ANCIENT GREECE

reflections in the
MODERN WORLD
Text
konstantinos skalidis
Translation
R. L. N. Barber
Layout
vangelis papiomytoglou
Copyright 2015
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ISBN: 978-960-6848-83-4
 konstantinos skalidis

ANCIENT GREECE
reflections in the
MODERN WORLD

MEDITERRANEO
EDITIONS
I N D E X

1. Introduction 6

2. People and place 14

The Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods 15

The Bronze Age Cycladic civilisation 17

Minoan civilisation 19

Mycenaean civilisation 22

3. The alphabet 26

Today's alphabet 28

4. Coinage 31

5. Athletics 36

6. The rise of personal individuality 47

7. Religion 53

8. City Politics Democracy 57

9. Philosophy and Science 70

10. Education, Humanism 86

11. The theatre 94

12. The image of man in art and history 103

13. The Greek language 110

14. Epilogue 115

ANCIENT GREECE reflections in the MODERN WORLD
1. Introduction
In The clash of civilisations and the remak-
ing of world order (1996, especially p.
307), a book much discussed in recent
years, Samuel Huntington refers to "the
need to rejuvenate the atlantic commu-
nity", emphasised by "leaders from both
sides of the Atlantic". He writes:
"In late 1994 and in 1995, the German and
British Defense Ministers, the French and
American Foreign Ministers, Henry Kiss-
inger, and various other leading figures
all espoused this cause. Their case was
summed up by British Defense Minister
The Parthenon on the Acropolis at Athens,
built 447 - 438 B. C.
This is a World Heritage site, and the greatest
artistic achievement of the Democratic spirit. It
represents, in combination, the inspired theo-
retical concept of the architects Pheidias, Icti-
nus and Callicrates, the initiative of the general
assembly of Athenian citizens (the Assembly of
the People), and the perfect practical applica-
tion of the theoretical concept by hundreds of
the best citizen-technicians - all under continu-
ous scrutiny of costs and public expense by the
Athenian citizen body.
6
Malcolm Rifkind, who, in November 1994,
argued the need for an "Atlantic Commu-
nity, resting on four pillars: defense and se-
curity embodied in NATO; "shared belief in
the rule of law and parliamentary democ-
racy"; "liberal capitalism and free trade";
and "the shared European cultural herit-
age emanating from Greece and Rome
through the Renaissance to the shared
values, beliefs and civilization of our own
century"
The "shared European cultural heritage
emanating from Greece and Rome", par-
ticularly the part which relates to ancient
Greece, is the subject of this little book.
The chapters which follow present in
written form a series of short on-site
talks encapsulating the theme "Greek civ-
ilisation, the beginning and foundation of
the Western world".
All of us have heard it said, at one time
or another, that the western civilisation
of today is based on principles which
were introduced into human history for
the first time by the culture of ancient
Greece without, however, it being clear
of precisely what the contribution of the
ancient Greeks consists. We all assert
that European thought has its beginnings
in Greek antiquity but, as the statement
is offered as more or less self-evident,
it mostly remains unjustified. Greece is
universally referred to as the "cradle
of Democracy". But to what extent is it
generally understood how this system
of government came about in antiquity
and who were the people involved? What
7 INTRODUCTION

The ancient stadium in the sanctuary of Zeus

at Olympia, 4th. century B. C.
The stadium seated about 40, 000 people and
demonstrates the breadth of participation
in the festival, the most important of several
similar events.

developed in ancient Greece. Many mil-

lions of people follow on television the
lighting of the flame at ancient Olympia
which signals the beginning of each Ol-
ympiad. But few are acquainted with the
was the process of development and traditions and processes which resulted
what the end result? Who, in the end, in such an institution.
were those "Greeks"? The view of the
Everyone knows too that the Olympic NATO officials
Games, and the organisation of athletic noted above
contests generally, were instituted and is not new and

