Ancient Greece
Greece is a country in southeastern Europe, known in Greek as Hellas or Ellada, and
consisting of a mainland and an archipelago of islands. Greece is the birthplace of
Western philosophy (Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle), literature (Homer and Hesiod),
mathematics (Pythagoras and Euclid), history (Herodotus), drama (Sophocles,
Euripedes, and Aristophanes), the Olympic Games, and democracy. The concept of
an atomic universe was first posited in Greece through the work of Democritus and
Leucippus. The process of today's scientific method was first introduced through the
work of Thales of Miletus and those who followed him. The Latin alphabet also
comes from Greece, having been introduced to the region by the Phoenicians in the
8th century BCE, and early work in physics and engineering was pioneered
by Archimedes, of the Greek colony of Syracuse, among others.
Mainland Greece is a large peninsula surrounded on three sides by the
Mediterranean Sea (branching into the Ionian Sea in the west and the Aegean Sea in
the east) which also comprises the islands known as the Cyclades and the
Dodecanese (including Rhodes), the Ionian islands (including Corcyra), the isle
of Crete, and the southern peninsula known as the Peloponnese.
The geography of Greece greatly influenced the culture in that, with few natural
resources and surrounded by water, the people eventually took to the sea for their
livelihood. Mountains cover eighty percent of Greece and only small rivers run
through a rocky landscape which, for the most part, provides little encouragement
for agriculture. Consequently, the early Greeks colonized neighboring islands and
founded settlements along the coast of Anatolia (also known as Asia Minor, modern
day Turkey). The Greeks became skilled seafaring people and traders who,
possessing an abundance of raw materials for construction in stone, and great skill,
built some of the most impressive structures in antiquity.
GREECE REACHED THE HEIGHTS IN ALMOST
EVERY AREA OF HUMAN LEARNING.
ETYMOLOGY OF HELLAS
The designation Hellas derives from Hellen, the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha who
feature prominently in Ovid's tale of the Great Flood in his Metamorphoses. The
mythical Deucalion (son of the fire-bringing titan Prometheus) was the savior of the
human race from the Great Flood, in the same way Noah is presented in the biblical
version or Utnapishtim in the Mesopotamian one. Deucalion and Pyrrha repopulate
the land once the flood waters have receded by casting stones which become people,
the first being Hellen. Contrary to popular opinion, Hellas and Ellada have nothing
to do with Helen of Troy from Homer's Iliad. Ovid, however, did not coin the
designation. Thucydides writes, in Book I of his Histories:
I am inclined to think that the very name was not as yet given to the whole country,
and in fact did not exist at all before the time of Hellen, the son of Deucalion; the
different tribes, of which the Pelasgian was the most widely spread, gave their own
names to different districts. But when Hellen and his sons became powerful in
Phthiotis, their aid was invoked by other cities, and those who associated with them
gradually began to be called Hellenes, though a long time elapsed before the name
was prevalent over the whole country. Of this, Homer affords the best evidence; for
he, although he lived long after the Trojan War, nowhere uses this name collectively,
but confines it to the followers of Achilles from Phthiotis, who were the original
Hellenes; when speaking of the entire host, he calls them Danäans, or Argives, or
Achaeans.
MINOAN BULL LEAPING
EARLY HISTORY OF GREECE
Greek history is most easily understood by dividing it into time periods. The region
was already settled, and agriculture initiated, during the Paleolithic era as evidenced
by finds at Petralona and Franchthi caves (two of the oldest human habitations in the
world). The Neolithic Age (c. 6000 - c. 2900 BCE) is characterized by permanent
settlements (primarily in northern Greece), domestication of animals, and the further
development of agriculture. Archaeological finds in northern Greece (Thessaly,
Macedonia, and Sesklo, among others) suggest a migration from Anatolia in that the
ceramic cups and bowls and figures found there share qualities distinctive to
Neolithic finds in Anatolia. These inland settlers were primarily farmers, as northern
Greece was more conducive to agriculture than elsewhere in the region, and lived in
one-room stone houses with a roof of timber and clay daubing.
The Cycladic Civilization (c. 3200-1100 BCE) flourished in the islands of the Aegean
Sea (including Delos, Naxos and Paros) and provides the earliest evidence of
continual human habitation in that region. During the Cycladic Period, houses and
temples were built of finished stone and the people made their living through fishing
and trade. This period is usually divided into three phases: Early Cycladic, Middle
Cycladic, and Late Cycladic with a steady development in art and architecture. The
latter two phases overlap and finally merge with the Minoan Civilization, and
differences between the periods become indistinguishable.
