Ancient Greece The Greeks, also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. The great poet Homer, whose works date from about 700 BCE, created some of the earliest Greek writings.  His poems tell of people who lived in Greece 500 years before his time.  The Greeks passed these stories down by word of mouth. The great poet Homer, whose works date from about 700 BCE, created some of the earliest Greek writings.  His poems tell of people who lived in Greece 500 years before his time.  The Greeks passed these stories down by word of mouth. In the famous poem Iliad, Homer writes about the legendary Trojan War in which Achilles, a Greek hero, fought a great duel with Hector, the son of the king of Troy.  This, and other poems, inspired the Greek people by telling them of great deeds in their history, by praising heroic values like courage, glory and valour. Not only do these poems represent some of the great literature of the period, but they also give us a fascinating glimpse into the ancient Greek society which is important for many reasons but probably none more so than being the birthplace of democracy. Land and Sea In the southeastern corner of Europe, between modern Greece and Turkey, lies the Aegean Sea. This island-filled arm of the Mediterranean was the heart of ancient Greece.  Most people lived less than 70 km from its shores.  Unlike the river valley cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia, Greek civilization was oriented to the sea. More than 2000 islands dot the Aegean, what is left of a submerged mountain system.  While some islands were rocky and infertile, others had rich soils ideal for farming.  The earliest Aegean civilization began on one of these fertile islands- Crete, and spread to other island and eventually Greek mainland. Greeks could not cultivate even 1/5 of this territory, and prized the small amount of fertile land highly.  The only land suitable for farming – fig vines and olives thrived in the mild, wet winters and dry summers. The people also grew grain crops, such as barley, and put sheep and goats out to graze on the higher ground. Like the sea, the mountains had a significant effect on the development of the ancient Greek world.  While they made Greece a very difficult territory to conquer by land, they also acted as natural partitions among the Greek communities on the plains.  Ancient Greece became a collection of separate, fiercely independent city-states, often at war with one another. The Minoans The earliest center of civilization associated with ancient Greece was located on the island of Crete.  Here, a Bronze Age society flourished for over 1000 years, reaching its peak between 2000 BCE and 1450 BCE.  This was the Minoan civilization named after the legendary ruler, King Minos. King Minos of Crete dominated a large part of the Aegean with his powerful navy.  In 1900 CE a British archaeologist discovered the palace of King Minos.  The palace discovered was like a huge maze, with over 800 interconnecting rooms grouped around a large central courtyard.  While construction of the palace likely began in 2000 BCE it was  enlarged and rebuilt several times. The palace included several architectural innovations well advanced for the time.  The Minoans built light wells or shafts in some rooms to create a brighter, more open atmosphere.  They piped water into the palace, incorporated flush toilets and baths in the living quarters and constructed advanced draining systems.  Indoor plumbing such as this did not become common again for 3600 years. Artifacts uncovered in the palace suggest that the Minoans worshipped a mother goddess or goddess of fertility, who often appeared with snakes.  As no battle scenes appeared on the walls and few weapons were found, historians believe that the Minoans were a peaceful people, more preoccupied with nature and life than war. Sometime around 1450 BCE, most of the palace was destroyed, but historians are uncertain why.  Some suggest a massive volcanic eruption.  This theory is also linked with the legend of the lost city of Atlantis.  The truth is more likely that invaders from mainland Greece probably destroyed the palace. Mycenaeans Mycenaean Greece (1600 BCE –1100 BCE) is a cultural period of Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in southern Greece. The last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, it is the historical setting of much ancient Greek literature and myth, including the poems of Homer. Quite unlike the Minoans, whose society benefited from trade, the Mycenaeans advanced through conquest. Mycenaean civilization was dominated by a.  Around 1400 BC, the Mycenaeans extended their control to Crete, center of the Minoan civilization. Not only did the Mycenaeans defeat the Minoans, but according to later Hellenic legend they defeated Troy. Mycenaean kings ruled over their territory from fortified palaces and gained much wealth through trade and piracy. Beginning in the 12th century BCE there was a decline, likely a combination of civil wars, outside invasion, drought and disease.  All Mycenaean centers collapsed except Athens.  What would follow would be the Dark Ages. Architecture Architecture was extinct in Greece from the end of the Mycenaean period (about 1200 BCE) until the 7th century (700 BCE), when urban life finally recovered to a point where public buildings could be undertaken. But since most Greek buildings in the Early Classical period was made of wood or mud-brick, nothing remains of them except a few ground-plans, and there are almost no written sources on early architecture or descriptions of buildings. Most of our knowledge of Greek architecture comes from the few surviving buildings of the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods, since Roman architecture heavily copied Greek. This means that there is a strong bias towards temples, the only buildings which survive in any number. The standard format of Greek public buildings is well known from surviving examples such as the Parthenon, and even more so from Roman buildings built partly on the Greek model, such as the Pantheon in Rome. The building was usually either a cube or a rectangle made from limestone, of which Greece had lots, and which was cut into large blocks and dressed. Marble was an expensive building material in Greece: high quality marble came only from Attica and from a few islands and its transportation in large blocks was difficult. It was used mainly for sculptural decoration, not structurally, except in the very grandest buildings of the Classical period such as the Parthenon. There were two main styles of Greek architecture, the