How Geography Shaped Ancient Mesopotamia

Feb 27, 2011 Michael Streich

Much of the Middle East is Dry and Barren - Mike Streich Photo Image

The Euphrates and Tigris rivers dominated the Middle East, an arid region without natural barriers leading to the rise and fall of civilizations.

During the Neolithic period approximately 12,000 years ago, migrants began to establish permanent communities in the region of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. This region, known as Mesopotamia, gave rise to several early civilizations that impacted western development. The geography of the region provided the greatest impact in the course of these developments.

The Land Known as Mesopotamia

The Euphrates and Tigris rivers flow into the Persian Gulf. The land is arid, forcing the inhabitants to develop intricate methods of irrigation. Cities like Babylon were connected to larger water sources through canals that flowed under the massive city walls.

Mesopotamia contained no natural barriers. There were no forests and there was no stone for building. Every structure was created from mud: bricks baked in kilns to ensure durability. The primary rivers were unpredictable, causing unforeseen flooding that often destroyed entire communities.

The Rise of City States Impacted by Geographic Limitations

City states like Ur, Erech, and Eridu flourished along the great rivers and their tributaries. Because of the openness of the land mass, these city-states built walls for protection. Nothing stood in the way of one city-state attacking another.

It can also be argued that this limitation was, in the long-term, highly beneficial in that civilizations rose and fell yet each one contributing toward the overall march of western civilization. Ancient Sumer contributed cuneiform writing while Nineveh is credited with establishing the first library.

From Babylon, the first recorded law code evolved while the Lydians provided the first consistent coin economy. Crude weapons ultimately gave way to more sophisticated metal weaponry even as the Assyrians perfected the art of siege warfare. Much of this was possible because geography forced civilizations to continually upgrade and develop new technologies.

Geography and the Evolution of Religious Beliefs

Gods and goddesses of Mesopotamia were uncaring and aloof. As seen in the Epic of Gilgamesh, deities were responsible for the destruction of the known world – the famous “flood story” found in several ancient Mesopotamian texts, and set themselves apart from humans. The Old Testament story of the “Tower of Babel” is an example of how the gods attempted to limit mankind’s reaching out to the heavens. The gods never stopped at reminding humans that a great gulf existed between the gods and their creation.

Every city-state was dominated by a ziggurat. These tiered temples stood in the middle of cities and every major road led to them. At the top, a temple allowed the high priest and the king to commune with the gods. It was believed that the gods lived in the heavens and thus the high place in ancient times figured prominently.

It was out of this polytheistic civilization that Abraham wandered east, communing personally with the one true god. This was the god who later recorded for Moses that he would have no other gods before him. The Hebrews perpetuated this monotheistic belief, setting them apart from surrounding civilizations.

The geography of Mesopotamia greatly contributed to the view of uncaring deities. The destructive river systems fed the idea that the gods really didn’t care. What kind of deity presides over scorpions and snakes? Daily life was harsh and tenuous. Why should the afterlife be any different?

The Land Between the Rivers

Mesopotamian geography demonstrates how topography impacts the rise and fall of civilizations. Geographic realities affected community limitations as well as providing an inevitable evolution among competing ancient powers.

Sources:

• Michael Grant, The Ancient Mediterranean (Penguin Putnam, 1965)
• Samuel Noah Kramer, Cradle of Civilization (Time Incorporated, 1967)

Copyright Michael Streich. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

 

Knossos and the Minoan Civilization

The Palace of King Minos was the Focal Point of Commerce & Culture

Apr 6, 2009 Michael Streich

Influenced by Egypt and the Ancient Near East, Minoan culture represented a uniquely different civilization seen in the ruins of the palace in modern-day Heraklion.

The ruins of the great ancient city Knossos in modern-day Heraklion on the island of Crete barely convey the prosperity and commercial power of an ancient Mediterranean civilization that dates to 7000 BC. Identified with the legendary king Minos, Minoan civilization flourished as a trade crossroad between Egypt, the Near East, and Greece. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the civilization was the Knossos palace, identified with the fabled labyrinth built by Daedalus to house the Minotaur.

