9 The Struggle for Greek Democracy 1. The Persian Empire and its religion 2.

9 The Struggle for Greek Democracy

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The Persian Empireand its religion

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Cyrus the Shepherd, the Great

• Cyrus the Shepherd (nomadic herder) creates new more decentralized, moderate regime– Allows local bureaucracies to continue– Toleration toward local religions

• Recall role of Enkidu in Gilgamesh• “Cyrus’ legend had grown so great that the

Babylonians welcomed their new foreign king without even giving battle.” – (Spodek, 3rd edition, 134-5; paragraph dropped

from 4th)3

New Religion of Empire: Zoroastrianism

• Cyrus, Darius adopt Monotheism of Zoroaster (630-553)– One God of Light/goodness (Ahurah Mazda)– fighting a separate power of Evil, darkness (Ahriman) – Recall Akhenaton’s Aton, the Sun, which sets at night– History is a conflict > Final victory of the Light, the Good

• See p. 273 re world religions today – Zoroastrians = Parsis of India

• Friedrich Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

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Influence on Judaism

• Restoration of the temple in the Bible:– “[The Lord] says of Cyrus, – ‘He is My shepherd, – and he shall perform all My pleasure,’ – saying to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be built,’ – and to the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be

laid.’” • Isaiah (44:28)

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Influence on Christianity?

• Gospel of John: 1:4-5– 4: In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

• “God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

• Three wise men, “Magi”– = Priests of Zoroaster: the magha or maga, known

to the Greeks as the magi

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Monotheism as religion of empire

• 1) Animism (of Persian nomads)• 2) Anthropomorphic polytheism (of Mesopotamia) • 3) (Animistic) monotheism (of new Persian State)– Ethical religion of Light versus Darkness– Moral good versus evil

• Repeats Egyptian pattern of Akhenaten, but more successfully. Why?– Recall: Akhenaten was ahead of his time. – His revolution was based on poetic intuition, not

the urgency of practical life

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Advantages of New Religion• Advantages for Persians– Old animism is place related– Conquering Persian rulers leave old places– So open to new belief in a God of Light– Preserves animistic (naturalistic) character

• Advantages for Mesopotamians: – Old Mesopotamian gods are arbitrary, oppressive, – not ethical (recall explanation of the Flood)– Desire for freedom on rain-watered lands > openness to a

freer religion

• I.e., practical urgency for a new belief system8

Failure or Victory for Iron Age Mesopotamian Peasants?

• 1) Seek complete freedom on rain-watered lands (V)• 2) Provoke intensified violence of Assyrians (U)• 3) Final result: moderate rule of Persia (V+U)

Parallelogram of forces• Great power of Persia dominates vast territory,

including Egypt (see map, p. 135)• 4) Confronts new iron age city-states of Greece

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Three states

• Harappa: trade-based civilization• Persia: old style of civilization channels the

new iron-age agriculture• Greece: – iron-age agriculture developing independently, – and trading state

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Outline re Greece• 1) Geographical position and history

– Riddle of the Sphinx => the solution of Greece• 2) The implications of the new elements of history for

democracy– Iron – Alphabet– Trade

• 3) The Struggle for Greek democracy: obstacles to freedom– From the outside– From within

• 4) Evolution of Greek Religion: from religion to philosophy

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1) Greek Peasants Gain Freedom

• Iron plow of free “man”• Position in relation to Persia– Not too far– Not too close

• Protected from Persia by mountains, Aegean sea (map, p. 150)

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Geographical basis and history

• Inner geography: Valleys separated by mountains

• > Independent, divided city states• What does this lead to? – (compare with Mesopotamia)

• When do the Greeks fight each other?– 1) Persian war– 2) Peloponnesian war

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Early Greek Unity

• Greeks first unite against Persian invader– Then, after the Persians are defeated, they fight

each other

• Greeks win Persian War (490-465 BCE)• How? • Clue: Riddle of the Sphinx

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Riddle of the Sphinx• Sphinx (p. 74) symbol of Egypt, old order• Sphinx guards narrow mountain pass– Narrow passes into Greece– Persians held off at Battle of Thermopylae (narrow

coastal pass) (480) by Spartan “300” led by Leonidas• Poses riddle: solve it or die• Oedipus solves riddle• “Man” is the higher principle of Greece (Hegel)—

the beautiful, free (male) human being

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“Man” as Solution of the Riddle• Hunter-gatherers – dependent on nature– Nature religion (animism)

• Early state civilizations – ruled by outside powers, gods/God– Arbitrary tyranny of gods > kings as gods on earth– But trend of ethical monotheism (Akhenaton, Zoroaster,

Hebrew Bible)• Greek discovery: the human being as an independent

power– “Man is the measure of all things.” – Protagoras (481-420

BCE)

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Greek civilization breaks with nature

• Many things cause terror and wonder, yet nothing • is more terrifying and wonderful than man. • This thing goes across the gray • sea on the blasts of winter • storms, passing beneath • waters towering 'round him. The Earth, • eldest of the gods, • unwithering and untiring, this thing wears down • as his plows go back and forth year after year• furrowing her with the issue of horses. (Antigone, 332-41)

