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Introduction to the Historical Overview in PerseusGeographical and Historical IntroductionThe Early Greek Dark Age and Revival in the Near EastRemaking Greek CivilizationThe Archaic AgeThe Late Archaic City-StateIntroduction to the Fifth CenturyClash Between Greeks and PersiansAthenian Empire in the Golden AgeAthenian Religious and Cultural Life in the Golden AgeContinuity and Change in Athenian Social and Intellectual HistoryThe Peloponnesian War and Athenian LifeIntroduction to the Fourth CenturyThe Aftermath of the Peloponnesian WarNew Directions in Philosophy and EducationThe Creation of Macedonian Power |
Thomas R. Martin, An Overview of Classical Greek History from Mycenae to Alexander
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Strife among prominent city-states contending with one another for power continued to plague Greece in the years following the Peloponnesian War. The losses of population, the ravages of the plague, and the financial difficulties brought on by the war caused severe hardships for Athens. Not even the amnesty that accompanied the restoration of Athenian democracy in 403 B.C. could quell all the social and political animosities that the war and the rule of the Thirty Tyrants had exacerbated, and the most prominent casualty of this divisive bitterness was the famous philosopher Socrates, whose trial for impiety in 399 B.C. resulted in a sentence of death. The Athenian household-- the family members and their personal slaves-- nevertheless survived the war as the fundamental unit of the city-state's society and economy. 14.1. Economic Strains on the Family
Many Athenian households lost fathers, sons, or brothers to the violence of battle in the Peloponnesian War, but resourceful families found ways to compensate for the economic strain that such personal tragedies could create. An Athenian named Aristarchus, for example, is reported by the writer Xenophon (c. 428-354 B.C.) to have experienced financial difficulty because the turmoil of the war had severely diminished his income and also caused his sisters, nieces, and female cousins to come live with him. He found himself unable to support this swollen household of fourteen, not counting the slaves. Aristarchus's friend Socrates (469-399 B.C.) thereupon reminded him that his female relatives knew quite well how to make men's and women's cloaks, shirts, capes, and smocks, “the work considered the best and most fitting for women,” although they had always just made clothing for the family and never had to try to sell it for profit. But others did make a living by selling such clothing or by baking and selling bread, Socrates pointed out, and Aristarchus could have the women in his house do the same. The plan was a success, but the women complained that Aristarchus was now the only member of the household who ate without working. Socrates advised his friend to reply that the women should think of him as sheep did a guard dog-- he earned his share of the food by keeping away the wolves from the sheep.
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OCLC: 33900145
ISBN: 0300069561
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