Class In Archaic Greece
by Peter W. Rose /
2012 / English / PDF
5.6 MB Download
Archaic Greece saw a number of decisive changes, including the
emergence of the polis, the foundation of Greek settlements
throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea, the organisation of
panhellenic games and festivals, the rise of tyranny, the invention
of literacy, the composition of the Homeric epics and the emergence
of lyric poetry, the development of monumental architecture and
large scale sculpture, and the establishment of 'democracy'. This
book argues that the best way of understanding them is the
application of an eclectic Marxist model of class struggle, a
struggle not only over control of agricultural land but also over
cultural ideals and ideology. A substantial theoretical
introduction lays out the underlying assumptions in relation to
alternative models. Material and textual remains of the period are
examined in depth for clues to their ideological import, while
later sources and a wide range of modern scholarship are evaluated
for their explanatory power.
Archaic Greece saw a number of decisive changes, including the
emergence of the polis, the foundation of Greek settlements
throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea, the organisation of
panhellenic games and festivals, the rise of tyranny, the invention
of literacy, the composition of the Homeric epics and the emergence
of lyric poetry, the development of monumental architecture and
large scale sculpture, and the establishment of 'democracy'. This
book argues that the best way of understanding them is the
application of an eclectic Marxist model of class struggle, a
struggle not only over control of agricultural land but also over
cultural ideals and ideology. A substantial theoretical
introduction lays out the underlying assumptions in relation to
alternative models. Material and textual remains of the period are
examined in depth for clues to their ideological import, while
later sources and a wide range of modern scholarship are evaluated
for their explanatory power.