Got two hours left of work. Ask me literally any question about ancient Greece.
>>1014663
Why was Socrares so based?
>>1014675
God damnit, Socrates*
>>1014663
Why were sea battles so much deadlier than land battles, especially during the Peloponesean war?
>>1014663
Is it true that Greeks were the most misogynists of the ancient world?
OP got fired.
>>1014702
Because when your ship sinks you cant really just swim to shore, Let alone with full armor
>>1014702
You needed a lot of people to drive triremes. A trireme usually had three tiers of 30 - 40 oars, with archers accompanying them, making for anywhere from 100 to 200 people per ship (oars usually were singled manned but could be rowed by multiple people as well). One ship going down meant lots of people dying. Also, Greece has a lot of rough water, and triremes are awful in rough seas.
I think that the naval battles in the Peloponnesian war may have been deadlier than the ones in the Persian war because Greek triremes were built a certain way that gave them a huge advantage over Persian triremes. If I recall correctly, it had something to do with the ramming spike. Peloponnesian war had these two really good ships battling each other, causing more bloodshed on both sides than in comparison to the Persian war.
>>1014715
Athenes may have very well been. Women had no rights in Athenes compared to other city-states. Most Athenian houses were actually split into two living spaces, the main living space where the man lived, which made up about 80% of the house, and the smaller living space, where the woman would go when her husband had his friends over. The only way to go to the woman's living quarters was often a back door not connected to the main house. Funnily enough, this allowed the woman to cheat on her husband quite easily. As you may expect from all this, women were basically held in captivity and not expected to go outside. Hetaroi were the only women who would go outside, and that was mainly for gatherings. Sparta, on the other hand, let their women be way more free. Spartans were always out in war or training, so they needed their wives to take care of the house and children. Spartans also believed a strong wife meant strong children, and the Spartan women even trained at the gyms.
>>1014918
nah just got a lot of work to do
What's the deal with Greco-Buddhism?
Humans were sometimes sacrificed in Greek myths. How widespread was that?
What >>1014715 said, what's a realistic portrait of how the sexes were treated?
>>1014959
How did other major cities like Corinth or Thebes compare socially to cities like Athens?
Do we know almost nothing thanks to so little literature from those cities?
Athens and Sparta are the two city states most widely know today. What are some underrated city states?
>>1014663
Why were they such faggots?
>>1014932
>>1014959
I'm sorry, I should have clarified my question further.
If you look at Greek to Greek land battles, you get the phalanxes together, they fight, someone breaks, there's a pursuit, but at the end of the day, if 15% of the losing army is dead on the field, it's a pretty bloody battle.
When you look at naval battles, esp during the Peloponesean war, you see most of the losing fleet wiped out more often than not, and even the winner's casualties bieng pretty heavy, as opposed to the negligible amounts you tended to get on land.
And I mean, why weren't fleets able to break off and regroup the way land armies were?
>>1014989
I hate when you're wrassling with your bros and one of them gets you in the dong grab, such a cheap move, i always make them regret it afterwards
>>1014996
Hard to break off when you've got a ship's beak in your fucking belly.
I mean, in land battles if a phalanx breaks, it's probably not an orderly retreat. The back ranks turn tail and run while the front ranks either fight and die or manage to escape.
In a ship battle, you'd be damn lucky to get the rowers to back-row in an orderly fashion while water's gushing through a hole in the waterline and some dick is swinging a sword at your face.
Not OP, btw.
>>1014963
>Humans were sometimes sacrificed in Greek myths. How widespread was that?
Maybe this is just my modern beliefs speaking, but I think human sacrifices were a test for humans. Consider how in Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is told of his origin. When Zeus or whichever god it was speaking through the oracle to Oedipus, Zeus wasn't telling Oedipus "now runaway from your mom and dad so that you may never sleep with your mom and kill your dad," he was telling Oedipus "just don't fucking kill anyone for stupid reasons."
The big human sacrifice story from ancient myths is how Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter to Artemis since Artemis was angry Agamemnon killed a deer and also so that the war would be successful (the latter probably mattered more to Agamemnon). This goes against Artemis's belief system, as she is the protector of virgins in addition to her other roles. She was testing Agamemnon's love for his family in respect to his pride as a warrior. Artemis never intended for Agamemnon's daughter to be sacrificed. Though Agamemnon did follow her instructions, the war was a success, but I believe that Artemis played with faith so that Agamemnon would be killed when he returns home for needlessly killing his own daughter.
>>1014989
People always resort to asking me why Greeks were pedos, and the answer is quite simple: 12 year old boys is the closest thing to a woman that can't get pregnant.
>>1015116
> Oedipus Rex
/triggered
THOU SHALT NOT MIX GREEK AND LATIN! OEDIPUS TYRANOS GODDAMNIT!
>>1015129
Sorry, too used to going by that name since that's what my copy of it says.
