#classical athens

[illustratus]

Pericles and Aspasia by Fortunino Matania

[pondering-narratives]

is it

her-ROD-o-tuhs

or

herod-OH-tus

[pyogokunk]

Lycurgus - The legendary lawgiver of Sparta

Pericles - Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens

Themistocles vs Aristides - Political Rivals of Ancient Athens

[sanguinarysanguinity]

Never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line.

— Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Books VI and VII

[freesias-and-wine]

I could never quite comprehend the weight of history - of our connectedness with the ancients - until I held an attic vase in my hands for the first time. It came crashing down on me like a tidal wave, and made me question my path as a classicist over pursuing pure archaeology.

[jeannereames]

Hi, Dr. Reames. I know you’re focused on Macedon during Alexander’s era, but I was wondering if you knew what historians/resources are the best for researching about Ancient Athens, specifically around its golden age in around 430 BCE. I’m trying to write a story, and while I’ve started doing my research I’d also love to hear from someone I know is credible in the field and who I look to a lot for learning more about Alexander’s Macedon. And plus I know finding a reliable source/figuring out what to look out for is very finicky in general. (At least in my experience.) Thank you so much in advance!

So, the big problem here is just that this is HUGE topic. There are books and books and books. So what part in particular is the focus? That date would put you in the era of the Peloponnesian War, so Kagan's book on that is a starting spot.

But if you want to know reliable names of scholars, and an intro, I'd suggest The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Athens. If you want to own it, for an academic book it's reasonably priced, came out in 2021, so not out of date, and it will feature chapters by the top scholars in the field. If you see a topic (or three) that interest you, the author of a chapter will usually give a "Further reading" list too.

If you're writing a story, however, then a lot of daily life things would probably matter. And while the Companion may give some of that, I'm rather fond of a fun little book that came out some years back called Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day. Obviously it's a play on modern travel guides, but it's loads of fun. And it is exactly the date you're looking for! He's a specialist on Rome, but this is just fine.

Finally, you may want to pick up a general book on daily life in Greece. While the above is entertaining, there are things it doesn't cover.

The BBC has a short online series.

But the (now) older book by artist Peter Connolly has excellent illustrations and that's what you want: The Ancient City.

And Robert Garland has a number of books about life (and death!) in ancient Greece (and Athens) that I regularly use for my Greek history class.

[wordsmithic]

I am very intrigued by your post on women mathematicians in ancient greece, especially Themistoklia, whose story I find absolutely fascinating. Is there a source you could recommend to read more about Themistoklia in particular?

Hello! Not too many things are known about her, since future male writers obscured her contributions and those of other notable female mathematicians. For starters you can take a look at the English Wikipedia. The Greek Wikipedia version mentions that she loved Geometry so much, she had decorated the temple with geometric shapes. Pythagoras admired her so much that he allowed women in his school as teachers and students. (Notably, his daughters taught at his school)

The sources that mention Themistokleia are:

Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers

Gilles Ménage, (1984), The history of women philosophers, page 48. University Press of America.

Suda Lexicon, Pythagoras, π3124, and footnote 25

1613-1692., Ménage, Gilles, (1984). «The person who is referred to as Themistoclea in Laertius and Theoclea in Suidas, Porphyry calls Aristoclea.».

The history of women philosophers. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. σελ. 48. ISBN 0819142727. 11045203.

Ellen., Waithe, Mary (1987). Ancient women philosophers, 600 B.C.-500 A.D. Dordrecht: M. Nijhoff. σελ. 11. ISBN 9024733685

Vita Pythagorae (Life of Pythagoras), Porphyry, 41.5 -- Πορφύριος. «καὶ ἄλλ' ἄττα ἐπαίδευεν ὅσα παρὰ Ἀριστοκλείας τῆς ἐν Δελφοῖς ἔλεγεν ἀκηκοέναι.». Πυθαγόρου βίος. στίχος 41.5.

Philosophic Alchemy. «Υπατία η γεωμετρική» και Γυναίκες Μαθηματικοί της Αρχαίας Ελλάδας». philosophicALchemy.

"The Greek Female Philosophers You Really Should Not Ignore", Definitelygreece.gr

Another article for Pythagorean women (it's in Greek but Google Translate works well)

Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, by Diogenes Laërtius, Book 7. Here is one translation by Robert Drew Hicks. -- Διογένης Λαέρτιος. «φησὶ δὲ καὶ Ἀριστόξενος τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν ἠθικῶν δογμάτων λαβεῖν τὸν Πυθαγόραν παρὰ Θεμιστοκλείας τῆς ἐν Δελφοῖς.». Βίοι καὶ γνῶμαι τῶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ εὐδοκιμησάντων. Βιβλίο Η΄.

Pomeroy, Sarah B. (2013). Pythagorean women : a social history. Baltimore. ISBN 978-1-4214-0957-3. 853506033.

Sandrine Berges, "Where are all the (Pythagorean) women gone?". Feminist History of Philosophy. (2013)

[whimsimarion]

It's exam period and I'm already stressed out of my mind (plus, I'm sick and I'm awaiting for my period, so not the greatest time for me). And I thought it was a good idea to draw a bunch of ancient Athenians and use them as my stress balls to relieve them.

There's Pericles and Aspasia hugging and being all lovey dovey, and Cimon in upper angle, 'cause when I went to have my art evaluated, they told me that I should try drawing from different perspectives and angles and he's my first attempt.

You may also notice that their designs are slightly different from their original ones. I changed Cimon's hairstyle, I removed that under lip from Pericles and I added more highlights to Aspasia.