Knossos as the Dominant City-Kingdom

The first palace at Knossos was begun c 2000 BC and later destroyed. The ruins at Knossos today reflect the rebuilding, which took place ca 1700 BC. At that time, Knossos was either the dominating center of other city-kingdoms on Crete, a type of confederation, or it presided over a unified Cretan kingdom. Scholars of Minoan history divide on this point.

The palace itself was the focus of the community and was built outward. Containing vast storehouses and workshops, the remnants of which are still visible today in the ruins, it was a repository of grain, olive oil, and other natural resources to be used for trade purposes, as emergency stocks in times of war, or to feed the community during periods of poor climate conditions resulting in agricultural downturns.

The palace also served as a temple, one wing dedicated to the Mother Goddess; female deities in the Minoan civilization represented greater prominence than in other ancient cultures. Scholars have pointed out that the king followed the Mesopotamian model of ruler-priest. Yet, unlike Egypt or Mesopotamia, no great temple structures existed in Crete and there was no extended priestly class.

Commerce, Myth, and Destruction

The ruins have produced substantial evidence of on-going trade with the Near East and Egypt. The Egyptian influence particularly is seen in Minoan art and architecture: the labyrinth itself having been inspired by an Egyptian tomb. From Byblos and Tyre a crude early alphabet – Linear A, was adopted for commercial record-keeping. Commerce with Greece brought Linear A to the Mycenaean culture.

French historian Gustave Glotz has explored the curious ritual of “bull dancing” or “bull hopping” depicted in ancient Minoan frescoes. Minoan youths, both male and female, grabbed the horns of charging bulls and “leapt” over the wild animals in the process, a ceremony that might have impacted fertility rituals. Other scholars suggest that bull dancing was merely a sport, purely for entertainment. There is also the hypothesis that the ritual occurred every nine years, coinciding with the myth of sacrificing virgins to the Minotaur.

The Minotaur figures prominently in the Greek myth of Theseus who sailed to Knossos in order to lift a curse placed on Athens by King Minos. With the help of the king’s daughter, Ariadne, he slew the beast, thereby ending the curse, and returned home with Ariadne. While there is no happy ending in this story – Ariadne is “jilted” and left on her own and Theseus’ father commited suicide thinking that his son had failed, the myth helped Greeks to better understand the decline of Minoan hegemony in Attica.

The final destruction of Knossos and the great palace was in 1375 BC, perhaps resulting from volcanic and seismic activity. Not until 1899 was the historical corroboration for Knossos unearthed by British archaeologist Arthur Evans. Through his efforts, the mighty palace once again stood in daylight. Visitors today will not be disappointed by the scope of recovery.

As to the labyrinth, there is little evidence in the ruins – a major disappointment to visitors that are drawn to the myth of the Minotaur. Some scholars have suggested that there was no labyrinth under the palace to begin with and that a nearby cavern – Skotino, was the actual site of sacrifices. Regardless, Knossos was certainly one of the great ancient cities; as Homer states in Odyssey, “…the great city, where Minos was king…and conversed with great Zeus.”

Sources:

Costis Davaras, The Palace of Knossos (Athens: Hannibal Publishing House, 2004).

Sarah B. Pomeroy, Stanley M. Burstein, and others, Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History (Oxford University Press, 1999).

R. Rossi, Knossos: The Great Mysteries of Archaeology (Metro Books, 2008).

Author’s notes from August, 2008 visit to Knossos.

Copyright Michael Streich. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

 

                                     Knossis destroyed by earthquake; photo by Michael Streich

Earthquakes in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations

• Mar 24, 2011
• Michael Streich

Earthquakes played a key role in the destruction of the Minoan culture as well as the community of Pompeii in Italy, often displacing entire civilizations.