The Minoan Civilization (2700-1500 BCE) developed on the island of Crete, and
rapidly became the dominant sea power in the region. The term `Minoan' was coined
by the archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, who uncovered the Minoan palace
of Knossos in 1900 CE and named the culture for the ancient Cretan king Minos. The
name by which the people knew themselves is not known. The Minoan Civilization
was thriving, as the Cycladic Civilization seems to have been, long before the
accepted modern dates which mark its existence and probably earlier than 6000 BCE.
The Minoans developed a writing system known as Linear A (which has not yet been
deciphered) and made advances in ship building, construction, ceramics, the arts and
sciences, and warfare. King Minos was credited by ancient historians (Thucydides
among them) as being the first person to establish a navy with which he colonized, or
conquered, the Cyclades. Archaeological and geological evidence on Crete suggests
this civilization fell due to an overuse of the land causing deforestation though,
traditionally, it is accepted that they were conquered by the Mycenaeans. The
eruption of the volcano on the nearby island of Thera (modern day Santorini)
between 1650 and 1550 BCE, and the resulting tsunami, is acknowledged as the final
cause for the fall of the Minoans. The isle of Crete was deluged and the cities and
villages destroyed. This event has been frequently cited as Plato's inspiration in
creating his myth of Atlantis in his dialogues of the Critias and Timaeus.
Death Mask of Agamemnon
THE MYCENAEANS & THEIR GODS
The Mycenaean Civilization (approximately 1900-1100 BCE) is commonly
acknowledged as the beginning of Greek culture, even though we know almost
nothing about the Mycenaeans save what can be determined through archaeological
finds and through Homer’s account of their war with Troy as recorded in The Iliad.
They are credited with establishing the culture owing primarily to their architectural
advances, their development of a writing system (known as Linear B, an early form
of Greek descended from the Minoan Linear A), and the establishment, or
enhancement of, religious rites. The Mycenaeans appear to have been greatly
influenced by the Minoans of Crete in their worship of earth goddesses and sky gods,
which, in time, become the classical pantheon of ancient Greece.
The gods and goddesses provided the Greeks with a solid paradigm of the creation
of the universe, the world, and human beings. An early myth relates how, in the
beginning, there was nothing but chaos in the form of unending waters. From this
chaos came the goddess Eurynome who separated the water from the air and began
her dance of creation with the serpent Ophion. From their dance, all of creation
sprang and Eurynome was, originally, the Great Mother Goddess and Creator of All
Things.
By the time Hesiod and Homer were writing (8th century BCE), this story had
changed into the more familiar myth concerning the titans, Zeus' war against them,
and the birth of the Olympian Gods with Zeus as their chief. This shift indicates a
movement from a matriarchal religion to a patriarchal paradigm. Whichever model
was followed, however, the gods clearly interacted regularly with the humans who
worshipped them and were a large part of daily life in ancient Greece. Prior to the
coming of the Romans, the only road in mainland Greece that was not a cow path
was the Sacred Way which ran between the cityof Athens and the holy city
of Eleusis, birthplace of the Eleusinian Mysteries celebrating the
goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone.
By 1100 BCE the great Mycenaean cities of southwest Greece were abandoned and,
some claim, their civilization destroyed by an invasion of Doric Greeks.
Archaeological evidence is inconclusive as to what led to the fall of the Mycenaeans.
As no written records of this period survive (or have yet to be unearthed) one may
only speculate on causes. The tablets of Linear B script found thus far contain only
lists of goods bartered in trade or kept in stock. No history of the time has yet
emerged. It seems clear, however, that after what is known as the Greek Dark Ages
(approximately 1100-800 BCE, so named because of the absence of written
documentation) the Greeks further colonized much of Asia Minor, and the islands
surrounding mainland Greece and began to make significant cultural advances.
Beginning in c. 585 BCE the first Greek philosopher, Thales, was engaged in what,
today, would be recognised as scientific inquiry in the settlement of Miletus on the
Asia Minor coast and this region of Ionian colonies would make significant
breakthroughs in the fields of philosophy and mathematics.
The Parthenon
FROM THE ARCHAIC TO THE CLASSICAL
PERIODS
The Archaic Period (800-500 BCE) is characterized by the introduction of Republics
instead of Monarchies (which, in Athens, moved toward Democratic rule) organised
as a single city-state or polis, the institution of laws (Draco’s reforms in Athens), the
great Panathenaeic Festival was established, distinctive Greek pottery and Greek
sculpture were born, and the first coins minted on the island kingdom of Aegina.
