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Priene - Coggle Diagram
Priene
Democratic?
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to support this, some of the 4th century rural territory of Priene was divided into agricultural plots of equal size
BUT, uniform housing is found in several Greek cities of the fifth and fourth centuries, some of them governed as oligarchies
many of the citizens of Priene would not have lived in the city proper, but in the surrounding countryside
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also, the Prienean 'democracy' did not extend to the large serf-like population of non-Greeks living on the city's territory
there was a mass of oppressed, rural, 'plain-dwellers' - the native Carian villagers of south-western Asia Minor
House 33
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created around 100 BC by combining two existing houses into a single sprawling complex, laid out around a peristyle courtyard
of a type unknown in early Hellenistic Priene - conceivable that the house's owner was influenced by the Italian dwellings of contemporary Roman aristocrats (Thonemann)
Life in the city
whilst some have said the slogan of 'freedom for the Greeks' was empty, in the case of Priene this is quite wrong
the Prieneans struck their own silver and bronze coinage, and the city's democratic assembly passed decrees and had them inscribed with diligence
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they had a democracy, with specialised boards of officials (grain-commissioners, guardians of law, religious officials)
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certain religious offices, like the priesthoods of Dionysus Phleus, the Phrygian Mother, and of Poseidon Heliconius, were sold for life to the highest bidder
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Education
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a series of honorific decrees of the early first century BC for a wealthy citizen called Zosimus gives us a sense of the education on offer at Priene
Zosimus personally resided over a set of oral examinations for the city's paides (boys) and donated prizes for the students and their tutors
for the older pupils he provided "a professor to preside over the literary education of the epheboi...their souls should be guided towards virtue and an understanding of human suffering"
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Planning the city
the land available at the foot of Teloneia (a big rock) was an irregular space of around 37 acres, rising steeply upwards to the north
they divided it into a rectangular grid-plan, regular
the blocks were mostly private housing, usually 8 per block - the city contained c. 480 housing units in total
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had to use stairways for those streets running north-south, because of steep slope
the main public buildings were slotted into this grid-plan: the theatre takes up 1.5 city blocks, the sanctuary of Athena a full 3
Times of Crisis
in the mid 270s the territory of Priene was ravaged by a band of Galatian celts, who had spent years pillaging the coastal valleys of Asia Minor
the city's rural sanctuaries were sacked, and many of the Greeks living on Prienian territory were killed or taken prisoner
we learn from a long honorific decree for a citizen called Sotas, that the Prienians put together a citizen militia to fight the Galatians
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existence of horse-breeders suggests some kind of blue-blooded aristocracy who defined themselves by horse rearing
Priene and the Kings
inscribed on the north anta wall of the temple of Athena Polias, the Prieneans inscribed their most important dealings with Hellenistic kings
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next: the edict of Alexander delineating the tax-free sections of Priene. The Prieneans were exempt from syntaxis and enjoy autonomy, as are all the Greek inhabitants of Naulochon
apparently this edict dates to 33, yet was not inscribed until the mid-280s - likely that Lysimachus had questioned the fiscal status of Priene
showcases how Hellenistic kings (like Lysimachus) could not be seen to be reversing the edicts of Alexander
the Seleucids
in Spring 281, Lysimachus was killed by Seleucus I
The Prieneans promptly set up statues to their new masters, Seleucus I and his son Antiochus in the sanctuary of Athena Polias
Then, some time in the mid-270s, Antiochus granted a Seleucid officer named Larichus a large private estate on the borders of Prienean territory
the Prieneans scrambled to win over this powerful new neighbour - they eventually chose to set up a statue of him in the main market-place of Priene
"let a bronze equestrian statue of Larichus be erected in the agora...so that the demos should be seen to be repaying Larichus with gratitude worthy of his benefactions"
Basic facts
founded in mid 4th century, in use until 1st century BC - preserved as a prime example of a Hellenistic settlement
397 known Greek inscriptions from Priene. Only 16% can be dated after 50 BC - Priene stopped properly functioning as a polis in the 1st century BC
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Women
an inscription of the 1st century BC records the construction of an aqueduct and water-distribution system by a female benefactor (her name is not preserved)
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should not be seen as female emancipation - rather that the dominance of great benefactors had allowed even their female relatives to be catapulted into civic offices