomenes. He narrates the entire expenditure against Argos. This expenditure was only a small part of the battle. Both Plutarch and Hendriks view were not that different the only difference lies in the fact that Hendriks did not use a pro Greek approach. Whereas Plutarch described the battle in les detail. However the difference even lies in the information of attacks as well. Answer 4 George Cawkwell commented, ‘Herodotus should have been more criticalviii’. He claimed that Herodotus should have probed further so that the readers could gauge what Cleomenes did want to achieve. As what he relates to the reader is Cleomenes original reign. An example of this is the incident in which he sates that the battle took place due to the heavy drinking of Scyths. According Herodotus of Scyths’ objective was to propose a joint attack on Persia Herodotus left out the role of the embassy, how it was received or exactly when it came. This leaves a gap for the readers to fill and thus it seems incomplete. Week 5 Herodotus, Sparta and Athens Answer 1 The arguments supporting the claim that Themistocles decree is a fake are quite strong. They are based on the fact that research on the kind of letter used highlighted the fact that the marble slab on which the decree was written , was done in beginning of the 3rd century BC, this raise doubts as to how the text could have survived 2 whole centuries, since Athens were thrown out by the Persians in 480 BC as well as in 479 BCix. Finally, more serious content issues, ranging from chronologically suspect passages to statements that seem out of place in an official decree to serious conflicts with Herodotus’ detailed descriptions of Greek troop dispositions. Answer2 Treasurers of the temple and poor people’ (Herodotus 8.51.2) to defend the Athenian Acropolis was not strategically worth making. As there were only a few treasurers and poor people were left to defend it. None of them were trained warriors and did not have proper weapons or the set of mind to fight in battle. Thus, most of then runaway when the Persian entered the temple. They all got slaughtered or they jumped of the battlement. Answer 3 Spartans at the time when the Covenant of Plataea was made had a lot of benefitsx . As it meant that the war was ending at a good note and that prisoners would come back home. The festivities attached to it also highlighted their traditions. Apart from this the Covenant of Plataea gave them a chance to make more developments. Answer4 Relations within the Peloponnese in forming Spartan policy from 479 onward were extremely important as Tucydides remarked that "Spartan policy is always mainly governed by the necessity of taking precautions against the helots." Thus the relationship with the helots within the Peloponnese basically gave raise to the Spartan policy Week 6 Thucydides and the Spartans Answer 1 It is quite strange that Pausanias, lover of Oriental luxury, did not return to Asia when he was released from prison but stayed to foment revolt among the Helots (Thucydides 1.132.4) as surely it is odd that a regent would be away for private business with state ship for seven with the intention for carrying on a war. Thus, it may just be fabricated event. Answer 2 Yes Sparta politically outmaneuvered by Athens in 478. This was done by using rather tactful strategies. A crude political propaganda was planned against them in 478Bc the basic political rights had been extended. This was the indicative of several social and political realities of the time, a lack of actual responsibility Answer3 Cimon was the only factor which held together the friendship between Sparta and Athens from 478 to the late 460sxi but was one of the most important factors as he wanted to arrange an aggressive policy against Persia during his post as Spartan proxenos at Athens. He did this so the peace and friendship between Athens and Sparta could be developed and maintained Answer4 Geoffrey de Ste. Croix right to think that the Athenian empire was popular with ordinary people/democrats in the subject cities, and hated [only] by the aristocrats and oligarchsxii . As the democrats tended to turn towards Athens for help while oligarchs would turn towards Sparta. This was due to the fact that political support and employment was given to the lower calls in thanes while the upper class had to bear the burdens of tax. Week 7 Thucydides 2: ‘the secret character of the political system’ Answer 1 According to Edmund F. Bloedow ‘Sthenelaidas’ speech was pure emotion and no substance’xiii he is quite right as his speech it had the power of stirring the emotions. He used a lot of verbal contrasts but there was no substance in them infact it was quite shallow when it came to equivocations of the language Answer2 Paul A. Rahe was right as the ephors were selected by the peoplexiv. The Candidate who got the most shouts from the people was elected and was introduced to the Spartan assembly thus; if the Candidate was introduced after the selection then the element of direct selection by the assembly is eliminated. Answer 3 Neodamodeis were Helotsxv who were set free after serving time in the service as hoplites in the Spartan Army. The neodamode was first given that name in 421 BC. Answer4 Spartan kings had dominant influence over the Spartan policy for decades. The king was like military leader and how full power and authority over the Spartan policy to accept and make changes. Their influence ahs been seen in various places in history. the kings have always influenced different policies and constitutions from the beginning. Week 8 Sparta and Greece after the Peloponnesian war Answer 1 Harmosts were military governors. They were sent to conquer towns, they would mostly have to keep the towns in submission, and they were even used to eliminate the democratical form of government, and in its place form another improved democratical form . They were at times sent to free people as well. Answer 2 The Spartans also provoked Cyrus for the rebellion