Seventeen years before the Roman city of Pompeii was buried in volcanic ash, the plateau beneath Mount Vesuvius experienced severe earthquakes. Throughout the ancient Mediterranean, earthquakes displaced civilizations or, as in the case of Knossos, blotted them out entirely. Earthquakes were associated with divine retribution as well as assistance such as the crumbling of Jericho’s walls. Natural events foretold life and death. In the Gospel of Matthew, for example, the sky darkened amidst an earthquake at the moment of Jesus’ crucifixion in Jerusalem. (27:54)

The Destruction of the Minoan Civilization

Santorini is today a favorite tourist destination for visitors cruising the Greek islands in the Eastern Mediterranean. In ca 1500 B.C.E. it was known as Thera, begun as a Minoan city utterly destroyed by an earthquake and a volcanic eruption surpassing the power and damage of the 1883 Krakatoa eruption. According to researchers like Arturo Gonzalez, huge tidal waves overwhelmed many of the islands and, “…started floods as far away as Egypt…”

C. W. Ceram relates how Sir Arthur Evans solved the mystery of Knossos’ destruction following a massive earthquake (Gods, Graves and Scholars). This vibrant mercantile civilization was obliterated by earthquakes and possibly as a result of tidal waves related to the Thera explosion. Earthquakes frequently devastated coastal communities. In Southern Turkey, ruins of Roman communities such as Cnidus have been submerged. Today, visitors swim above the clearly distinguishable ruins.

Ancient World Earthquakes Associated with Divine Assistance and Punishment

Astronomer and Bible scholar Alfred Joy writes that, “In the Scriptures earthquakes are mentioned as tokens of God’s power…” Oberlin College professor George Frederick Wright, commenting on Jericho, compares the falling of the city’s walls (Joshua 2-6) with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Jericho was built on ground vulnerable to earthquakes since the first settlements during the Prepottery Neolithic period and was well-located for trade purposes.

In some cases, earthquakes were harbingers of the future, associated, for example, with Armageddon (Matthew 24:3-7; Revelation 11:13.19) Earthquakes in Jerusalem were particularly significant as in the death of Christ whose final words coincided with an earthquake.

Earthquakes Destroy Atlantis and Pompeii

Two celebrated stories from the ancient Mediterranean involve the power of earthquakes. Pompeii was discovered in the 19th Century but Atlantis remains a mystery. The agonizing destruction of Pompeii is well told from the ruins themselves as well as eye-witness testimony by Pliny the Younger in a detailed letter to Tacitus.

Atlantis, however, is still a mystery, prompted by Plato’s reference in Timaeus. According to Plato, Atlantis sank into the earth after experiencing “violent earthquakes and floods…” Writer Robert Arndt briefly chronicles contemporary research suggesting Atlantis was the sunken Minoan city of Thera where 36,000 people died following the spectacular earth upheavals.

Historians speculate as to the ramifications of an eruption and earthquake in 1500 B.C.E. Did this coincide with the decline of Peloponnesian culture and curb further Hittite expansion? Were these events related to the ultimate destruction of Knossos?

Ancient Mediterranean Earthquakes Impact Civilizations

Earthquake fault lines run through parts of Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor. Some researchers like Joy believe that earthquakes were more frequent in the ancient world and because coastal port communities were important, their inundation through quakes and tidal waves drove ancient legends.

Additionally, as in the case of Pompeii, past eruptions left fertile lands, prompting the reestablishment of previously successful communities. Some areas, such as Jericho, were strategically located and constantly rebuilt following calamities. Earthquakes, however, played a significant role in the rise and fall of civilizations and frequently determined which ancient civilizations would survive.

Sources:

• Robert Arndt, “Santorini,” Saudi Aramco World (July/August 1973)
• Alfred H. Joy, “Earthquake,” The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Volume II (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1939)
• Arthuro F. Gonzalez, “Atlantis: Legend Lives on,” Saudi Aramco World, Volume 23, Number 3, (May/June 1972)
• Salvatore Nappo, Pompeii (Barnes & Noble, 1998)
• New American Standard Bible (Moody Press, 1973)
• George Frederick Wright, “Jericho,” The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Volume III (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1939)

Copyright Michael Streich. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

 The Relief of Fort Pitt in 1763 at the Battle of Bushy Run

Michael Streich

In the summer of 1763, Colonel Henry Bouquet, a Swiss soldier in the service of King George III of England, commanded a small army tasked with reinforcing and resupplying Fort Pitt in Northwest Pennsylvania. After spending two days at Fort Ligonier, Bouquet marched toward Fort Pitt, encountering Native American resistance just before reaching Turtle Creek, a perfect spot for an Indian ambush. The ensuing battle of Bushy Run, lasting two days, demonstrated a new strategy that ultimately saved Bouquet’s army and may have been, according to one historian, “the forerunner of the thin red line famous in England’s later wars.”

