It has been argued that the Greek cities were largely pacified only at the end of the Hellenistic era with the establishment of the Roman Empire (Börm 2019).
The explanations proposed can be subsumed under four models: According to the Iliad, the goal of all men of honour in Archaic Greece was to "always be the first and superior to the others".
In Homer's days, this ideal was mainly based on performance skills in speaking and fighting, and included wisdom, self-restraint, loyalty, and bravery (e.g., leading armies in the front row).
[6] In addition, success at the Olympic Games, especially in the field of four-horse chariot racing, was a peaceful way to gain prestige.
Thus, aristocrats like Callias and Cimon had to struggle for prestige by winning in Olympia or showing off their wealth, not by becoming tyrants, while Miltiades the Elder emigrated from Athens and became head of an apoikia.