>>1015129
OEDIPUS REX OEDIPUS REX
OCTOPI
>>1014980
>>1014988
Thebes really isn't that important. Thebes not having many sources comes from the fact it was razed by Alexander. Corinth has much more sources about them since 1. they were actually the most powerful city-state if not just for a few years and 2. Rome destroyed Corinth much later than Alexander destroying Thebes. Corinth is almost as notable as Athens and Sparta politically due to the tyrants Cypselus and Periander.
Sparta doesn't actually have a lot of sources either since Spartans didn't think writing was an important skill. The reason we know a lot about Sparta is because Athenians wrote about them, due to either Sparta being the main ally or enemy in whatever war was happening.
>>1014988
>What are some underrated city states?
Miletus. Where the Persian war pretty much began and where the first philosopher ever lived.
>>1015199
>Not voting for Cyrene, hedonism capital of the ancient world
>>1015184
As far as Sparta goes, don't we also take a lot of info from that one law-giver king?
Lysander? Lycurgas? Lycanthrope?
Democritus was an impeccable philosopher. His theory of the atoms is quite impressive, as was his grasp of the concept of infinity. What did other Greek philosophers have to say about infinity?
>>1015205
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silphium
>anticonceptive plant growing near Cyrene
>eaten to extinction because Cyrenaicans couldn't stop fucking
>>1014663
what are your thoughts on the orientalizing period?
underrated as fuck imo
What the most important nereids besides Daphni?
Fuck your job, OP.
Answer the questions.
What is the definitive power ranking for the heroes from the Iliad? Achilles and Hector are obviously the best, but where do the other guys stand?
Who is your personal favorite?
When Homer describes someone as "god-like," does he mean in a literal or purely literary sense?
>>1015302
*my last question came out wrong.
Does "god-like" mean "this guy actually has the physical properties and abilities of a god,"
Or "this guys abilities are so far beyond normal that he is 'like' a god."
Extending on that, when Homer describes someone as being of the line of Ares or Zeus, is that figurative or literal?
>>1015227
The concept of infinity comes out of the idea for the fifth element, aether / void, which is something all presocratics had a say on. It really is amazing how close he was to describing the modern concept of atoms.
>>1015252
I think it just goes to show how far back weeabooism goes in history. Even in ancient times, the west was idolizing the east based on nothing more but images.
>>1015257
Daphne is a naiad, not a nereid. Did you mean Dione? Also, Thetis is the most important nereid anyway.
>>1015302
I honestly always liked Odysseus the best. He's essentially Batman in a world full of Supermen. All Greek heroes believed in honor before reason, and Odysseus was like "fuck that." Achilles pretty much claimed he's afraid of Odysseus for the reason that Odysseus does not abide to their set of "rules."
Power ranking would go something like this
Achilles
Hector
Diomedes
Neoptolemus
Ajax the Greater
Menelaus
Agamemnon
Odysseus
Patroclus
Aeneas
Ajax the Lesser
Paris
I listed Ajax the Greater higher than Odysseus since Ajax normally would be able to beat him in a fight, but Odysseus only managed to beat Ajax in a duel for Achilles's armor after Athena empowered Odysseus. Athena-empowered Odysseus is OP af.
Also only listed names I could remember which is probably why there's like no trojans in the list.
>>1015323
When Homer uses god-like, I'm assuming anyway, that he means that an individual has been literally taken over by one of the gods.
>>1015615
>Athena empowered Odysseus
That was his strategy, he played his cards right.
Getting a Godess to have the hots for you is a sure bonus.
>>1014663
Are you a Myrmidon?
Because your picture looks like it was designed by ants.
>>1014663
Where did it all go wrong?
>>1015615
Don't Diomedes and Ajax the Greater fight Hektor to their advantage (albeit not killing him) in the Iliad?
And why is Neoptolemus so high? I mean sure, he's Achilles' kid, but I can't remember him actually doing anything.
>>1014663
why was Jason such a cunt?
>>1015615
>Odysseus poly-"metis"
Odysseus a shit. Guy had almost as much help as Achilleus.
>>1014663
We ancient Greeks white? What do you think of modern Turkish inhabitants of Greece claiming a Greek ancestry when they can't even pay denbts?
>>1015928
You should spend less time on 4chan.
>>1014663
Will they ever pay debt?
>>1016009
>dodging the question
Greeks confirmed non-white.
>>1015218
(Not him), Yeah, that was Lycurgus. We know about him because Plutarch did one of one of his "Lives" biography books about him. I think Plutarch was also lived in Sparta at a time when it was practically abandoned and it's traditions essentially gone, and naturally wondered and tried to inquirer about it too for the other Greek sources of his time didn't really explain much.
Lycurgas's verses were also sang by Spartan hoplites in battle as some sort of formation chant.
>>1016037
Go get some fresh air, kiddo.
>>1014663
This is more of a meta-history question but
>what did the world think of Athenian democracy before the enlightenment?
>>1015129
Not Oedipus Basileus?
>>1016223
>Basileus
That term becomes more of a religious one by the name Sophocles is around. Its not Greek for king. If anything, its closer to what a Pontifex is.
>>1015125
Why didn't they just fuck women up the arse?