 

Colonel Bouquet’s Orders

 

By early 1763 the Ottawa War Chief Pontiac was besieging Detroit, recently turned over to the British following the French defeat in the Seven Years’ War. All along the frontier forts transferred to English control were attacked and destroyed. Pontiac had succeeded in lighting a fire among the tribes of the Northeast resulting in attacks on frontier settlements as the deaths of thousands, including English fur traders that had flocked to the region, increased.

 

Although the fortifications at Fort Pitt had been greatly improved, the garrison was depleted and supplies were low. Bouquet’s orders, given by Sir Jeffrey Amherst, commander of all British forces in North America, were to march a relief column and relieve the Indian siege of Fort Pitt. His force numbered less than 500 men but included a contingent of Highlanders under the command of Major John Campbell.

 

Encounter at Bushy Run

 

The battle of Bushy Run was fought August 5^th and 6^th. Bouquet marched from Fort Ligonier to Fort Pitt, arriving at Turtle Creek late in the day. To encamp at Turtle Creek invited disaster: the terrain was perfect for an ambush. As the column neared the creek, shots were fired at Bouquet’s advanced guard. The first phase of the battle began. Bouquet ordered his men to occupy a hill at Bushy Run and form a circle.

 

The Indian attack was an all-out assault. Bouquet’s men suffered severe losses. Lack of water further exacerbated the problems Bouquet had to deal with but Turtle Creek was at least a mile from the hastily made entrenchments. As evening approached, Bouquet weighed his options. Attempting to break out of the encirclement would result in a rout and the possibility of whole scale massacre. The only recourse was to devise a strategy to lure the over-confident Indians into a trap.

 

The Birth of the Thin Red Line

 

When dawn approached, the Indians resumed their deadly attack, showering the defenders with shot. At a given signal, two companies of light infantry positioned at the south perimeter of the hill fell back, as if in retreat. The Indians, sensing their opportunity, rushed forward, relying on the expectation that panic would cause a general rout such as had happened in so many prior battles with white men.

 

As the Indians rushed into the circle, however, Major Campbell’s Highlanders, previously hidden, rushed forward with fixed bayonets and dispatched the attackers. The surprised Indians turned in retreat, fired upon by two companies of grenadiers that had been hidden and kept in reserve.

 

Over sixty Indians were killed, including a Delaware chief and his son. Bouquet lost eight officers and one hundred fifteen soldiers, nearly a quarter of his force. But the “feigned retreat” had been successful. The Indians had fallen victim to their own principles. According to historian Dale Every, “It was a basic principle of Indian military thinking that an attack should be pushed only when there appeared a clear promise of demoralizing the defense.”

 

Bouquet’s “thin red line,” used with maximum effect, saved his command. Bouquet’s ingenuity would result in a promotion to Brigadier General. His success at Bushy Run not only weakened Indian morale, but may have saved Fort Pitt from capitulation.

 

References:

 

Allan W. Eckert, The Conquerors (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1970)

David Eggenberger, An Encyclopedia of Battles (NY: Dover Publications, 1985)

Dale Van Every, Forth to the Wilderness: The First American Frontier 1754-1774 (New American Library, 1961)

[Copyright owned by Michael Streich; reprints subject to written permission; first published in Suite101]