The so-called "Belvedere torso", an Attic Greek work of the Roman

period, after an original of c. 200 BC, found in Italy
(Vatican Museum, Rome).
Michelangelo was asked to restore this work but, in spite of his
lifelong interest in sculpture, he studied the figure and refused.
The influence of this figure is evident in his work in the Sistine
Chapel in the Vatican which specialists regard as the introductory
chapter of Modernism in Western Art. The juxtaposed forms of
Adam and St. Bartholomew show us how and how far the sight
and study of the Torso radically influenced artists perception of the
treatment of the human body, in other words of man's percep-
tion of himself.
ANCIENT GREECE reflections in the MODERN WORLD
the subsequent reference to the Renais-
sance is not accidental because the im-
age of the Classical period, pretty much
as we understand it today, was created
then. That was the moment when a new
approach to life took over, one which
sees man, with individuality and free
will, as the measure of all historical and
cultural developments what today we
call humanism. And since every society
and every generation projects its ide-
als, validating them by reference to a
parallel in a great age of the past, it is
the Italian humanists of the 15th century
who are credited with the creation of an
ideal picture of the Classical period. Their
success consists in the fact that, since
then, Greek antiquity, in the form that
they promoted it is, for most historians,
the primary, all-embracing and eternal
source of European and, by extension, of
Western civilisation.
After the Renaissance, the Enlighten-
ment was the ideological and cultural
movement of the 18th century, embracing
all intellectual circles and areas of intel-
lectual activity a variegated and multi-
faceted phenomenon incorporating ele-
ments of universal significance such as
the industrial revolution and the very rap-
id development of the sciences Physics,
Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, As-
tronomy and so on. It is the "emergence
of man from immaturity" in the words of
Immanuel Kant, and has as a sociopoliti-
cal conclusion the French revolution. The
Enlightenment returned to the picture
of Greek antiquity which the 15th century
The church of St. Pancras
in London, 1822
Many aristocratic intellectuals travelled from
England to the east Mediterranean, which
was then part of the Ottoman empire. They
published books which described their
impressions and included drawings
of the ancient monuments they had seen.
They took away with them whatever they
could carry. Collecting antiquities was a
fashion which, at the beginning of the 19th
century, developed into organised theft.
Lord Elgin caused enormous damage on the
Athenian acropolis by removing those parts
of the Parthenon pediments which are today
on display in the British Museum. Together
with these, he took away a Caryatid and an
Ionic column from the Erectheion. Almost
immediately after the arrival of the stolen
items in London in 1822, the church of St.
Pancras was built with an Ionic colonnade in
its faade, just like the Erectheion.
Neoclassicism in architecture marks an
entire generation in the whole of
the western world, and every city of any
pretension acquired as many
neoclassical buildings as possible.
9 INTRODUCTION

Italian humanists had created and gave it
new life with its own contemporary ideo-
logical reading.
Romanticism was the ideological current
which arose in reaction to the Enlighten-
ment, and was dominant in Europe in
the 19th century. It emphasised different
qualities such as emotion, the dream,
individuality, the exotic, and opposition
to classical rules and logic but it, too,
returned to antiquity to propose a dif-
ferent reading of the same picture. The
journal, published in Berlin, which rep-
resents the first expression of Romanti-
cism, was called Athenaeum.
Thus all the ideological currents which
contributed to the making of today's
European Western civilisation were
founded on the bedrock of the ancient
Greek tradition. In this way, ancient
Greece became the immovable point
of reference, continuously relevant.
The Greeks were treated as having said
everything, or almost everything, about
man, the laws, the city, love, democracy,
the gods, war, justice, existence, and so
on. Everything was taken to have been
worked out, said or written, as if by

The Glyptothek in Munich, 1830

th
At the beginning of the 19 century the theft of antiquities became an organised industry which
combined adventure, expertise, and the selling on of the booty for profit. In still-Ottoman Athens,
we find a group of educated antiquarians of the time, organising excavation on Aegina, purchasing
"permission" from the Turkish authorities and, after various adventures, putting the sculptures
found up for auction. They were bought by the philhellene Ludwig, successor to the throne of
Bavaria who, later, as Ludwig I, built the Glyptothek to house them.
The fact that important people of the time were prepared to pay serious amounts of money to
acquire Greek antiquities demonstrates their love for the Greek education they had received.
A series of neoclassical buildings erected then still adorns Munich, the "Athens on the banks of the
Isar". In 1833 Ludwig I would send his young son, Otho, to be the first king of the newly-formed
Greek state.
 10

The periodical Athenaeum, published in Berlin in 1898.