This, then, set the stage for the flourishing of the Classical Period of Greece given as
500-400 BCE or, more precisely, as 480-323 BCE, from the Greek victory at Salamis to
the death of Alexander the Great. This was the Golden Age of Athens,
when Pericles initiated the building of the Acropolis and spoke his famous eulogy
for the men who died defending Greece at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE. Greece
reached the heights in almost every area of human learning during this time and the
great thinkers and artists of antiquity (Phidias, Plato, Aristophanes, to mention only
three) flourished. Leonidas and his 300 Spartans fell at Thermopylae and, the same
year (480 BCE), Themistocles won victory over the superior Persian naval fleet at
Salamis leading to the final defeat of the Persians at Plataea in 379 BCE.
Democracy (literally Demos = people and Kratos = power, so power of the people) was
established in Athens allowing all male citizens over the age of twenty a voice in
government. The Pre-Socratic philosophers, following Thales' lead, initiated what
would become the scientific method in exploring natural phenomena. Men like
Anixamander, Anaximenes, Pythagoras, Democritus, Xenophanes, and Heraclitus
abandoned the theistic model of the universe and strove to uncover the underlying,
first cause of life and the universe.
Their successors, among whom were Euclid and Archimedes, continued
philosophical inquiry and further established mathematics as a serious discipline.
The example of Socrates, and the writings of Plato and Aristotle after him, have
influenced western culture and society for over two thousand years. This period also
saw advances in architecture and art with a movement away from the ideal to the
realistic. Famous works of Greek sculpture such as the Parthenon Marbles and
Discobolos (the discus thrower) date from this time and epitomize the artist's interest
in depicting human emotion, beauty, and accomplishment realistically, even if those
qualities are presented in works featuring immortals.
All of these developments in culture were made possible by the ascent of Athens
following her victory over the Persians in 480 BCE. The peace and prosperity which
followed the Persian defeat provided the finances and stability for culture to flourish.
Athens became the superpower of her day and, with the most powerful navy, was
able to demand tribute from other city states and enforce her wishes. Athens formed
the Delian League, a defensive alliance whose stated purpose was to deter the
Persians from further hostilities.
The city-state of Sparta, however, doubted Athenian sincerity and formed their own
association for protection against their enemies, the Peloponnesian League (so
named for the Peloponnesus region where Sparta and the others were located). The
city-states which sided with Sparta increasingly perceived Athens as a bully and a
tyrant, while those cities which sided with Athens viewed Sparta and her allies with
growing distrust. The tension between these two parties eventually erupted in what
has become known as the Peloponnesian Wars. The first conflict (c. 460-445 BCE)
ended in a truce and continued prosperity for both parties while the second (431-404
BCE) left Athens in ruins and Sparta, the victor, bankrupt after her protracted war
with Thebes.
This time is generally referred to as the Late Classical Period (c. 400-330 BCE). The
power vacuum left by the fall of these two cities was filled by Philip II of
Macedon (382-336 BCE) after his victory over the Athenian forces and their allies at
the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE. Philip united the Greek city states under
Macedonian rule and, upon his assassination in 336 BCE, his son Alexander assumed
the throne.
Alexander the Great
ALEXANDER THE GREAT & THE COMING
OF ROME
Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) carried on his father's plans for a full scale
invasion of Persia in retaliation for their invasion of Greece in 480 BCE. As he had
almost the whole of Greece under his command, a standing army of considerable size
and strength, and a full treasury, Alexander did not need to bother with allies nor
with consulting anyone regarding his plan for invasion and so led his army
into Egypt, across Asia Minor, through Persia, and finally to India. Tutored in his
youth by Plato’s great student Aristotle, Alexander would spread the ideals of Greek
civilization through his conquests and, in so doing, transmitted Greek philosophy,
culture, language, and art to every region he came in contact with.
In 323 BCE Alexander died and his vast empire was divided between four of his
generals. This initiated what has come to be known to historians as
the Hellenistic Age (323-31 BCE) during which Greek thought and culture became
dominant in the various regions under these generals' influence. After a series of
struggles between the Diodachi (`the successors' as Alexander's generals came to be
known) General Antigonus established the Antigonid Dynasty in Greece which he
then lost. It was regained by his grandson, Antigonus II Gonatus, by 276 BCE who
ruled the country from his palace at Macedon.
The Roman Republic became increasingly involved in the affairs of Greece during
this time and, in 168 BCE, defeated Macedon at the Battle of Pydna. After this date,
Greece steadily came under the influence of Rome. In 146 BCE the region was
designated a Protectorate of Rome and Romans began to emulate Greek fashion,
philosophy and, to a certain extent, sensibilities. In 31 BCE Octavian Caesar annexed
the country as a province of Rome following his victory over Mark
Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium. Octavian became Augustus Caesar
and Greece a part of the Roman Empire.
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