 American Victorianism in North Carolina

Constructing the Iconic Biltmore House in Asheville

Michael Streich

2011

America’s Gilded Age was illustrated in large measure by the extravagance of its millionaires, particularly those “new money” folk seeking to enter what was referred to as “society.” Society gathered at the palatial homes of families like the Vanderbilts, vacationed at Newport, Rhode Island and Jekyll Island, Georgia, and trekked through Europe’s great cities like Paris and Venice. But it was in hilly Asheville, North Carolina that the finest mansion was constructed by George Washington Vanderbilt. Opened at Christmas in 1895, it reflected what historian Virginia Cowles described as “…a tradition of elegance and refinement…”

 

Bringing Europe to America

 

G.W. Vanderbilt was the youngest grandson of the “Commodore,” Cornelius Vanderbilt. The Commodore established the family fortune in the early to mid-19^th Century. His fortune, according to Biltmore Estate guides today, began when he borrowed money from his mother to begin ferry service in New York. His fortune grew after he invested in the ever expanding railroad networks. Historian Cowles, however, maintains that the fortune was the result of Cornelius’ selling arms during the Civil War, much as J. P. Morgan had done, according to Howard Zinn.

 

G.W. Vanderbilt was not a businessman in the same vein as his grandfather Cornelius or his father, William Henry. G.W. Vanderbilt loved the arts and books. A July 7, 1896 New York Times article states that, “He possesses a collection of rare publications which has few equals either on this continent or in Europe.” He filled the Biltmore Estate with an impressive book collection which is still there today as well as priceless art including historical artifacts.

 

Lifestyle of America’s Gilded Age Society

 

The Vanderbilt family was part of “America’s aristocracy,” a term used by Cornelius Vanderbilt Junior. G.W. Vanderbilt’s estate in Asheville was one of the best examples of that lifestyle. While members of grand society competed for attention and box seats at the New York Metropolitan Opera, established by the Vanderbilt family in 1883, George W. Vanderbilt and his wife Edith Stuyvesant Dresser entertained in the western hills of North Carolina.

 

The 250-room house, modeled on French mansions in the Loire Valley and English “baronical” homes, was surrounded by gardens. Frederick Law Olmstead created the gardens while the surrounding forests were placed under the care of Gifford Pinchot, a friend of Theodore Roosevelt and a leader in the conservation movement.

 

Hundreds of servants worked at the estate which, according to the New York Times (December 26, 1895), had, “Every conceivable modern adornment and convenience.” The house even featured an in-door swimming pool. G. W. Vanderbilt treated his servants well, unlike many other wealthy members on America’s Social Register. Historian Page Smith comments that, “the only limit to the numbers of servants was the resourcefulness of the master and mistress in conceiving of tasks to be performed…”

 

Living and Working at the Vanderbilt Estate

 

Mr. Vanderbilt hired both black and white workers. Significantly, the children of both races were educated together, a practice unheard of in the “separate but equal” South. Pictures of integrated classrooms and working groups are on display in the servant’s quarters in one of the top floors of the house and can be viewed by visitors today.

 

The estate was a destination. President William McKinley visited Biltmore in June 1897. It was a retreat for G.W. Vanderbilt and his guests, a pleasant diversion from the hectic life of New York yacht races and regattas. Biltmore Estate was a symbol of wealth that reminded Americans that success in the capitalist system was possible. Cowles writes, “Society must not be looked upon as a pleasure, but a duty.” When the home opened on Christmas in 1895, gifts hanging on the immense tree were not just for the Vanderbilt party, but for children of the many servants.

 

Wealth and Social Obligation in the Latter Gilded Age

 

Historians differ as to whether the Vanderbilt family was “old money” or “new money.” The family settled in colonial America in the mid-17^th Century. By the late 19^th Century the Vanderbilt ladies ruled fashionable east coast society, filling newspapers with stories of ostentatious balls, while the men were captains of industry and finance. Constructing the Metropolitan Opera in 1883 was a reaction to the “old money” families that monopolized the opera boxes at the Academy of Music.

 

Philanthropy was as much a part of the social life as public demonstrations of opulence. Vanderbilt University preserves the legacy of such efforts and nearly every millionaire strove to support educational institutions and the arts. Teddy Roosevelt’s father helped to establish both the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History. His philanthropic efforts were also directed toward children such as establishing the orthopedic hospital.