This journal is considered the founding statement of Romanticism
in Germany. It was an intellectual movement which would take
to its bosom the most important artists and intellectuals, such
Goethe, Hlderlin, Heine and Hegel in Germany; the poets Keats,
Byron and Shelley in England; the painters Delacroix and Gricault
in France; to name just a few. They all examined artistically the
perplexities of their generation, regularly turning to motifs from
classical antiquity and Greek mythology as metaphors to endow
their creations with a catholic and universal aspect. The huge
amounts of money spent on the acquisiton of antiquities and
the formation of collections was merely the material expression
of a generalised idealisation, a reference to a perfect prototype,
and a worship of Greek antiquity. These ideas became commonplace among
educated people of the time. When the Greek revolution against the Ottoman empire
broke out in 1821, people discovered that at the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula were
to be found not only beautiful stonework but also inhabitants who considered themselves
descendants of the ancient Greeks, and that they were now fighting for their freedom. In
many European countries there arose powerful movements of volunteers. Some organised
collections and events to raise money and send supplies to the revolutionary Greeks while
others set out for Greece. Large numbers of volunteers lined up with the Greeks on the field
of battle and many lost their lives, often from illness. Philhellenism became a pan-European
movement. The Philhellenes, acting against the policies of their own governments, were
in rebellion against the suppression of human rights and national ambitions which was
common in post-Napoleonic Europe. The death of the most famous philhellene, Lord Byron,
at Mesolongi was considered a defeat for European ideals, as each individual understood
them. Bowing to the strong pressure of public opinion, three of the greatest powers of the
time Great Britain, France and Russia declared themselves protectors of the revolutionary
Greeks and with their navy and army defeated the Turkish-Egyptian fleet at Navarino (Pylos)
in October 1827. From this resulted the modern Greek state, though much smaller then than
it is today.

some miracle, twenty five centuries ago
in a small sun-drenched corner of the
earth. The enthusiasm which captivated
students of ancient Greece which, it
should be noted, never consisted of a
unified state entity by today's standards
enabled them to overlook practices
and aspects of the life of people in an-
cient times which today demand a highly
critical assessment, such as the status of
women, slavery or pederasty (which our
standards would have brought some of
the leading men before the public pros-
ecutor).
In the 19th century, Berlin was known as
"Athens on the banks of the Spree", Mu-
11 INTRODUCTION

nich as "Athens on the banks of the Isar", and are summoned every so often to
London as "Athens on Thames" and, fur- vote, for the purpose of choosing one of
ther north, Edinburgh as "the Athens of their fellow-citizens to perform a public
the north" and the neoclassical build- office for a specified period of time?
ings which were erected then continue In brief, this little book aims to give a
to dominate the aspects of those cities. summary explanation of where, how,
Contemporary historical thought does when, and under what circumstances,
not accept the existence of idyllic com- developed the basic characteristics of
munities of miracle-workers or prophets. our present way of life and the world
Ancient Greek societies have been stud- view of Western man.
ied intensively and we know that civilisa-
tion then was the product of harsh socio- The Aphrodite of Melos
economic conflicts. "Venus di Milo", 2nd century
In any case, the past is not something to BC (Louvre, Paris).
be imitated. Most people today regard London acquired the
ancestor-worship, for example, as folly, "Elgin marbles", Munich
the "Aeginetans", but
and contemporary history studies past Paris was behind in
generations to provide us with material the international
for constructive consideration, compari- competition to
son and reflection with the future in mind. acquire ancient works
of art. Instructions
But what were the achievements of the
were given and Louis
ancient Greeks? How and by what pro- Fauvel, collector of
cesses emerged those developments antiquities, returned to
which are taken for granted by a large Athens as French Vice-
Consul and began to
part of the population of the globe, such
assemble whatever he
as (in no particular order) constitutional could. The combined
government, the democratic system, efforts of diplomats
freedom of speech, individual rights, the and agents brought
subordination of the army to political spectacular results.
In 1820 the Louvre
control, separation of civil and ecclesi- acquired the Aphrodite
astical authority, equality under the law, of Melos, in an eventful
freedom of scientific research, and so on? episode which cost the
How did it come about something also statue one of its arms. The
arm had been discovered
taken for granted by hundreds of millions
but was lost again during
of people that they pass a large part of quarrels over ownership of
their time in places labelled "public" like the statue.
theatres, sports grounds and gymnasia,
ANCIENT GREECE reflections in the MODERN WORLD 12

