chapter 4 2

The Earth and Its Peoples

3rd edition

Chapter 4

The Mediterranean and Middle East,

2000-500 B.C.E.

Cover Slide

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

AcropolisWith Pheidias as adviser, Perikles reconstructed Athens after it had been destroyed by the Persians. He dreamed of a city with magnificent edifices, temples and public buildings, and theaters. These buildings embody the noblest spirit of Greek architecture. At the right rises the Parthenon, the temple that honored Athena and Athens alike. The Erechtheum stands next to it, and to its left the Propylaea and the small temple of Athena Nike. (Spyros Spyrou Photo Gallery, Aegina)

Acropolis


Ancient Peruvian textileIn the early Chavin civilization of Peru, the women weavers developed new raw materials, techniques, and decorative motifs. They began to use the wool of llamas and alpacas in addition to cotton. Limitations to the width of woven fabric imposed by the back-strap loom were overcome by having three women work side by side and pass the weft from hand to hand. These women weavers both wove designs into the fabric and used paint or dyes to decorate plain fabric. This early Chavin painted fabric--decorated with a new religious motif of the jaguar-god--was used in a burial. The high-quality textiles of the Chavin were given as tribute to the elite and were used in trade to acquire luxury goods as well as dyes and metals. (Private Collection)

Ancient Peruvian textile


Arch of ConstantineThe triple arch commemorates Constantine's victory over his rival Maxentius. Much of the sculpture on the arch was plundered from earlier imperial monuments honoring Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius. Not only were the portraits of these earlier emperors recast to portray Constantine as the restorer of the glory of Rome, but the inscriptions above the frieze laud Constantine as "the Liberator of the City" and "the State's avenger upon the tyrant and his faction." (C.M. Dixon)

Arch of Constantine


Bronze ZeusThe so-called Poseidon of Artemision was found at the bottom of the seabed near Cape Artemision, Northern Eubioa; the arm was found in 1926, and the rest of the body was discovered in 1928. The god is represented at the moment when he raises his right arm to hurl his trident against an adversary. Some archaeologists believe it to be Zeus, preparing to cast a thunderbolt. (National Archaeological Museum, Athens/Archaeological Receipts Fund, Athens)

Bronze Zeus


Celtic hillfortAround 500 B.C.E. Celtic peoples spread across a substantial portion of Europe. The early Celts lived in or near hill-forts—lofty natural locations made even more defensible by earthwork fortifications. Hundreds of Celtic hill-forts, such as this one, have been found across Europe. They served as centers of administration, gathering points for Celtic armies, manufacturing centers, storage depots for food and trade goods, and places of refuge. As shown here, the natural defense offered by a hill could be improved by the construction of ditches and earthwork walls. ((c) Crown copyright NMR)

Celtic hill-fort


Early vase with horse and gooseHesiod lived near a village in Boeotia, in central Greece. In his poem Works and Days, we learn about his work as a farmer; most of the poem is a kind of farmer's almanac, describing the annual cycle of tasks on a Greek farm. This early Greek vessel, used for mixing wine with water, may have been made in Boeotia in Hesiod's lifetime. It represents a farm scene. (Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum)

Early vase with horse and goose


Golden calfAccording to the Hebrew Bible, after receiving the Ten Commandments Moses descended from Mount Sinai to find the Hebrews worshipping a golden calf, which was against Yahweh's laws. In July 1990 an American archaeological team found this model of a gilded calf inside a pot. The figure is strong evidence for the existence of a pagan cult, represented by the calf, in Palestine. (Courtesy of the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon. Photo: Carl Andrews)

Golden calf


Hittite solar discPerhaps the major contribution of the Hittites was the introduction of iron into war and agriculture in the form of weapons and tools. Here it was used to create a cult standard representing the Hittite concepts of fertility and prosperity. The circle surrounding the animals is the sun, beneath which stands a stag flanked by two bulls. Stylized bull's horns spread from the base of the disc. The symbol is also one of might and protection from outside harm. (Museum of Anatolian Civilization)

Hittite solar disc


Hittite warriorThis tall figure was carved on the wall of an entry gate to the city of Hattusas, the Hittite capital, during the New Kingdom Period. Fierce-looking, vigorous, and outfitted with battle ax, sword, kilt, and possibly mail shirt, he is designed to frighten away both human and supernatural enemies. (Ankara National Museum)

Hittite warrior


Hoplite phalanxThis frieze of attacking foot soldiers is from the so-called Chigi Vase--a Corinthian masterpiece. When the Greeks adopted heavy armor, weapons, and shields, their lack of mobility forced them to fight in several dense lines, each behind the other. Cohesion and order became as valuable as courage. Here a flute player plays a marching tune to help the hoplites maintain their pace during the attack. (Villa Guilia Museum/Gabinetto Fotografico Nazionale)

Hoplite phalanx


Ishtar GateBabylon was protected by a double enclosure totaling over 11 miles in length. The north side was the most strongly fortified. In front a double castle protected the main gate, which was dedicated to Ishtar, and housed a kind of museum containing ancient and foreign monuments. Here we see a reconstruction of the magnificent "Ishtar Gate." (Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY)

Ishtar Gate


Jerusalem at time of SolomonStrategically located in the middle of lands occupied by the Israelite tribes and on a high plateau overlooking the central hills and the Judaean desert, Jerusalem was captured around 1000 B.C.E. by King David, who made it his capital (the City of David is at left; the citadel and palace complex at center). The next king, Solomon, built the First Temple to serve as the center of worship of the Israelite god, Yahweh. Solomon's Temple (at upper right) was destroyed during the Neo-Babylonian sack of the city in 587 B.C.E. The modest structure soon built to take its place was replaced by the magnificent Second Temple, erected by King Herod in the last decades of the first century B.C.E. and destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. (Ritmeyer Archaeological Design)

