From Simonides to Isocrates: The Fifth-Century Origins of Fourth-Century Panhellenism

Abstract

This article attempts to gather the evidence for panhellenism in the fifth century B.C. and to trace its development both as a political program and as a popular ideology. Panhellenism is here defined as the idea that the various Greek city-states could solve their political disputes and simultaneously enrich themselves by uniting in common cause and conquering all or part of the Persian empire. An attempt is made to trace the evidence for panhellenism throughout the fifth century by combining different kinds of evidence: that is, both poetic and historical texts, as well as the testimonia for monuments which are no longer extant. Any thought of a panhellenic crusade was impossible before the Persian invasions, but such an expedition, under the dual leadership of Athens and Sparta, was espoused by Cimon. After his death it remained an item of popular talk for the rest of the century and this talk intensified during the second half of the Peloponnesian War. The paper has six parts: the first finds hints of panhellenist ideology in the fragments of Simonides' Plataea elegy and in Aeschylus' Persians. The second part attempts to explain several puzzling passages in Herodotus in terms of his reflecting contemporary panhellenist discourse, especially in his account of Aristagoras of Miletus at Sparta. Part three reconstructs Cimon' s belief in dual hegemony and his plans for a joint Athenian-Spartan expedition against the Persian empire. Part four connects an anecdote about Miltiades with the Cimonian monuments and argues that the artistic program of the Stoa Poikile was intended to support Cimon's panhellenist aspirations. Part five discusses panhellenist sentiments in late fifth-century Greek poetry, and dates the Olympic Oration and Funeral Oration of Gorgias to the period 408-405 B.C., Finally, part six relates the panhellenist writings of Isocrates to earlier developments.

“They Had, They Thought, Their Champion of Freedom”: Social Constructivism and Greek Politics, 217-199.

“…162 On why we might be sceptical: Flower 2000a, 101n.23.163 Low 2007, 257. This observation is also made in this context byFlower 2000a, 102. Generally, in reacting to Thucydidean Realism, Hawthorn 2014 demonstrates the force of this kind of argument.164 Pohlenz 1966, 20; Flower 2000a, 101.…”

“… Mitchell 2007, 3. Some twenty-first century studies: Flower 2000a, 2000b, Hall 2002, Low 2007, Vlassopoulos 2013. On the idea of symbolic community, consider Mitchell 2007, 2: "As Stuart Hall notes for the modern nation-state: 'People are not only legal citizens of a nation; they participate in the idea of the community as represented in its national culture'".26 The values enshrined in this monument have had a notable influence on ideas of 'western civilization', as seen for instance inRuskin 1894, 212.…”

The Balance of Power in World History

“…25 Casson (1994) says the trireme had 170 rowers. 26 Flower (2000) argues that one of the fragments that remain of Simonides poem on the Battle of Plataea written in the 470s makes reference to the Greeks driving the Medes and the Persians 'out of Asia'. He suggests, therefore, that the 4 th century theme of the Greeks uniting to invade Persia was present throughout the 5 th century following the Persian invasions.…”

“…36 This is how Pomeroy et al (1999: 210) describe the relationship. 37 Flower (2000) sees this as an early panhellenic call for the Greeks to stick together against the ongoing threat from Persia. The helots were the indigenous people of territory that had been conquered by Sparta.…”

Xenophon's parasangs

“…33 Cf. Flower (2000) 70−73; for Xenophon's alleged panhellenism, see Rood (2004b), with further bibliography. 34 Cf.…”