This modest effort does not claim the

laurels of original work. It is the fruit
of the instruction of inspired mas- The so-called
ters, of the prolonged study of works "Mourning
of many learned scholars, and of all Athena", c. 470
BC (Acropolis
kinds of books and publications, as Museum, Ath-
well as visits to and first-hand study ens).
of numerous excavations and mu- An artistic
seums, not only in the territory of expression of
the sobriety
Greece as it is today but in the Medi-
and conscien-
terranean and Europe more widely. tiousness of
the emergent
democracy.

The Capitol in Washington: passage with colonnade

The USA government website explains that good taste, his principles were firmly linked to
construction of the Capitol began in 1791, with Greek architecture. And that he was a fanatical
completion of the first phase in 1826, and that Greek
the work was supervised by six different presi- An orgy of construction of new public buildings
dents and six architects. There were frequent followed the foundation of the new U. S. A. The
differences of opinion between politicians and nascent democracy was inspired by the princi-
designers as to how the project could be best ples of the Enlightenment and, consequently,
carried out to provide a symbolically powerful of Classical antiquity. Neoclassical buildings of
and operationally effective building within a ne- antique appearance were erected in numerous
oclassical framework. Perceiving themselves as cities. These continue today to be a source of
the inheritors, guardians and upholders of West- pride to their citizens, as the first imposing pub-
ern civilisation, they constructed for the Capitol lic buildings.
of the new nation a building based on American
and European symbols and traditions.
In 1827 the architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe
undertook the layout of the interior. He de-
signed the Supreme Court in the Doric order
of Poseidonia (Paestum), the Senate chamber
and antechamber in the 5th century Ionic order,
and he employed the Corinthian order of the
Monument of Lysicrates for the House of Rep-
resentatives, and of the Tower of the Winds for
the entrance to the Library. He based his designs
on the reconstructions of ancient buildings pub-
lished by British travellers. Typically, he wrote
to President Thomas Jefferson that, as regards
13 INTRODUCTION

Epikourios Apollo at Bassae, Phigaleia, to the

British Museum. For architects of the time,
first-hand study of the classical monuments
described by the Roman writer Vitruvius in
his book On Architecture the basic manual
of neoclassical architecture was of the
greatest importance.

Monument to the dead of the Napoleonic

wars in Edinburgh, the "Athens of the North"
(above); entrance to the Ashmolean Mu-
seum, Oxford (right) both designed by
Charles Robert Cockerell.
The Edinburgh monument, which imitated
the Parthenon in Athens, was never finished
but nevertheless continues to dominate the
appearance of the city today.
Cockerell was one of the group of antiquar-
ians who sold "the Aeginetans" to Ludwig
I of Bavaria, and the frieze of the Temple of

The house of Fauvel, the

French consul in Athens,
below the Acropolis;
coloured lithograph by
Louis Dupr, 1819 (before
the Greek revolution
against the Ottoman
yoke in 1821) (Benaki
Museum, Athens).
The house operated as
a shop where various
antiquarian travellers
could buy antiquities.