The nature, derivation and use of soft power in the ancient Cyclades

Phillips, Richard Peter (2021) The nature, derivation and use of soft power in the ancient Cyclades. PhD thesis, Birkbeck, University of London.

Abstract

This thesis examines the derivation and use of non-coercive power and influence -‘soft power’ in modern parlance -in the ancient Greek world, and how this impacted on interstate relations. Whilst approaching the topic from a predominantly ancient history perspective, the thesis draws on approaches, ideas and thinking from the fields of classics, archaeology, sociology and political science. Network-thinking and Social Network Analysis provide important tools and methodologies. The thesis proposes a theoretical basis for the concept of hard and soft power within an overall framework of power relations. This is discussed in relation to the ancient world by examining evidence from archaeology, ancient literary sources and modern scholarship. The principal focus is on Paros and the Cyclades during the Archaic and Classical periods although reference is made to other ancient states, and to other periods, for comparison or illustration. The thesis considers the resources, material and human, that enabled certain city-states, and their elites, to acquire prestige and influence. Paros was the source of the most admired white marble in the Archaic Mediterranean world, greatly sought after by civic authorities and wealthy elites for prestigious buildings and statuary. It is argued that, in addition to its undoubted economic importance, Parian marble was a potent soft power resource for the Parians, who were able to exploit their valuable ‘brand’ by developing the knowledge, technology and artistic skills necessary for the entire process of marble extraction, transport and sculptural production. It is suggested that the foundations for Parian soft power were established from networks of interaction and communication developed by Parians from the early Archaic Period. Parian settlements, particularly on Thasos and its peraia on the Thracian mainland, and the celebrity of the Parian poet Archilochos are identified as instrumental factors in these emerging soft power networks.

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