12-26-2011, 05:49 PM
One only has to look at the basic geography of old Greece and greater Greece to understand why pan-Hellenism would never work.
On the one hand you have the original country with its mountain ranges and isolated valleys; its wildly exaggerated coastlines and gulfs; its north eastern plains and its remote north western rugged terrain. It was a curious mixture of small cities, towns and villages, with some sections unified under a dominant polis; others under looser tribal confederations; others under feudal aristocratic houses; and so on. The insular battles were fought over territory and resources. They were fragmented societies which only united in extraordinary circumstances, and even then with great difficulty and caveats. Take the Persian Wars which brought three of the dominant states (Athens, Korinth, Sparta) together - but failed to embrace fully others like Thebes and Argos (who both took a different view upon things).
On the other hand you have the new territories scattered all over the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Seas, some of which maintained close relations (but at a distance of time as well as space) with the motherland, and some of which did not. This resulted over time in new growing power bases like Syracuse, Kyrene and Rhodes; some of whom may choose to help out in the affairs of old Greece (in often limited fashion) and some of whom did not (for various reasons).
Add to that the internal tribal differences between the Dorians, Akhaians, Ionians, Aiolians and others who would often conglomerate against each other's ethnicities; or even worse than that - within each other's ethnic groups (i.e. Sparta and Argos; Thebes and other Boiotian cities) and it is not difficult to see that these people were never going to be voluntarily and fraternally united.
It would always be under the (unwanted) yoke of either a Spartan, Athenian, Theban or Makedonian hegemony. And very few of them were prepared to tolerate such a situation because of basic pride, jealousies, prejudices etc.
No - it was always going to be a lost cause ...
On the one hand you have the original country with its mountain ranges and isolated valleys; its wildly exaggerated coastlines and gulfs; its north eastern plains and its remote north western rugged terrain. It was a curious mixture of small cities, towns and villages, with some sections unified under a dominant polis; others under looser tribal confederations; others under feudal aristocratic houses; and so on. The insular battles were fought over territory and resources. They were fragmented societies which only united in extraordinary circumstances, and even then with great difficulty and caveats. Take the Persian Wars which brought three of the dominant states (Athens, Korinth, Sparta) together - but failed to embrace fully others like Thebes and Argos (who both took a different view upon things).
On the other hand you have the new territories scattered all over the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Seas, some of which maintained close relations (but at a distance of time as well as space) with the motherland, and some of which did not. This resulted over time in new growing power bases like Syracuse, Kyrene and Rhodes; some of whom may choose to help out in the affairs of old Greece (in often limited fashion) and some of whom did not (for various reasons).
Add to that the internal tribal differences between the Dorians, Akhaians, Ionians, Aiolians and others who would often conglomerate against each other's ethnicities; or even worse than that - within each other's ethnic groups (i.e. Sparta and Argos; Thebes and other Boiotian cities) and it is not difficult to see that these people were never going to be voluntarily and fraternally united.
It would always be under the (unwanted) yoke of either a Spartan, Athenian, Theban or Makedonian hegemony. And very few of them were prepared to tolerate such a situation because of basic pride, jealousies, prejudices etc.
No - it was always going to be a lost cause ...
[size=75:2kpklzm3]Ghostmojo / Howard Johnston[/size]
![[Image: A-TTLGAvatar-1-1.jpg]](http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d162/Ghostmojo/Argus%20-%20TTLG/A-TTLGAvatar-1-1.jpg)
[size=75:2kpklzm3]Xerxes - "What did the guy in the pass say?" ... Scout - "Μολὼν λαβέ my Lord - and he meant it!!!"[/size]
[size=75:2kpklzm3]Xerxes - "What did the guy in the pass say?" ... Scout - "Μολὼν λαβέ my Lord - and he meant it!!!"[/size]