Jerusalem at time of Solomon


Kritios BoyThe Kritios Boy--the work of the sculptor Kritios--no longer uses the contrived frontal pose of previous Kouroi. This work is often viewed as breaking from the Archaic design principles and moving toward the Classical. (Acropolis Museum/Archaeological Receipts Fund, Athens)

Kritios Boy


Minoan fresco of fleet in harborThe Minoans, or Cretans, were not Greeks and did not speak a Greek language, but their influence on mainland Greece was considerable. This painted frieze of a naval campaign was discovered in the course of the Thera excavations. It was executed in "miniature style" familiar from the fresco work of the palace at Knossos, Crete. (Archaeological Receipts Fund, Athens)

Minoan fresco of fleet in harbor


Mosaic of SapphoSappho came from an ordinary family; the death of her husband was the first event in her liberation. She attracted young women to Lesbos, both to study poetry and to be her lovers. The Greek letters in the upper left corner of this mosaic identify the idealized portrait as that of Sappho. The mosaic, which was found in Sparta, dates to the Roman Empire and testifies to Sappho's popularity in antiquity. (Museum of Sparta/Archaeological Receipts Fund)

Mosaic of Sappho


Mycenaean Lion GateThe Mycenaean civilization reached its height from 1400-1230 B.C.E. The Lion Gate was the entrance to the acropolis of Mycenae. The relief above the Lion Gate is an impressive example of the Creto-Mycenaean style. Four monolithic blocks make up the frame of the door, and the weight of the lintel alone is estimated to 20 tons. The sculpture that fills the relieving triangle depicts two lions facing each other on either side of a sacred pillar. (Dimitrios Harissiadis/Benaki Museum)

Mycenaean Lion Gate


Peplos MaidenThe corresponding female form of the Kouros--the Kore--was represented in the same rigid way but was clothed. The Peplos Maiden was named after her garment, called a peplos. The more natural flow of hair and more subdued smile show a move to more lifelike representation. (Acropolis Museum/Archaeological Receipts Fund, Athens)

Peplos Maiden


Relief of marine tradeIn this Assyrian relief Phoenician ships tow hewn logs for building purposes to a foreign port. Phoenician ships like these not only plied the eastern Aegean but also ventured into the western Mediterranean. (Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY)

Relief of marine trade


Sarcophagus of Lartie SeiantiThe Etruscans, living among various peoples in Italy at this time, evolved cities that resembled Greek city-states. Their wealth and political and military institutions enabled them to dominate an area that extended as far north as the Po Valley and as far south as Latium and Campania. The woman portrayed on this lavish sarcophagus is the noble Etruscan Lartie Seianti. Although the sarcophagus is her place of burial, she is portrayed as in life: comfortable and at rest. The influence of Greek art on Etruscan works is apparent in almost every feature of the sarcophagus. (Scala/Art Resource, NY)

Sarcophagus of Lartie Seianti


Spartan runnerThis bronze statuette from Laconia shows a woman running. Unlike other Greek women, elite Spartan women underwent physical education. Although their personal freedom was limited, women in Sparta suffered fewer restrictions than their counterparts in democratic Athens. (National Archaeological Museum, Athens/Archaeological Receipts Fund)

Spartan runner


Stoa of AttalosThe Greek stoa, or portico, was a long building divided along its center by a spacious roofed corridor that allowed people to walk while enjoying the air but avoiding the sun and rain. On the other side opened the rooms of various shops. Philosophers were fond of discussing their ideas while strolling along the spacious arcade. The philosophical school of Zeno received its name, Stoicism, because its adherents formulated their views in a stoa. (Courtesy, American School of Classical Studies, Agora)

Stoa of Attalos


Theater at EpidaurosThe Theater at Epidauros demonstrates the use of the modified tholos plan as mastered by the architect Polykleitos the Younger--concentric rows of seats with stepped aisles placed at consistent intervals. This well-preserved theater had no stage, for the building behind the orchestra housed the scenery. (William Hubbell/Woodfin Camp & Associates)

Theater at Epidauros


Map: The Assyrian and Persian Empires

The Assyrian and Persian EmpiresThe Assyrian Empire at its height (ca. 650 B.C.E.) included almost all of the old centers of power in the ancient Near East. By 513 B.C.E., however, the Persian Empire not only included more of that area but also extended as far east as western India. With the rise of the Medes and Persians, the balance of power in the Near East shifted east of Mesopotamia for the first time. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)


Map: The Middle East in the Second Millennium B.C.E.

The Middle East in the Second Millennium B.C.E.Although warfare was not uncommon, treaties, diplomatic missions, and correspondence in Akkadian cuneiform fostered cooperative relationships between states. All were tied together by extensive networks of exchange centering on the trade in metals, and peripheral regions, such as Nubia and the Aegean Sea, were drawn into the world of commerce. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)


Map: Phoenicia and Israel

Phoenicia and IsraelThe lands along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea--sometimes called the Levant or Syria-Palestine--have always been a crossroads, traversed by migrants, nomads, merchants, and armies moving between Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia. (Copyright (c) Houghton Mifflin Company. All Rights Reserved.)


chapter 4 2

Documents