Our second week in Greece was very eventful! Our non-Carleton classes didn’t meet, and we took survival Greek to ease us into the groove of life in Greece. We learned a lot of useful information, and we’ve been polishing our skills by ordering at local restaurants. In the afternoons we would meet with our Carleton class to discuss archaeology and Ancient Mediterranean history. We spent our Tuesday afternoon at the Athenian Agora, a remarkably well-preserved archaeological site, which, broadly, was a cultural, political, economic, and social hub for Athens. The area is made up of several different sites that served various purposes throughout the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman and Byzantine periods.
We were graciously given a tour by the current director of excavations at the Agora, John Papadopoulos. His charm and sheer knowledge of the area was impressive and made for a very engaging tour of the Agora. We started off by learning about the political system of direct democracy Athens employed (in which male citizens who were not slaves could vote on key issues and the election of officials). Perhaps the most interesting thing we learned about this system was its component of ostracization – if one was perceived as being too powerful in Athens’ political scene, they could be exiled from Athens for 10 years (!). We also saw where Archons (effectively magistrates) of the city would be elected – on a stone called Orlithos.
We learned where the Ancients’ priorities lay: the other elected officials in Greece were in control of the military, money, and water of Athens. There were 10 elected officials controlling each area of focus, one of each coming from one of the 10 tribes in Athens. They could be elected as many times as citizens wanted, and elections were held every year. Hearing that the lineage of political systems employed by many countries today is roughly 2000 years old is one thing – going to the place from which that system famously originated is another thing entirely. Once I understood the political history of the Agora, the significance of the space we were in became much more clear.
We also saw a landmark: a meeting point with statues of the 10 heroes of the 10 Athenian tribes, each representing their given tribe in a public, political setting. It was, in effect, a public notice board, in which citizens would be informed on recent political decisions. It was also where the agenda for senators’ meetings would be decided. It was really interesting to think about the parallels between ancient and modern political traditions. In the U.S., we do effectively the same thing: our political decisions are made amid halls and galleries of politicians and founding fathers with the hope that our own decisions will live up to, be informed by, and go beyond the visions of those who came before us.
When viewing stories and mythology as tools that help organize cultural knowledge and a sense of community, this makes a lot of sense. Things in early American history did happen, as opposed to the myths of Ancient Greek religion, so in that sense they are not myths. Those things are, however, canonized as important milestones in American history, and we as a society organize around those things, such as the revolutionary war, the civil war, women’s suffrage, the Civil Rights Act, and more. While the veracity of the 10 figures in the eponymous hero monument of the Agora varies from hero to hero, they still serve as cultural touchstones around which public duties, seen as fundamental to the success of Athenian society, are performed. I really enjoy seeing parallels between ancient and modern societies, so the chance to see that in person was unforgettable.