 

The Legacy of George Washington Vanderbilt

 

Biltmore in Asheville is one of the finest examples of American Victorianism as well as the contributions of America’s industrial aristocrats. G.W. Vanderbilt, however, took social responsibility to a deeper level. Preserved and open to the public today, the estate is a time capsule of an age both reviled for its chasm of wealth and poverty and emulated as an example of capitalist success.

 

Sources:

 

Ballard C. Campbell, editor, The Human Tradition in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (Scholarly Resources, Inc., 1984)

Virginia Cowles, 1913: An End and a Beginning (Harper & Row, 1967)

Guide to Biltmore Estate (The Biltmore Company, 2004)

Page Smith, The Rise of Industrial America: A People’s History pf the Post-Reconstruction Era, Volume 6 (Penguin Books, 1990)

[Copyright owned by Michael Streich; reprints subject to written permission; first published in Suite101 in 2011]

 

Medieval Church Corruption

Priestly Marriage, Simony, and Lay Investiture in the Middle Ages

Nov 24, 2009 Michael Streich

Cycles of Medieval church corruption coincided with the growth of strong secular rulers and were only tempered by the appearance of reformist popes and church orders.

  

   

The level of church corruption in the Middle Ages corresponded to the growth of reform movements as well as leadership by spiritual popes. Reform movements like those begun at Cluny in the 10th Century, the growth of the Cistercian monastic order, and the rise of Mendicant orders such as the Franciscans appeared during times of rampant corruption that began at the highest ecclesiastical tiers and filtered down to local diocesan parishes. Such corruption was tied to many reasons and, in most cases, was only temporarily halted by the reformers.

Priestly Celibacy within the Clergy

Priestly marriage and concubinage existed throughout the Middle Ages. During the 11th Century, reformist clerics coming out of the Cluny movement condemned priestly marriage, contributing to the controversy between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV of Germany. On the eve of the 16th Century Reformation, reformist bishops in Spain and Italy issued condemnations of priestly marriage and common law arrangements.

University of Chicago Professor Andrew Greeley, writing about the medieval parish priest, states that, “At most times and places he also had a wife (or a concubine) and children of his own…” Greeley further observes that local bishops made no attempts to curb such practices and frequently had concubines of their own. Some dioceses even imposed a tax on priests with wives and children.

The Sin of Simon Magnus

Simony was the practice of selling ecclesiastical offices. In essence, the practice involved the trafficking of benefices. Unqualified men purchased church offices, enriching the coffers of the feudal lord or king, and recouped the investment from revenues obtained from the benefice. Contracts often detailed the specifications of such agreements with the newly appointed abbots of bishops promising to pay the lord a yearly percentage of collected revenues after the initial purchase.

The term “simony” referred to the New Testament Acts of the Apostles which relates the story of a man named Simon who practiced magic. After witnessed the bestowing of the gifts of the Spirit by Peter, Simon, greatly impressed, offered to buy the authority to bestow God’s gifts. Peter’s angry reply included the rebuke that, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money.” Medieval reformers seized on this statement to end simony. Although the 451 AD Council of Chalcedon had ruled against the practice, it was continued throughout much of the Middle Ages.

Lay Investiture

The crisis over “lay investiture” was most clearly illustrated by the conflict between the German Emperor Henry IV and the reformist pope, Gregory VII. The term derives from the practice of secular lords not only appointing bishops, but investing them with Episcopal symbols of office like the ring and crozier (staff). Kings like Henry IV were following long established precedent and relied on the loyalties of vassal bishops and their knights. Additionally, many bishops were both spiritual and secular rulers over their appointed sees, as in the case of Milan in Northern Italy.

Gregory VII and the reformist popes that came after him challenged this perspective. Only the popes could appoint bishops even as only church cardinals could elect popes, a practice followed since the reforms of Pope Nicholas II. In the early days of the church, groups of bishops consecrated new bishops and invested them with the insignia of ecclesiastical powers. Not until the pontificate of Callistus II was the issue resolved when German emperors agreed to stop investing bishops with spiritual emblems like the ring.

