The Geographical Division of Greek Society

The very different societies of capital of Greece and Sparta, as these had taken form in the classical age, embody two variant solutions to the problem; in Athens, what we may work out as "progressive" aristocrats opted to support the popular party and gain a democratic system, while in Sparta, the conquest of Messenia and parceling of its land and helot population to support the Spartiates was designed to uphold a kind of equality founded upon the communal domination of others (Kitto, 88-109). The Pelopponesian struggle was in part shaped by the class constitution of Athens and Sparta, the former siding with democratic factions and the latter with aristocrats. Finally, the struggle itself was triggered by a violent stasis that broke out in Corcyra, and the end of the war saw a brief installment of stasis in Athens itself.

Because stasis was so predominant in classic public life, it should not surprise us that the problem of solvent it shaped numerous Hellenic institutions, and was a preoccupation of Greek thinkers. The problem of stasis also merged with a more cosmopolitan philosophical issue: The responsibilities of the individual with respect to the community. The two were near linked in part because of the small size of close to city-states.

This can scarcely be over-emphasized. Athens was much bigger than most Greek states, in both area and population, merely even it was of decidedly modest dimensions. The whole plain of Attica is ab

between the general and his men derived from the shared

follows. First, they shall open no private property

above the rank and file. (Hanson, 110)

Plato. The Republic.

Desmond Lee, trans. London: Penguin, 1955.

shall eliminate together in messes and live together like

The military likeness is an apt one, for the great domesticate of uniformity among the Greeks was identitical to their great school of community: the phalanx. The element of communal solidarity in the phalanx we flummox already touched upon, but another fundamental peculiarity of the phalanx was its uniformity. Although the hoplites, the soldiers of the phalanx, were individually responsible for providing their arms and equipment, these were uniform in all essentials. "Supporting arms" (such as peltasts) existed, but their image was emphatically secondary on all but a few occasions.

The best one can say of the hold situation in

kept on them, then, to see if they stick to this

the gods fuddle not written merely, but made infallible.

than a hoplite who was stationed close on the right

Ordercustompaper.com is a professional essay writing service at which you can buy essays on any topics and disciplines! All custom essays are written by professional writers!