They can't get pregnant that way and would need to fuck boys the same way.
>>1016600
Women have been known to get pregnant that way.
Also, men's colons are thicker, stronger, and more flexible than women's. Better to take cock. Ass-fuck a women wrong and she ends up with a prolapse or a bruise.
>>1016627
Oh please, it's not like the deformed mutant retard assbabies would last long before modern medicine.
>>1016635
I don't think that's how it works.
>>1016635
Are you an idiot? Do you know how dangerous childbirth was before modern medicine?
"Oh, my wife is dead, but at least our deformed spawn isn't long for this world either!"
>>1016274
archon basileus αρχων βασιλευς mate.not only religious but with judicial powers as well in anceint athenian democracy 5 and 4 century bc.
Moreover,Alexander the great was basileus of macedon,with full regal powers,that sense of basileys meaning an absolute authority in ancient greece starts at least when Homers epicswere written around 800BC.the more anceint word for king aka basileus is anax αναkτας from which comes the grrek wod for palace,anaktoro αναkτορο.mycenean greece tier of king,again absolute authority
>>1016062
Do you have any link to the Lycurgus verses?
op here again. got five hours of work today. ask me anything about greece and I guess ancient rome as well now.
>>1019317
What did they thought about illness, retardation and so?
>>1019317
Why did you rank Neoptolemus so high upthread?
>>1019317
What did they eat? How did they cook it?
>>1019317
In which sense were their ideas on politeness and good behavior different?
>>1019317
What aspects of ancient greek culture were unique to greek, as in not known to have been adopted from their immediate neighbors? Gimme whatever you consider the most notable examples.
>>1019550
Greece had a lot of interesting ideas about certain diseases. They thought epilepsy was "sacred". Don't know the exact beliefs around it, but I think Greeks thought those who were born with epilepsy were geniuses and those who died from seizures joined a higher plane of the underworld. There was a lot of beliefs like these for other diseases.
Julius Caesar supposedly had epilepsy but try to hide that fact as best as he could.
Don't know too much about retardation at that time, but Alexander the Great's brother was very likely retarded. Alexander took his brother on campaigns and he basically became a mascot for Alexander's army.
>>1019613
Neoptolemus is considered a respectable heir to his father's strength in most myths and plays. In the Iliad, while its probably not as impressive as some of the other's feats, he takes on six guys by himself.
>>1019620
Meat, like pigs, cows, and bulls, was not as common as it may seem. As far as land animals goes, hares were the animals that got consumed the most. I'm guessing it has something to do with these animals being eaten only if they're sacrificed? Seafood was much more common than any of these.
Wine was nothing like it is now. Modern alcohol is way too strong for most ancient people. Wine was basically 99% water back then. It was more equatable to those powders you put in water to give it some flavor.
>>1019641
Sparta did not like drinking. One thing Sparta would do during a Spartan boy's upbringing is they would bring the boys to a late night party and bring in their slaves. The Spartan would then force the slave to drink a large amount in order for the boys to witness what alcoholism does to one. They then told the boys to basically beat and make fun of the drunken slave.
In addition to this, Sparta has rules against killing their slaves. Despite this, one of the secret initiation rites into becoming a true Spartan was a boy had to go out and kill one of the slaves without getting caught.
>>1019641
I always thought it was unique how Greece was always so separated despite the fact the city-states all considered each other Hellenes and everybody else barbarians. Made most obvious by the Olympics I feel.
Sparta I feel is different than any other place at the time. Sparta was basically one big family, they did not hold any private/nuclear family values. All people abide to the customs of Sparta such as Spartan boys all living together at age five under the men and training to become soldiers. Sure, they were militaristic like Rome and Persia, but Sparta was in a league entirely of their own. Only reason Sparta really failed was because of how much value they put on eugenics.
>>1019317
Thanks for answering my earlier questions about the Iliad.
Do you have any good history focused books on the Ancient Greeks? I'm less interested in philosophy or mythology and more in actual Greek history. Anything you could recommend on Rome would also be appreciated.
How different where the Pontic Greek cities to the "mainland" cities. The "mainland" Greeks obviously considered them somewhat Greek considering they started shit with Persia over these cities several times, but how "Greek" where these cities in actuality?
>>1020296
Not OP, but try Thomas R. Martin. Btw, the best books about Ancient Greece are NOT in english, sadly !
>>1014663
Could describe for me how many people actually lived inside a city state? How would an Island city state have enough lumber and resources to build ships? Would people trade goods for lumber?
Also what kind of wood was used to build ships and ancient docks in hellenic times?
>>1020296
Not OP, but I think you're thinking of some city-states being more "Greek" than others, which isn't really the case. I mean of course the closer you get to the borders of the Hellenic world, there's bound to be more foreign cultural imports. But it's not like Attic or Doric or any other dialect is "default" Greek.
Hell even Homeric Greek was an artificial language composed of different attributes from various Greek dialects. Couple that with the fact that pretty much every city in the Greek world had some sort of mythological importance to the whole package.