against his brother the Persian king Artaxerxes II, and then by sporadic Persian anti military campaigns on the coast of Antoila. Apart from this he was also provoked by the weakness of his brother and the fact that immigrates were entering the city. Answer 3 The freedom of the Greeks of Asia to Sparta between 413 and 387 was extremely important as it not only markedxvi a military victory but also a way of improving their political and economical condition of the state. They had to win back the sates in order to keep their empire in tact. Answer4 The story of Lysander after 404 is a tragedyxvii . It is based on how Athens was conquered. Even though the future after the conquest was quite dark for Athens. The fact that the story had such an intense theme gave it an even more tragic touch. Week 9 Xenophon, leadership, and political theory Answer1 Vivienne Gray is right to think that Xenophon wrote the whole of his Hellenica in the 350s BC as his work has presented a hostile side of the empirexviii. And in 350bc the empire was quite hostile apart from this it is the same era in which he wrote Vectigalia and both books as based on the same them. Answer 2 On the battle of Sardis, we can now not afford to take the word of the anonymous and unknown P. [the Oxyrhynchus historian] against that of Xenophon . as an anonymous historian may not be able to give detailed facts like and Xenophon—best as Xenopho is unbiased and always reliable, while when it comes to history how can one trust someone who is anonymous. Answer3 the Boeotians ‘driven to [the Corinthian] war by Spartan intervention, were in direct, in their internal affairs’ as according to the Oxyrhynchus Historian's thesis the war was started accidently. Thus, if a war starts accidently then without a doubt there is an indirect influence on the internal affairs. Answer4 Agesilaus could look with tolerance at Athens, whose interests were naval, and who seemed therefore to present no great threat to Spartan domination. This seems to be a fair statement s even before the Sparta domination was not of threat to Athens . this is what further led to peace amongst Athens and Sparta. Week 10 Fourth-century Panhellenism Answer 1 Perlman says that ‘Agesilaus, the Spartan, revived the old ideal of the common Greek war against the Persian king in order to further Sparta's hegemonial claims within Greecexix’. this is not only what panhellenism meant at Sparta it meant unity of the Greeks people of the same language , life style and culture were united. Answer2 The flirtation with Glos (see Flower’s article) did not provexx that the Spartans soon regretted the King’s Peace as what made them regret it was the fact that they had completely different religious values from other Greek cites and those values were being affected due to this . Answer3 James G. Devoto right to think that Agesilaus must have been opposed to the Spartan diplomacy (in Antalcidas’ hands) which led to the King’s Peace xxi. As they themselves opposed the king and exploit the king’s peace to restore Sparta. Answer 4 The union of Corinth and Argos panhellenism was in action the fact being that Corinth was close to Athens and both were anti-Sparta and thus due to the common aim they were quite active . Apart from this it was more of assimilation then a union this made it more active. Week11 The Second Athenian confederacy and the growth of Theban power Answer1 There is no evidence which sates that Spartans lost popularity after the way they were treated at Mantinea as most of the evidence pinpoints at the fact that pro Spartans were thrown out of Mantinea .thus, meaning that they were ill treated and did not lose their popularity. They did lose the battle but did not loose much of their popularity. Answer2 Spartan insistence on the autonomy of the Boeotian cities was reasonable as at that time Boeotian had no federal status . They did not want to get involved in the status of the lesser cities. thus they insisted on autonomy of the Boeotian cities Answer3 factors made the Thebes-Athens alliance unstable were Thebes capture of Platea and Thespiae this weakened the alliancexxii. At the signing ceremony a representative of Thebes got into a dispute with Athens thus on the topic of autonomy. His broke the alliance. Answer 4 No the formation of the Second Athenian Confederacy evidence that the King’s Peace was on the way out as the document sated that the people of Athens had to follow the rules of the king’s peace and not show aggression towards Spartans . however one could say it was on its way out as it was building alliances . Week 12 Quellenkritik and the fragments of the Greek historians Answer 1 it is worth studying fragmentary Greek historians as they give a detailed description of what happened in Greece . It is not just criticism on literature . Exact dates are mentioned apart from this the authors ho have written these manuscripts re of that age and time. Thus, they have given a complete overview of the time line. Answer2 Overall, is the modern world is not in possession of the facts that matter about Sparta. As most of the acts are shown as being misled actions likely to be amended the basic delis of a lot of wars and alliances are still missing . so I would agree with William H. McNeill that “Only some facts matter for any given pattern”xxiii Answer3 Jacqueline de Romilly was not unduly harsh in saying ‘Isocrates … is not very intelligent’xxiv as he did not give much of a political system he emphasized more on educational system and less on the political system. Thu, it may be said that Jacqueline de Romilly’s belief about saying ‘Isocrates not being intelligent was quite correct. Answer4 Epaminondas’ contribution to Theban victory at Leuctra was extremely imported. As his contribution consisted of tactics. He implemented the most well planed and organized military tactic in order to gain victory at Leuctra. His tactical advances and developments of tactics was the reason behind victory at Leuctra. Read More