The Ancient World

“The Athenians, when ruled by tyrants, were no better in war than their neighbors, but freed from tyrants they were far superior.  This shows that when they were constrained they let themselves be defeated, since they were working for an overlord, but when they were freed each one was keen to do the deed for himself.” – Herodotus

Delivered from Spartan destruction, the Athenians were forced to defend their new democracy against the Thebans and Chalsidians.  Shocked by a horrific crime, the Romans followed the guidance of Brutus, exiled Tarquin the Proud and declared their first Republic.

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“He added the Athenian people, who had formally not been in the center of things, to his own party, changed the names of the tribes and increased their number.  He made ten tribal commanders instead of four and distributed demes into the tribes ten at a time.  Once he had got the people on his side he had the upper hand over his rivals.” – Herodotus on Cleisthenes

Darius enlisted Greek tyrants in his Scythian campaign, then extended Persia’s dominion to the foot of Mount Olympus.  Spartan intervention put an end to Hippias’ oppressive rule.  Inspired by Cleisthenes’ bold ideas, the Athenians rejected both tyranny and foreign domination, and restructured their polis into the world’s first democracy.

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“Black is your path, Agni, changeless, with glittering waves!  When like a bull you rush eager to the trees.

With teeth of flame, wind-driven, through the wood he speeds, triumphant like a bull among the herd of cows,

With bright strength roaming to the everlasting air: things fixed, things moving quake before him as he flies.”-  Rigvedas, Book 1, Hymn LVIII

Darius retraced Cyrus’s footsteps to expand Persian control of Vedic India.  Hipparchus met a bloody end at the hands of a jealous rival.  Tarquin kept Rome’s military and infrastructure sound while alienating both rich and poor.

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“After I became king, I fought nineteen battles in a single year and, by the grace of Ahura Mazda, I overthrew nine kings and I made them captive…As to these provinces which revolted, lies made them revolt, so that they deceived the people.  Then Ahura Mazda delivered them into my hand; and I did unto them according to my will.” – Darius I, Behistun Inscription

Darius spent years reconquering the rebellious territories of the Persian Empire.  Peisistratos was successful in passing his Athenian tyranny down to his sons, Hippias and Hipparchus.  Cleomenes set his sights on Spartan domination of the Greek mainland.

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“So Darius son of Hystaspes was made king, and the whole of Asia, which Cyrus first and Cambyses after him had conquered, was subject to him…and everything was full of his power. First he made and set up a carved stone, upon which was cut the figure of a horseman, with this inscription: ‘Darius son of Hystaspes, aided by the excellence of his horse, and of Oebares his groom, got possession of the kingdom of Persia.'” – Herodotus

Cambyses successfully conquered Egypt, but forays beyond its frontiers met with frustration and disaster.  The promise of Lydian gold lured Polycrates to a gruesome death in Sardis.  Bardiya briefly wrestled the Persian Empire from his brother, only to lose it to a conspiracy of nobles led by Darius.

“Remember this lesson well:  Whenever you can, act as a liberator.  Freedom, dignity, and wealth—these three together constitute the great happiness of humanity.  If you bequeath all three to your people, their love for you will never die.” – Cyrus the Great (quoted by Xenophon)

Servius Tullius laid the foundation for the Roman Republic, but his dubious claim to the throne led to his violent overthrow by Tarquin the Proud.  Cyrus the Great governed his vast empire with wisdom and temperance before meeting his end along Persia’s volatile eastern frontier.  Cambyses II’s Egyptian designs were aided by a high-level betrayal in the court of Ahmose II.

“In winter, as you lie on a soft couch by the fire,

Full of good food, munching on nuts and drinking sweet wine,

Then you must ask questions such as these:

‘Where do you come from?  Tell me, what is your age?

How old were you when the Mede came?’” – Xenophanes of Colophon

The return of Harpagus to Anatolia signaled the end of Ionian Greek freedom.  After securing his third tyranny, Peisistratos brought stability and prosperity to Athens.  Fresh from a series of Eastern conquests, Cyrus II used propaganda and military might to overthrow Nabonidus and claim his third Near Eastern empire.

“But in every matter it behooves us to mark well the end: for oftentimes God gives men a gleam of happiness, and then plunges them into ruin.” – Solon of Athens

Peisistratos’ first two attempts at tyranny were thwarted by the Athenian eupatridae.  The Spartans cultivated a reputation as the most fearsome warriors in Greece.  Prophesied to destroy a mighty empire, King Croesus of Lydia led Anatolian forces against the Persians and Medes, but the unconventional strategies of Cyrus brought him to a bitter end.

“So it was that the Persians, who had once been the slaves of the Medes, became their masters.“ – Heroditus

Nebuchadnezzar II turned Babylon into the most magnificent city of the ancient world, but the Chaldean line dissipated in his wake.  Nabonidus’ fervent devotion to the moon god, Sin, served to spark a war and drive the Babylonian king into self-imposed Arabian exile.  The military and political skills of Cyrus, and a high-level Median betrayal, enabled the Persians to win the empire of Astyages.

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“Ahmose became a lover of the Hellenes; and besides other proofs of friendship which he gave to several among them, he also granted the city of Naucratis for those of them who came to Egypt to dwell in; and to those who did not desire to stay, but who made voyages thither, he granted portions of land to set up altars and make sacred enclosures for their gods. Their greatest enclosure and that one which has most name and is most frequented is called the Hellenion, and this was established by the following cities in common: –of the Ionians Chios, Teos, Phocaia, Clazomenai, of the Dorians Rhodes, Cnidos, Halicarnassos, Phaselis, and of the Aiolians Mytilene alone.“ – Heroditus

After his overthrow of Apries, the pharaoh Ahmose II increased Egyptian prosperity by centralizing and facilitating Greek trade at Naucratis.  King Alyattes used Lydia’s vast mineral wealth to maintain a powerful army and mint the world’s first coins.  Thales and the philosophers of the Milesian school introduced rationality and scientific inquiry into their studies of the cosmos.

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