Week 3 (through 9/11) Stasis & Classical Greatness — How So?
It’s one thing to focus on the greatness of classical Greece - traditionally that has meant Athens was the major, sometimes only focus. But isn’t it strange that classical Greece was also a strife-ridden, dangerous place? I’m referring to the continual tension among the city-states that seems to be mirrored in the internal factionalism of those poleis – the “stasis” or continual strife. What do you make of this — what’s your opinion? How might all this be explained? What factors contributed to the problem? Why was it so “Greek” to be a war with one’s neighbors?
While the solution of holding Greece together through Poleis may have been a good option
for Greek peoples at the time, I believe it is what caused such bitter strife between the city-states. The forming of these Poleis yielded the Greek’s rivalry and borders, which may have been a large factor of
the fighting and continual discord among Greece. Because the Poleis made borders, it was
natural to be in competition with neighbors. The Olympics were formed to show which Greek
state had the best athletes, and by having the best athletes proved which state was most
honorable to the gods. If the Greeks had formed a large unified country, the legendary Greek
Games and other major competition outside of the athletic realm may have never occured.The
common bond among Greeks was language; there was little to bond the Poleis together outside
of language. The only time Greeks worked together was to fight against common enemies, and
often times that meant being allied to fight other Greek states. The forming of the Greek
city-states made it easier for the warring and strife to occur within the Greek Empire.
Comment by Tyler McKinney (mck3244) — September 9, 2008 @ 8:12 pm