The Cycles of Church Corruption

The cycles of corruption frequently corresponded to poor church leadership, both central and local, as well as the rise of powerful lords. As European kings began to preside over more clearly defined territories, later identified as early modern nation states, the role of papal power was further diminished, such as with the Avignon papacy in the 14th Century. Corruption would persist until the 16th Century Council of Trent.

Sources:

• Joseph Dahmus, Dictionary of Medieval Civilization (Macmillan, 1984)
• Andrew Greeley, “Magic in the Age of Faith,” America, October 9, 1993, p8 ff
• Brian Tierney and Sidney Painter, Western Europe in the Middle Ages 300-1475 (McGraw-Hill, 1992)
• 
  

The copyright of the article Medieval Church Corruption in Medieval History is owned by Michael Streich. Permission to republish Medieval Church Corruption in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Socrates and the Search for Justice

The Greatest Philosopher is often Compared to Christ

michael streich

may 10, 2008

The Socratic Method forced young Athenian men to come to an understanding of justice, virtue, and ethics, and the purpose of knowledge, threatening Athenian status quo.

Socrates has been called the greatest philosopher of all time. His pursuit of justice and virtue through the “Socratic Method” of questioning eventually led to his death in Athens in 399 BC. According to former Yale University historian Jaroslav Pelikan, “He was himself a type of forerunner of Christ.” Never having written, his words come through Plato and Xenophon. Socrates’ teachings, however, still challenge a post-modern world.

 

Ethics, Virtue, and Knowledge

 

Unless knowledge leads to the formation of an ethical understanding rooted in virtue, it serves no purpose. Socrates challenged contemporary views of knowledge and individual success and enflamed the young aristocratic men of Athens, future leaders, with a new perspective of thought. Hardly unpatriotic, Socrates had served as a hoplite in several battles, yet would be accused by the Athenian leadership of corrupting the youth.

 

His method was constant questioning, reducing an answer to further scrutiny and forcing his listeners to consider deeper answers to often perplexing questions: from “what is justice” to “how is a man just?” Is the victim of injustice more righteous that he who commits injustice simply because the unrighteous do not understand justice? If justice was fully understood and lived, would there be unrighteousness?

 

In this regard, as Pelikan demonstrates, Christ could be Socrates’ completely righteous man. Pelikan quotes Glaucon in a discourse with Socrates on righteousness and the fully righteous man. In the end result, “He shall be scourged, tortured, bound, his eyes burnt out, and at last, after suffering every evil, shall be impaled or crucified.” (Plato’s Republic, book 2)

 

Rejecting the Gods and Democracy

 

The leaders of Athens also charged Socrates with rejecting the state gods and teaching new gods. By implication, this also meant that his teachings threatened Athenian Democracy. In Athens, justice was dispensed through the Assembly or Ekklesia.

 

Socrates did not believe that everyman possessed the same level of knowledge or understanding of justice or that every citizen’s opinion should count as heavily as another. Perhaps this helped influence Plato’s Utopia, a state ruled by a Philosopher King.

 

Death of Socrates

 

The people of Athens should have listened to the Oracle at Delphi, which declared Socrates to be the wisest of men. Socrates interpreted this to mean that he was the only man who did not know anything. The knowledge of not-knowing stems from the truth of seeing oneself correctly.

 

So great was their mistrust and fear, that rather than exile, Socrates was ordered to commit suicide by drinking a cup of poison. Even in this final act, Socrates was true to his beliefs and submitted to the unjust state. His death has often been compared to the death of Christ, further illuminating the analogy.

 

Does this imply that Socrates was a proto-type Christian? Socrates lived almost 400 years before Christ and to ascribe Christian beliefs to him is redundant. How he lived his life in view of his teachings, however, ties him closely to Christ. Both were “Law Givers;” both taught an ethic that transcended everyday thinking; both suffered deaths solely because their teachings offended contemporary leaders.

 

Sources:

 

Bryan Magee, The Story of Thought (QPB, 1998)

Jaroslav Pelikan, Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture (Yale University Press, 1985)

Sarah B. Pomeroy, Stanley M. Burstein, and others, Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History (Oxford University Press, 1999) 

COPYRIGHT owned by Michael Streich.

