Classics Topic 4

To promote unity and patriotism, often by creating a link between a city and a god/ goddess or divine attribute/set of values. pride, patriotism

West pediment of the Parthenon

The region around Athens in south-eastern Greece

A roman who gives financial or other such support to a client in return for work and favours

King Cecrops founded the city in Attica but needed a name for it
The gods travelled the lands seeking cities to lay their patronage on.
Cecrops worshipped both Athena and Poseidon, so both came to claim the city.
Poseidon arrived first and struck the center of the Acropolis with his trident creating a hole in the ground from which sea water sprang up.
Athena arrived next and planted an olive tree.
Zeus and Cecrops judged the gifts.
While Poseidon gave water, its salt content made it unusable. OTOH, Athena's olive tree was central to Greek life as food and oil.
So, Athena won and named the city Athens.

Athena, Poseidon and legendary Athenian King Erechtheus

believed to be the place where Poseidon struck the Acropolis with his trident.

contained the olive tree believed to be planted by Athena

Cecrops and Erechtheus

a Greek drinking cup

kylix in the british museum

K. Aegeus went to Delphi asking how to get an heir
Then went to Pittheus of Troezen for him to interpret the oracle
Pittheus realized that the next time he had sex he would conceive a child
Pittheus got Aegeus drunk and induced him to sleep with his daughter, Aethra
The same night Aethra received a message from Athena in a dream that she should wade to the island of Sphairia
She lay on the shore and Poseidon coupled with her, so the child had human and godly characteristics

Aegeus worried that T's cousins in Athens would be jealous and kill him, so he left Aethra in Troezen.
Before he left he placed his sandals and sword under a rock and told Aethra that if his son was a worthy heir he would lift the rock and bring them back to him

chooses to take the difficult land route to Athens despite Pittheus and Aethra pleading with him to take the sea route.

minotaur - centre
Labours from Sinis ->Bull of Marathon depicted around centre

Periphetes - The club bearer
would hide on side of road, jump out and beat travellers to death with his club.
Theseus spotted him before he could pounce, grappled with him and beat him to death with his own club
Theseus took the club and used it in subsequent labours - Heracles parallel

Sinis - the pine bender
Sinis was a robber who would tie his victims to the end of bent pine trees then release them tearing them to pieces.
In one version, Theseus asks for help bending a pine, then letting go and flinging him to his death
In another version Theseus ties him to two pines and tears him in two.
After he killed Sinis Theseus courted his daughter Perigune and she bore him a son called Melanippus

not on quizlet

Crommyonian Sow
- Unlike other labours, Theseus sought out the sow - heroism
- Sow was either a beast or a female theif nicknamed "sow" on account of her beastly behaviour.
In both versions Theseus kills the Sow
The woman who reared the Sow is Phaea, the Grey one and is shown on the kylix

Sciron
Sciron was an old man who would sit on a path by the cliff's edge. He would ask passers by to wash his feet. then as they bent over he would kick them into the sea, where they would be eaten by a giant turtle.
Theseus caught him by the feet and threw him off the cliff

Cercyon
Theseus arrived at Eleusis, ruled by King Cercyon
As a show of strength, Cercyon would challenge visitors to a wrestling match, with the winner becoming King of Eleusis
Theseus outmatched him using his skill, discovering the art of wrestling.
Theseus becomes King, but moves on to Athens anyway.

Procrustes
Procrustes would invite visitors to stay on a magical bed which would fit anyone. Then he would lay them down on the bed.
If too short - use mallet to stretch out
If too long - chop off feet and head with axe
Theseus compelled him to lay on the bed to test it, then chopped off his head.

Bull of Marathon and Medea
Theseus arrives in Athens but does not reveal himself as his father was under control of the witch Medea
Medea knew who he was and convinced Aegeus that he was a threat
She arranged for him to prove his heroism by fighting the Bull of Marathon that had terrorised Attica since Heracles brought it to Eurystheus
Theseus easily mastered the bull, marched it through Athens and sacrificed it
Medea then tried to poison Theseus during the sacrifice, but when Theseus takes out his sword, Aegeus recognises it and in excitement knocks over the poison
Theseus is legally recognised as his heir in front of the citizens and Medea flees

The Minotaur
Because of his son Androgeus' death, K Minos of Crete demanded that 7 girls and 7 boys be sent from Athens to Crete as a sacrifice.
The youths were chosen by lot from the families, but Theseus volunteered.
In crete Theseus met Ariadne, daughter of Minos. they fell in love and she gave T a ball of wool so he would not get lost and a sword to kill the Minotaur.
Ariadne ran away with Theseus when he boarded his ship.
Theseus left her on the island of Naxos.

1- Ariadne was pregnant with Theseus child and while they rested Theseus went to secure the ship but was swept away by storms while on board and unable to return. The women of Naxos looked after Ariadne until she have birth and she lived out her life on Naxos
2- Theseus fell in love with another women and took her away, abandoning Ariadne
3- While on Naxos Athena came to Theseus in a dream and told him that Dionysus had chosen Ariadne as his bride and that Theseus was to leave her on Naxos.

Theseus meant to remove black sail of grief and replace with white sail - signified safety and success
Theseus forgot and when Aegeus saw the black sail he threw himself from the city walls into the sea
Theseus was sad and honoured his father with a state burial and sacrifices

As King of Athens, Theseus united the towns in Attica as a democracy(he destroyed all local town halls and council chambers and built new ones in Athens), and initiated the Panathenaic Games to celebrate this and unite their religions.

