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Pomeroy et al., pp. 335-343; Reader (Oxyrhynchus historian on the Boiotian Federation) |
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Reader (Diodoros XV, 28-30; Harding nos. 31; 33; 34; 35; 37; 38) |
I. Pomeroy et al.
1. Xenophon, the Greek mercenary general in the army of the Persian nobleman, Cyrus, is the same Xenophon who was a student of Socrates and author of many works including a history that picked up where Thucydideshad left off (411 B.C.) and continued the narrative of Greek affairs down to the late 360's B.C. (see pp. 288, 332).
2. (supplement for Pomeroy p. 334) The Spartans and the Persians had been allies since 411/410 B.C. when the Spartans abandoned the Greeks of Asia Minor in exchange for Persian monetary support. Following the end of the Peloponnesian War, Spartan-Persian relations deteriorated until in 396 Agesilaus, who had recently been installed as one of Sparta's two kings, led a Greek expedition into Asia Minor in response to an appeal by the Greeks living there for help against the increasingly harsh demands of the Persian governor, Tissaphernes. Agesilaus remained in Asia until the spring of 394 B.C. This was the first time that a Spartan king had led an expedition outside of Greece and for a king to remain away for so long a period of time was extraordinary.
3. What was the Corinthian War and what were its causes (pp. 334-335)? The isthmus referred to where most of the fighting took place was the Isthmus of Corinth.
4. Make a list of Sparta's actions after the conclusion of the King's Peace (Pomeroy et al. p. 337). Modern scholars refer to these actions as the 'Spartan outrages'.
5. How was Thebes' Cadmea liberated (pp. 337-338)?
6. What motivated Athens to hasten the development of a new naval confederacy, the Second Athenian Confederacy (also called the Second Athenian Sea League), in 378 B.C. (pp. 338)? Discussion Section this week will focus on this new confederacy. See below.
7. What was the significance of the battle at Leuctra in 371 B.C.?
8. Compare the organization of the Boiotian League with the organization of the Arcadian League (p. 341).
9. Why was the destruction of Sparta as a military power ultimately bad for the Greeks?
10. What were some of the causes of dissafection in the Second Athenian Confederacy (pp. 341-343)?
11. What was the Social War (p. 342)?
12. Think about the relationship between the Athenian assembly and Athens' generals. How did Athens treat here military leaders? Remember that the office of general (there were 10 each year) was one of the few elective offices in Athens. (The majority of offices were filled by drawing lots). In the few pages of Pomeroy you've read thus far, consider how many times you have read that Athens brought charges against her generals, found them guilty, and punished them with fines, exile, and even death.
Terms
II. Reader (Oxyrhynchus historian on the Boiotian Federation)
Probably from 446 B.C. the poleis located in the central Greek region of Boiotia were organized as a federated system of independent states that we call the Boiotian Federation. Thebes, the most powerful of the Boiotian poleis, dominated the Boiotian Federation without actually serving as its hegemon or leader. The autonomy clause of the King's Peace of 387 B.C. brought about the dissolution of the Boiotian Federation (see Pomeroy p. 336), but by 378 B.C. the Federation had been reconstituted.
The first selection in the Reader for Week Two is an excerpt from the history of an anonymous historian of the 4th century B.C. Modern scholars refer to him as the Oxyrhynchus Historian because the papyrus that preserves part of his history was discovered near the Egyptian village of Oxyrhynchus.
In this excerpt the Oxyrhynchus historian pauses in his description of causes of the outbreak of the Corinthian War (see Pomeroy et al. pp. 335-337) to describe the organization of the Boiotian Federation as it was constituted early in the 4th century B.C. Boiotia emerged as one of the leading Greek powers in the early fourth century and this was at least in part as a result of the political and military organization of the Federation. By pooling their resources, both human and material, and by limiting strife between the poleis of Boiotia, the Boiotians together grew strong.
In reading the passage, note how Thebes managed to maintain a leading position within the federal system.