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History Forum / General / Ancient History / September 2003ANCIENT GREEKS WERE PIRATES
Ancient pirates of Antikythera A nest of ancient pirates who apparently preyed on Mediterranean shipping for nearly 300 years has emerged during excavations this summer on a remote island off the southeastern tip of the Peloponnese. According to a Culture Ministry announcement yesterday, archaeologists digging at the ancient city of Antikythera since 2000 have located sanctuaries, a large public building and a wealth of missiles — spear and arrow heads, slingshots and large catapult stones — in the settlement identified as the city of Aegila mentioned in ancient sources. Antikythera controlled the strait between Kythera and western Crete, a crucial passage for shipping. The site, occupied from the mid-fourth to the mid-first centuries BC, is surrounded by a strong, double enceinte of walls that today reach a maximum height of 5 meters. “Excavators believe the city may have been a nest of pirates, at a time when piracy was quasi-legitimate,” the ministry said. Archaeologists also located a large boat shed “which protected the constantly war-ready pirate ships.” http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_28198033_03/09/2003_3 3635 > Ancient pirates of Antikythera > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > "Excavators believe the city may have been a nest of pirates, at a time when > piracy was quasi-legitimate," the ministry said. Archaeologists also located > a large boat shed "which protected the constantly war-ready pirate ships." http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_28198033_03/09/2003_3 > 3635 What's new? What do you think the participants in the Iliad were? NL > > Ancient pirates of Antikythera > > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > located > > a large boat shed "which protected the constantly war-ready pirate ships." http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_28198033_03/09/2003_3 > > 3635 > > What's new? What do you think the participants in the Iliad were? Noble Warriors you RACIST TROLL. > NL >>Ancient pirates of Antikythera >> [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > NL Nothing new, you're right. You're the same old idiot trollster that spends his time writing nonsense on Usenent. Nicolas [snip] >What's new? What do you think the participants in the Iliad were? No, actually, I don't think they were pirates. They're clearly portrayed as being an organized force, albeit one made up of multiple independent contingents held together by their leaders' vows and agreements. But you're right, there is nothing new in this. Scyros was also a base for piracy in the Aegean - the Athenians under Kimon put it down in the mid-5th century. Later, of course, both Julius Caesar and Pompey were involved in suppressing piracy. I don't remember if that was in the Aegean or not. Last week I nearly bought a book on the subject (of ancient piracy) - it was a reprint of Ormerod's book, published in 1924, so I passed up on it believing it would be out of date. There's apparently a more recent book on the subject, _Piracy in the Graeco-Roman World_ (2000) by Philip De Souza. > [snip] > >What's new? What do you think the participants in the Iliad were? [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > would be out of date. There's apparently a more recent book on the subject, > _Piracy in the Graeco-Roman World_ (2000) by Philip De Souza. Antonius Caesar, and later Pompey, as a special command to sweep the whole Mediterranean. Their main bases wren in Cilicia and Crete. In the Odyssey, he is asked 'are you pirates?' with no special purpose in mind or criticism implied - it was a perfectly respectable occupation. You could equally describe the early Greek as land pirates in their spread through the Mediterranean and Black sea littoral, and certainly also early Rome which grew from 50 sqmiles to all of Italy by pinching land. NL > > On Mon, 29 Sep 2003 05:18:11 GMT, "Neville Lindsay" > <nevlin@bigpond.net.au> [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > through the Mediterranean and Black sea littoral, and certainly also early > Rome which grew from 50 sqmiles to all of Italy by pinching land. POPPYCOCK. Since there was NO ONE occupying the land it cannot possibly have been pinched. > NL Since the very first human beings appeared on the face of the Earth, piracy was a perfectly restpectfull profession. Europeans were top experts in piracy as well as all the other ways of looting and plundering until well into 19th Century. Piracy was a major income source of Europeans. George Washington during American independence war against British authorized and regulated piracy against British merchant shipsm and taxed the income of pirates. > Ancient pirates of Antikythera > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_28198033_03/09/2003_3 > 3635 If a group steals from traders they are pirates. If that group provides protection from other thieves and charges taxes for doing so it is called a government.  SignatureIn a democracy, lying by politicians should be considered a capital offense. -- The Iron Webmaster, 2848 |
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