10. The Rise of Athens

Introduction to Ancient Greek History (CLCV 205)

In this lecture, Professor Kagan finishes up his description of the Spartan constitution. He argues that Sparta had a mixed constitution and gained great power due to alliances that the Spartans made with their neighbors. After the discussion of Sparta, Professor Kagan examines Athens and the development of the Athenian constitution. In addition, he shows how different these two poleis were. Finally, Professor Kagan discusses the emergence of the hoplite class in Athens and the failure of Cylon to make himself tyrant of Athens.

00:00 - Chapter 1. The Spartan Assembly
10:53 - Chapter 2. The Spartan Alliance
26:32 - Chapter 3. Motivations for Sparta's Foreign Policy
34:38 - Chapter 4. The Rise of Athens
46:09 - Chapter 5. Early Athenian Society
01:07:34 - Chapter 6. Cylon's Failed Coup d'État

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Fall 2007.