WEBVTT 00:00:08.022 --> 00:00:12.766 It’s 427 BCE and the worst internal conflict ever to occur 00:00:12.766 --> 00:00:16.416 in the ancient Greek world is in its fourth year. 00:00:16.416 --> 00:00:18.620 The Peloponnesian War is being fought 00:00:18.620 --> 00:00:24.226 between the city-states of Athens and Sparta, as well as their allies. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:24.226 --> 00:00:28.721 The Athenians can’t match the formidable Spartan army on land. 00:00:28.721 --> 00:00:30.701 So they’ve abandoned the countryside 00:00:30.701 --> 00:00:34.606 and moved inside the walls surrounding their city and port, 00:00:34.606 --> 00:00:40.266 now provisioned by a superior fleet and extensive maritime empire. 00:00:40.266 --> 00:00:42.397 The cramped conditions have taken a toll 00:00:42.397 --> 00:00:46.096 and a recent plague wiped out a third of the population. 00:00:46.096 --> 00:00:48.436 But city life goes on. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:48.436 --> 00:00:53.026 Archias and Dexileia live in the center of Athens. 00:00:53.026 --> 00:00:54.958 As a painter of high-class pottery, 00:00:54.958 --> 00:01:00.652 Archias is relatively well-off and takes great interest in the city’s affairs. 00:01:00.652 --> 00:01:07.216 Dexileia, on the other hand, can't participate in politics or own property. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:07.216 --> 00:01:10.866 The couple are grateful to the gods that three of their four children, 00:01:10.866 --> 00:01:12.646 a son and two daughters, 00:01:12.646 --> 00:01:15.537 have survived past infancy. 00:01:15.537 --> 00:01:18.765 Many parents see daughters as a liability 00:01:18.765 --> 00:01:21.744 since they require dowries to find husbands. 00:01:21.744 --> 00:01:24.055 But Archias is confident that his wealth 00:01:24.055 --> 00:01:28.687 will allow him to make good matches for them without going bankrupt. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:28.687 --> 00:01:31.986 Like many Athenians, the family owns slaves. 00:01:31.986 --> 00:01:35.587 Originally from Thrace, they were captured in war. 00:01:35.587 --> 00:01:39.746 Thratta does most of the housework and helps raise the children. 00:01:39.746 --> 00:01:41.671 Philon is a paidagôgos, 00:01:41.671 --> 00:01:45.888 who supervises the son’s education, teaching him reading and writing. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:45.888 --> 00:01:49.715 Archias is up early because there’s a meeting of the Ekklêsia, 00:01:49.715 --> 00:01:51.346 the assembly of citizens, 00:01:51.346 --> 00:01:53.637 taking place at dawn. 00:01:53.637 --> 00:01:55.816 Before setting out, he burns incense 00:01:55.816 --> 00:01:59.577 and pours a libation at the small shrine in the courtyard 00:01:59.577 --> 00:02:02.136 on behalf of his entire household. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:02.136 --> 00:02:06.976 Dexileia will remain at home all day, teaching her daughters domestic skills. 00:02:06.976 --> 00:02:11.516 Later, she’ll retire to the inner courtyard for some fresh air. 00:02:11.516 --> 00:02:13.786 When Archias arrives at the agora, 00:02:13.786 --> 00:02:16.166 the civic and commercial heart of the city, 00:02:16.166 --> 00:02:19.556 he finds the square swarming with his fellow citizens, 00:02:19.556 --> 00:02:24.316 native-born adult males who have completed military training. 00:02:24.316 --> 00:02:27.997 Attached to the central monument is a noticeboard with the meeting’s agenda. 00:02:27.997 --> 00:02:30.726 Today, there’s only one item of discussion: 00:02:30.726 --> 00:02:33.215 what to do with the people of Mytilene, 00:02:33.215 --> 00:02:35.055 a city on the island of Lesbos 00:02:35.055 --> 00:02:39.505 where a revolt against Athenian rule has just been put down. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:39.505 --> 00:02:44.357 The meeting takes place on a hill west of the acropolis known as the Pnyx. 00:02:44.357 --> 00:02:46.216 The word means “tightly packed," 00:02:46.216 --> 00:02:51.105 and the crowd of 5,000 citizens makes it clear why. 00:02:51.105 --> 00:02:55.416 The heralds purify the hill by sprinkling its boundary with pig’s blood 00:02:55.416 --> 00:02:57.697 and call for order. 00:02:57.697 --> 00:03:00.506 As everyone sits on benches facing the platform, 00:03:00.506 --> 00:03:03.387 the presiding officer opens the meeting with the words: 00:03:03.387 --> 00:03:05.556 “Tis agoreuein bouleutai?” 00:03:05.556 --> 00:03:08.527 “Who wishes to address the assembly?” NOTE Paragraph 00:03:08.527 --> 00:03:15.075 One by one, citizens speak, some advising mercy, others bent on vengeance. 00:03:15.075 --> 00:03:18.737 A motion is proposed to execute all the Mytileneans 00:03:18.737 --> 00:03:20.465 and enslave their women and children 00:03:20.465 --> 00:03:24.705 because they betrayed their Athenian allies during a time of war. 00:03:24.705 --> 00:03:29.246 A majority raises their right hands in favor. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:29.246 --> 00:03:34.326 Once the meeting’s over, Archias heads back to the agora to buy food and wine. 00:03:34.326 --> 00:03:37.026 Hundreds have gathered there to discuss the results, 00:03:37.026 --> 00:03:39.737 many unhappy with the decision. 00:03:39.737 --> 00:03:43.457 When Archias returns home, he tells Dexileia about the debate. 00:03:43.457 --> 00:03:46.387 She thinks that killing the innocent as well as the guilty 00:03:46.387 --> 00:03:48.398 is harsh and counterproductive, 00:03:48.398 --> 00:03:50.346 and tells him as much. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:50.346 --> 00:03:54.626 Around dusk, Archias goes to a friend’s house for a symposium. 00:03:54.626 --> 00:03:58.687 The nine men drink wine and discuss the meeting well into the night. 00:03:58.687 --> 00:04:05.073 Archias shares his wife’s opinion urging mercy, and his friends eventually agree. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:05.073 --> 00:04:08.126 Before dawn, something unprecedented happens. 00:04:08.126 --> 00:04:10.527 Heralds circulate throughout Athens 00:04:10.527 --> 00:04:14.015 announcing the council has called another meeting. 00:04:14.015 --> 00:04:16.186 The second debate is equally heated, 00:04:16.186 --> 00:04:19.915 but a new resolution, to execute only the leaders of the revolt, 00:04:19.915 --> 00:04:22.012 narrowly passes. 00:04:22.012 --> 00:04:23.350 Yet there’s a problem – 00:04:23.350 --> 00:04:26.112 a ship with orders to carry out the first resolution 00:04:26.112 --> 00:04:28.278 was dispatched the previous day. 00:04:28.278 --> 00:04:33.146 And so another ship quickly sets sail to countermand the order – 00:04:33.146 --> 00:04:36.166 a race of democracy against time.