ABSTRACT
As we recall the great historical events in which the Greeks of the Classical and Hellenistic ages were so intensely involved—the struggle against the Persian invaders, the no less vital struggle of large masses of citizens for political emancipation within the framework of democratic institutions, the ruinous conflict of the Peloponnesian War, the rise of Macedon and the conquests of Alexander, the subsequent rivalry and warfare between major powers—then, in contrast, the political history of Crete under the Dorian aristocracies may appear to be of slight consequence. Yet, if we remain content with the judgement that the Crete of those times was an insignificant area, overshadowed by the greatness of its own dim past and by its relative isolation from the explosive centres of contemporary historical events, little more than a troublesome nest of pirates or a useful reservoir of mercenary archers and slingers for more dominant powers, we lose the opportunity of gaining fresh insight into some basic contradictory features of the autonomous city-state of ancient Greece.