Theseus

helper of the poor and needy - demagogue

Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite

Venus and Anchises

Ascanius/Iulus

Venus brags about persuading gods to sleep with mortals
Jupiter placed in her a desire for the mortal man
Venus travels to Troy and meets Anchises - falls in love
Disguised as a mortal woman she slept with him. The next morning she reveals herself
Aeneas is son of mortal man and goddess

Troy - fierce warrior

10 years

given a divine mission to make new settlement
flees the city with father, wife and son
father on back, son in hand, wife behind
He loses his wife in the confusion and she later appears to him as a ghost - killed by Greeks

Public penates (sacred objects -statues of gods)

The most important heroic quality in the Aeneid, a Roman virtue that means 'sense of duty,' and applies to a man's duty towards his family, gods and city

Engages in war with the Latins
Either before the battle he explains his situation and Latinus allows them to settle, or he beats Latinus and settles
Aeneas marries Latinus' daughter Lavinia and makes Lavinium, having a son called Ascanius(sons unclear)

The Caesars - Julius and Augustus

- demonstrated pietas which Augustus wanted to promote
- allowed Augustus to reinforce his father's claims of lineage from Aeneas

Ascanius takes over
Lavinium overcrowded
A. founds Alba Longa
line of Kings from Silvius, Ascanius' son which leads to R and R

A and N are brothers
Amulius steals the throne from Numitor, the rightful king
Amulius makes Rhea Silvia, N's daughter, a Vestal Virgin so she cannot have children who might challenge him
Mars visits RS and she becomes pregnant with twins
Amulius orders them to be killed
Soldiers put them in Tiber in a basket but a wolf(or prostitute) rescues them
A sheperd called Faustulus came across twins and gave them to his wife Laurentia (possibly nicknamed lupa for promiscuous behaviour )to raise
The twins grow up and lead a group to fight against wild beasts and robbers

Antenor - took refugees and ended up on coast of Adriatic Sea

In prescense of the household gods

Amulius is defeated and AL given to N
R and R want own city to rule so build a new one
R and R consult gods with augury to decide who should rule
Romulus - palatine
Remus - Aventine
Remus receives oracle first - 6 vultures
Romulus receives just after - 12
both presumed victory
argue
fight
Remus dead
Rome named after Romulus


or - Remus mocks Romulus' walls so is killed

The early history of rome

History

Livy tells story of Rome from Aeneas to Augustus

not like a modern historian - saw no need to separate fact from fiction
huge time period of 700 years
so sources to check - Rome sacked by Gauls in 386BC so no documents from before then
oral tradition
very biased - "greatest and most powerful people"

because military fame is so great and widespread- other nations should submit

learn lessons - choose what to copy and what to avoid

based on greed and excessive hedonism

Who are you
Where are you from
What made you leave
what are you looking for

Trojans
leader was Aeneas
fatherland burned and they were driven from home
find a new place to settle

Tiberinus drowned in it

Aventinus buried there

Plutarch

biography

The greatness of his deeds

Why did he do them?
T- of his own accord -may have come to Athens with no trouble but fought against villains for others
R- to escape slavery- not possible for him to be free with Amulius alive - R and R ignored others unless they were themselves suffering

What did he do?
T- destroyed villains and tyrants - battle of centaurs and attack on amazons- sailed to Crete voluntarily - no word great enough for his greatness

R- destroyed one tyrant of Alba Longa - wounded fighting Sabines and destroying Acron and defeating many other enemies

leadership

Both had strong statesmanlike natures
Neither followed a kingly path

Each made same mistake but for different reasons
T tightened his grip on power and became a demagogue because of goodwill, whereas R did so because of severity and seriousness

reason for misfortune

Both killed family members
R killed brother in temper and directly - no excuse
T killed son because he was overcome by love, jealousy and false accusations of a woman, and did so indirectly

Hippolytus disrespects Aphrodite
she makes Phaedra, wife of Theseus, fall in love with him
Phaedra commits suicide and leaves a note blaming Hippolytus for rape
Theseus uses a wish to curse his son to death
son thrown from chariot - mad horses
gods reveal to Theseus that it was not his fault

T- emigrant
- built one dwelling place by combining many, destroying many cities named after ancient heroes
R - superior because rose from lowest beginnings - slaves
became killers of enemies, saviours of family, kings of tribes and founders of cities
created new city
helped homeless and in need
did not kill robbers but subdued nations

family
R- debated as to who killed remus - most blame for others
- Romulus saved mother from catastrophe, reinstated grandfather on throne and helped doing no harm
T- arguably parricide - negligence regarding sail although possible that Aegeus fell on accident

women and the gods

T - Ariadne - the work of gods scheming to save the man
- rape of women- raped so many women incl. Ariadne, Antiope, Anaxa, Helen - lust and hedonism
- his marriage did not bring friendship but enemies
- left mother to be captured

- gods did not want him - oracle suggests that he was against their wishes

R- snatched 800+ women but only took 1 for himself - distributed others to the best citizens
displayed honour, affection, justice towards women
- these marriages brought goodwill and power

- his birth was clearly wanted by the gods

- war between Caesar and Pompey in 59BC
- 21 or 26 when Caesar was assasinated
- a year later, Cassius and Brutus were defeated in Phillipi
- battle of Actium in 31BC
-Octavian in charge
- 28BC - Octavian named Augustus

- fire under Nero in Rome in 64AD
- Pompeii destroyed in 79AD
- Titus finished colosseum in 79AD

biography - more concerned with character and person than narrrative history

used sources and read a lot - main source and others
but filled in blanks with own thoughts

used other historians like Livy who were biased

stories myth and legend rather than fact