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2) New Elements in History (repeat)

• 1) From bronze age to iron age: – New material technology

• 2) Growing trade between societies– New social elements: merchants

• 3) From hieroglyphics to the alphabet: – New mental technology

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Sources of democracy

• Iron technology– Bronze: aristocratic– Iron: democratic

• Alphabet– Hieroglyphic writing: aristocratic– Phonetic alphabet as democratic mental

technology

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Promise of the new technology

• Iron as a democratic metal v bronze• Greater productivity of labor, surpluses• More leisure time for arts, science, philosophy• > A state (government?) of free people ruling

themselves• But in Mesopotamia, the old Bronze Age state

channels the new forces within the old framework

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Implications of Trade

• 1) Democracy: What counts is the money, not the person

• 2) Reasoning, calculating, math is required by merchants

• => Philosophy: rise of independent reasoning, • versus dictates of religious authority, priesthood

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Trade and the rise of Philosophy• Relation between Wheat and Wine?– Qualitative differences in appearance

• Trade: X bushels of Wheat = Y bottles of Wine ?? – What makes two different things equal?

• X Wheat = $20• Y Wine = $20• Quantitative calculations of reason replace qualitative

experiences • Why are they equal? • Not because of taste, appearance, amounts but …???

• => Philosophical reason seeks deeper truth under sensuous appearances• See Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

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How democratic was it?

• 1) Early non-state societies• 2) Hierarchical state, monarchy• 3) Greek “democratic” state– State or government? – Free men: 1/6 of population of Athens– = a minority rules over a majority

• Hegel on the basic movement of history:– One is free > Some are free > All are free

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3) Two obstacles to freedom

• External: the old bronze-age state– “Dynamism” of Mesopotamia– > Moderate, but powerful state of Persia– But Greece defeats the old state;– And so Greece has an opportunity to develop the

full potentialities of iron age agriculture

• Internal– Growth of inequality from within

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Rise of Inequality from Within

• Natural development of unequal wealth– Land is tilled by separate families– Population growth– From rich to poor lands – > Impoverishment and enslavement– Debt servitude

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Two solutions: Flight and Fight

• Importance of emigration in early Greek history– Sea travel improves, opens up new paths to

freedom– Colonies grow up on coast of Asia Minor (p. 150)• Cause of Persian War

• Threat of internal war between classes– Wars between rich and poor

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Military advantages of the poor

• No powerful state (yet)• Cheap iron weapons• > Hoplite (phalanx) formation (119)– Versus aristocratic charioteers– Requires discipline, leisure > wealth– Egalitarian military formation

• > Freedom of citizens is essential to military strength of polis

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4) “Religion” of the free, beautiful man

• See statue of dying Gaul http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_Gaul

• Compare Darius (138)• Hegel: free, beautiful man (male) as central

“religion” for Greeks

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Paradox of Greece in the History of religion

• Stone Age: Animism• Bronze Age: Anthropomorphic polytheism: – The decrees of the gods in Gilgamesh

• Iron Age: Monotheism– The Ethical commandments of Yahweh in the Bible

—– Akhenaton in Egypt, Zoroaster in Persia

• Greece: Iron Age civilization, but with a Bronze Age religion of anthropomorphic polytheism

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Blocked Evolution of Greek Religion

• Anthropomorphic polytheism seems to contradict ideas of – “free beautiful individuality” and “man” as center

(answer to Riddle of Sphinx) – Human reason seeking truth behind appearances

• Further evolution -- to monotheism? • But the beautiful Homeric poetry blocks

further development re gods, divine

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No Religion of Empire

• (Animistic) monotheism of Akhenaton, Zoroaster– Unites people of radically different religions– Difficulties of Pantheon method of unification of

religions• But Greek city states do not unite– Homer’s Bronze Age Pantheon of gods remains in

place• > Failure of Alexander’s Empire– No unifying new belief system to unite Greece, Persia,

Egypt, India …

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Transformation of Greek Religion

• See Athena (149) – = symbol of Athens, the city-state—the polis

• New function of religion: Focus on the (free) city-state

• => Worship ourselves!– Oracle at Delphi: Know Yourself– Philosophy: Think for yourself!

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History of Greek Thought

• 1) Animism (religion of mother Earth)– Trampled on by Man, with iron plow

• 2) Anthropomorphic polytheism of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey – Beauty of expression, psychological accuracy of the

anthropomorphic qualities of the gods– Blocks further evolution of religious thought– > Failure of Greek empire of Alexander: no religion of empire?

• 3) Philosophy: Know yourself! Think for yourself – Democracy

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From Religion to Philosophy

• Socrates: Is something good because the gods command it, or do the gods command it because it is good? (Plato’s Euthyphro)– It is good (only) because the Gods say so: focus on

religious authority– The gods say so because it is good (independent

of what the gods or anyone might think): focus on the truth of the matter, using our own minds

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Socrates’ “crime”

• Socrates/Plato replace focus on religious authority with philosophy: people can think for themselves about what is good.

• Is this “impiety” to the gods? Atheism? • Alleged crimes of Socrates: “he denies the

gods and corrupts the youth”

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