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http://agathe.gr/democracy/solon_the_lawgiver.html Solon the Lawgiver By the early 6th century B.C. social tensions in Athens had become acute, pitting the poorer citizens against rich and powerful landowners. Many citizens were reduced to the status of ... This round box has three horses on the lid. Ownership of horses required a certain degree of wealth and allowed the man who owned them to assume a role in defending the city as a member of a fighting cavalry, the knights. Thus, horses became a status symbol and sign of wealth. 3. |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/military_service.html Military Service After the 18-year-old was registered in his deme as a citizen and was approved by the Council, he entered military service as a young conscript (ephebe) with other members of his tribe ... Rich men served in the cavalry, providing their own horses; those who could afford armor made up the heavy-armed infantry, called hoplites; and the others served either as light-armed troops or as oarsmen in the navy. ... Part of the cavalry archives consisting of assessment records of horses written on lead strips (9), lead tokens for the issuing of armor (10), and clay tokens serving to identify official messengers from specific officers have been found (11), all discarded down a well at the northwest corner of the square. |
http://agathe.gr/publications/picture_books.html Picture Books The Athenian Agora Picture Book series, started in 1951, aims to make information about life in the ancient commercial and political center of Athens available to a wide audience. Each booklet ... This booklet presents a representative sample of these carvings, ranging from elegant ivory figures of Apollo to small toy horses recovered from children’s graves. ... From their arrival in Greece, at the start of the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000 B.C.), horses were a powerful symbol of rank. Bridles and other horse trappings are often found in graves, alongside vases depicting horses grazing, racing, and parading. |
http://agathe.gr/democracy/the_athenian_army.html The Athenian Army From the very beginning, the Athenians were compelled to fight for their new democracy. Their dramatic victories over the Boiotians and Chalkidians in 506 B.C. led many to attribute Athenian ... From the series of similar strips recovered in Athens we learn that the maximum assessment of a horse was 1,200 drachmas, well below the value of many horses and representing the maximum limit of the state's responsibility; the minimum amount was 500 drachmas. |
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