 Bacon's Rebellion Challenges Virginia Colony Power Elites

Michael Streich

In 1676 the forty-thousand inhabitants of the Virginia colony were confronted by an uprising that came to be called Bacon’s Rebellion. Led by 29-year old Nathaniel Bacon, related to Governor Berkeley and a member of the House of Burgesses, the revolt centered on frontier Indian policy, high taxes, and the actions of a small group of wealthy planters Bacon referred to as “unworthy favorites and juggling parasites.” Although unsuccessful, Bacon’s Rebellion forced social changes in Virginia and the event itself continues to be debated by historians.

 

Causes of Bacon’s Rebellion

 

Nathaniel Bacon represented a higher social pedigree than many of his planter counterparts whose fortunes were amassed over years of hard work and shrewd business ventures. These men comprised the “favorites” Bacon referred to, tied to the royal governor and his policies that included a monopoly on the deerskin trade. According to historian Alan Taylor, “the Chesapeake’s leading men lacked the mystique of a traditional ruling class.”

 

As poor whites made their way to the frontier to establish farms of their own, they encountered various Indian groups, some friendly while others were hostile. Governor Berkeley’s policy was to keep the Indians divided, maintaining good relations with friendly Indians that also supplied him with valuable trade in deerskin. On the frontier, however, settlers made no distinctions between Indians and killed all Indians indiscriminately following minor skirmishes and escalating tensions.

 

The governor’s decision to build several new forts on the frontier was met with severe criticism. Farmers saw this action as leading to higher taxes. High taxation was already a chief reason for collective discontent. Additionally, tobacco prices had fallen while poor corn harvests threatened the fragile profit margins of many small farmers. Too often, their farms were bought by the wealthier planters intent on consolidating their land holdings.

 

Bacon Breaks with Governor Berkeley

 

From contemporary accounts, Nathaniel Bacon was articulate, charismatic, and well educated. Bacon gathered a small army of disenchanted farmers and poor whites to press a change in crown policy. After Berkeley and the House of Burgesses refused to declare war against the frontier Indians, Bacon and his followers took matters into their own hands and attacked Indian settlements, killing both friendly and hostile natives. For this, Bacon was declared guilty of treason.

 

To what extent was the rebellion an attack on aristocratic privilege as opposed to differences in Indian policy? Columbia University historian Howard Zinn writes that the “character of their rebellion” was “not easily classifiable as either antiaristocrat or anti-Indian, because it was both.” Bacon forced the governor and his cronies to flee Jamestown, which was subsequently burned.

 

In July 1676 Bacon published his “Declaration of the People,” which listed the grievances leading to the uprising. Included in this manifesto were the charges of unjust taxes, the monopoly of beaver and deerskins, and frontier Indian policies. All of these issues appealed to impoverished whites and poor farmers that supported Bacon’s actions. Bacon also attracted fugitive slaves to his cause.

 

End of the Rebellion

 

Shortly after burning Jamestown, Bacon died of dysentery and his movement collapsed. Fugitive slaves were returned to their masters and white leaders in the movement were hanged. Alarmed, England sent 1,000 soldiers and a new governor to replace the 70-year old Berkeley. Was the rebellion indicative of a social revolution, an illustration of class conflict? Was Bacon merely using popular anger over hated policies to gather a following in order to achieve his own, personal agenda?

 

Bacon’s Rebellion would not be the last uprising against colonial governments. By 1760 there were 18 uprisings as well as half a dozen slave rebellions as Africans began to replace indentured servants. Bacon’s Rebellion, however, sheds insight into the early workings of colonial policy at a time significant social transformations were taking place.

 

Sources:

 

Nathaniel Bacon, “Declaration of the People” (Massachusetts Historical Society Collection, Vol. 9: 184-87)

Alan Taylor, American Colonies (New York: Viking-Penguin, 2001)

Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States (on-line edition)

[Copyright owned by Michael Streich; reprints only by written permission]