1 00:00:08,022 --> 00:00:12,766 It’s 427 BCE and the worst internal conflict ever to occur 2 00:00:12,766 --> 00:00:16,416 in the ancient Greek world is in its fourth year. 3 00:00:16,416 --> 00:00:18,620 The Peloponnesian War is being fought 4 00:00:18,620 --> 00:00:24,226 between the city-states of Athens and Sparta, as well as their allies. 5 00:00:24,226 --> 00:00:28,721 The Athenians can’t match the formidable Spartan army on land. 6 00:00:28,721 --> 00:00:30,701 So they’ve abandoned the countryside 7 00:00:30,701 --> 00:00:34,606 and moved inside the walls surrounding their city and port, 8 00:00:34,606 --> 00:00:40,266 now provisioned by a superior fleet and extensive maritime empire. 9 00:00:40,266 --> 00:00:42,397 The cramped conditions have taken a toll 10 00:00:42,397 --> 00:00:46,096 and a recent plague wiped out a third of the population. 11 00:00:46,096 --> 00:00:48,436 But city life goes on. 12 00:00:48,436 --> 00:00:53,026 Archias and Dexileia live in the center of Athens. 13 00:00:53,026 --> 00:00:54,958 As a painter of high-class pottery, 14 00:00:54,958 --> 00:01:00,652 Archias is relatively well-off and takes great interest in the city’s affairs. 15 00:01:00,652 --> 00:01:07,216 Dexileia, on the other hand, can't participate in politics or own property. 16 00:01:07,216 --> 00:01:10,866 The couple are grateful to the gods that three of their four children, 17 00:01:10,866 --> 00:01:12,646 a son and two daughters, 18 00:01:12,646 --> 00:01:15,537 have survived past infancy. 19 00:01:15,537 --> 00:01:18,765 Many parents see daughters as a liability 20 00:01:18,765 --> 00:01:21,744 since they require dowries to find husbands. 21 00:01:21,744 --> 00:01:24,055 But Archias is confident that his wealth 22 00:01:24,055 --> 00:01:28,687 will allow him to make good matches for them without going bankrupt. 23 00:01:28,687 --> 00:01:31,986 Like many Athenians, the family owns slaves. 24 00:01:31,986 --> 00:01:35,587 Originally from Thrace, they were captured in war. 25 00:01:35,587 --> 00:01:39,746 Thratta does most of the housework and helps raise the children. 26 00:01:39,746 --> 00:01:41,671 Philon is a paidagôgos, 27 00:01:41,671 --> 00:01:45,888 who supervises the son’s education, teaching him reading and writing. 28 00:01:45,888 --> 00:01:49,715 Archias is up early because there’s a meeting of the Ekklêsia, 29 00:01:49,715 --> 00:01:51,346 the assembly of citizens, 30 00:01:51,346 --> 00:01:53,637 taking place at dawn. 31 00:01:53,637 --> 00:01:55,816 Before setting out, he burns incense 32 00:01:55,816 --> 00:01:59,577 and pours a libation at the small shrine in the courtyard 33 00:01:59,577 --> 00:02:02,136 on behalf of his entire household. 34 00:02:02,136 --> 00:02:06,976 Dexileia will remain at home all day, teaching her daughters domestic skills. 35 00:02:06,976 --> 00:02:11,516 Later, she’ll retire to the inner courtyard for some fresh air. 36 00:02:11,516 --> 00:02:13,786 When Archias arrives at the agora, 37 00:02:13,786 --> 00:02:16,166 the civic and commercial heart of the city, 38 00:02:16,166 --> 00:02:19,556 he finds the square swarming with his fellow citizens, 39 00:02:19,556 --> 00:02:24,316 native-born adult males who have completed military training. 40 00:02:24,316 --> 00:02:27,997 Attached to the central monument is a noticeboard with the meeting’s agenda. 41 00:02:27,997 --> 00:02:30,726 Today, there’s only one item of discussion: 42 00:02:30,726 --> 00:02:33,215 what to do with the people of Mytilene, 43 00:02:33,215 --> 00:02:35,055 a city on the island of Lesbos 44 00:02:35,055 --> 00:02:39,505 where a revolt against Athenian rule has just been put down. 45 00:02:39,505 --> 00:02:44,357 The meeting takes place on a hill west of the acropolis known as the Pnyx. 46 00:02:44,357 --> 00:02:46,216 The word means “tightly packed," 47 00:02:46,216 --> 00:02:51,105 and the crowd of 5,000 citizens makes it clear why. 48 00:02:51,105 --> 00:02:55,416 The heralds purify the hill by sprinkling its boundary with pig’s blood 49 00:02:55,416 --> 00:02:57,697 and call for order. 50 00:02:57,697 --> 00:03:00,506 As everyone sits on benches facing the platform, 51 00:03:00,506 --> 00:03:03,387 the presiding officer opens the meeting with the words: 52 00:03:03,387 --> 00:03:05,556 “Tis agoreuein bouleutai?” 53 00:03:05,556 --> 00:03:08,527 “Who wishes to address the assembly?” 54 00:03:08,527 --> 00:03:15,075 One by one, citizens speak, some advising mercy, others bent on vengeance. 55 00:03:15,075 --> 00:03:18,737 A motion is proposed to execute all the Mytileneans 56 00:03:18,737 --> 00:03:20,465 and enslave their women and children 57 00:03:20,465 --> 00:03:24,705 because they betrayed their Athenian allies during a time of war. 58 00:03:24,705 --> 00:03:29,246 A majority raises their right hands in favor. 59 00:03:29,246 --> 00:03:34,326 Once the meeting’s over, Archias heads back to the agora to buy food and wine. 60 00:03:34,326 --> 00:03:37,026 Hundreds have gathered there to discuss the results, 61 00:03:37,026 --> 00:03:39,737 many unhappy with the decision. 62 00:03:39,737 --> 00:03:43,457 When Archias returns home, he tells Dexileia about the debate. 63 00:03:43,457 --> 00:03:46,387 She thinks that killing the innocent as well as the guilty 64 00:03:46,387 --> 00:03:48,398 is harsh and counterproductive, 65 00:03:48,398 --> 00:03:50,346 and tells him as much. 66 00:03:50,346 --> 00:03:54,626 Around dusk, Archias goes to a friend’s house for a symposium. 67 00:03:54,626 --> 00:03:58,687 The nine men drink wine and discuss the meeting well into the night. 68 00:03:58,687 --> 00:04:05,073 Archias shares his wife’s opinion urging mercy, and his friends eventually agree. 69 00:04:05,073 --> 00:04:08,126 Before dawn, something unprecedented happens. 70 00:04:08,126 --> 00:04:10,527 Heralds circulate throughout Athens 71 00:04:10,527 --> 00:04:14,015 announcing the council has called another meeting. 72 00:04:14,015 --> 00:04:16,186 The second debate is equally heated, 73 00:04:16,186 --> 00:04:19,915 but a new resolution, to execute only the leaders of the revolt, 74 00:04:19,915 --> 00:04:22,012 narrowly passes. 75 00:04:22,012 --> 00:04:23,350 Yet there’s a problem – 76 00:04:23,350 --> 00:04:26,112 a ship with orders to carry out the first resolution 77 00:04:26,112 --> 00:04:28,278 was dispatched the previous day. 78 00:04:28,278 --> 00:04:33,146 And so another ship quickly sets sail to countermand the order – 79 00:04:33,146 --> 00:04:36,166 a race of democracy against time.