Doric and the Ionic. These names were used by the Greeks themselves, and reflected their belief that the styles descended from the Dorian and Ionian Greeks of the Dark Ages, but this is unlikely to be true. The Doric style was used in mainland Greece and spread from there to the Greek colonies in Italy. The Doric style was more formal while the Ionic more relaxed and decorative. Most of the best known surviving Greek buildings, such as the Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, are Doric. The Parthenon: The Parthenon is the remains of a temple to the Greek goddess Athena, the patron goddess of the ancient City of Athens. The Parthenon is a temple located on the Acropolis, a hill overlooking the city of Athens, Greece. The Parthenon was designed by Phidias, a famous sculptor, at the behest of a Greek politician credited with the founding of the city of Athens and with stimulating the so-called "Golden Age of Greece". Many treasures would have been displayed in the building, but the glory of the Parthenon was the gigantic statue of Athena designed by Phidias and made out of chryselephantine (elephant ivory) and gold. Work on the building began in 447 BCE and continued until 438 BCE; some of the decorations were completed later. It was built over the site of an earlier temple which is sometimes called the Pre-Parthenon. Experts differ on the size of the Parthenon because of variations in the way it is measured, and due to damage to the structure. One common measurement is 111 feet by 228 feet, or 30.9 meters by 69.5 meters. The Parthenon survived the ravages of time pretty well, serving as a church and then a mosque, until finally it was used as a munitions depot during the Turkish Occupation of Greece. In 1687, during a battle with the Venetians, an explosion tore through the building and caused much of the damage seen today. There was also a damaging fire in ancient times. Hippocrates: Hippocrates was an ancient Greek physician in Classical Athens, and is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is referred to as the father of Western medicine in recognition of his lasting contributions to the field as the founder of the Hippocratic School of medicine. This intellectual school revolutionized medicine in ancient Greece, establishing it as a discipline distinct from other fields that it had traditionally been associated with philosophy among others, thus establishing medicine as a profession. Hippocrates is credited with being the first person to believe that diseases were caused naturally and not as a result of superstition, and Gods. Hippocrates was credited by the disciples of Pythagoras of allying philosophy and medicine. He separated the discipline of medicine from religion, believing and arguing that disease was not a punishment inflicted by the gods but rather the product of environmental factors, diet, and living habits. Indeed there is not a single mention of a mystical illness in the entirety of the Hippocratic Corpus. However, Hippocrates did work with many convictions that were based on what is now known to be incorrect anatomy and physiology. Alexander the Great: Alexander III the Great, the King of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. He was inspiration for later conquerors such as Hannibal the Carthaginian, the Romans- Pompey and Caesar, and Napoleon.  Alexander was born in 356 BC in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia. He was son of Philip II. He spent his childhood watching his father transform Macedonia into a great military power, winning victory after victory on the battlefields throughout the Balkans.  When he was 13, Philip hired the Greek philosopher Aristotle to be Alexander’s personal tutor.  During the next three years Aristotle gave Alexander training in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy, all of which became of importance in Alexander’s later life. In 338 BC, Philip gave his son a commanding post among the senior generals as the Macedonian army invaded Greece. At the Battle of Chaeronea the Greeks were defeated and Alexander displayed his bravery by destroying the elite Greek force, the Theban Secret Band. Some ancient historians recorded that the Macedonians won the battle thanks to his bravery. After his fathers’ death he ascended on the Macedonian throne, Alexander quickly disposed of all of his domestic enemies by ordering their execution.  But soon he had to act outside Macedonia.  Philip’s death caused series of rebellions among the conquered nations and Greeks saw a chance for independence.  Alexander acted swiftly.  As soon as he restored Macedonian rule in northern Greece, he marched into southern Greece.  His speed surprised the Greeks and by the end of the summer 336 BC they had no other choice but to acknowledge his authority.     Alexander's Empire at its height We will probably never know the truth, of Alexander's mysterious death, even though new theories are still coming out. Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king and the great conqueror, died at the age of 33, on June 10, 323 BC. Three days earlier, on the 7th of June, 323 BC, the Macedonians were allowed to file past their leader for the last time before he finally succumbed to the illness. Alexander died without designating a successor. His death created much instability and the Macedonian Empire will eventually cease to exist. The Trojan War: The war was fought between the Greeks and Trojans with their allies, upon the city of Troy, on Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The war lasted for ten years and it has been traditionally dated from 1194 to 1184 BC. The first nine years of the war consisted of both war in Troy and war against the neighboring regions. The Greeks realized that Troy was being supplied by its neighboring kingdoms, so Greeks were sent to defeat these areas. As well as destroying Trojan economy, these battles let the Greeks gather a large amount of resources and other spoils of war. The Greeks won many important battles and the Trojan hero Hector fell. However, the Greeks could not break down the walls of Troy. The Trojan Horse: Still seeking to gain entrance into Troy, Odysseus ordered a large wooden horse to be built. Its insides were to be hollow so that soldiers could hide within it. Once the statue had been built a number of the Greek warriors, along with Odysseus, climbed inside. The rest of the Greek fleet sailed away, so as to deceive the Trojans. One man, Sinon, was left behind. When the Trojans came to marvel at the huge creation, Sinon pretended to be angry with the Greeks, stating that they had deserted him. He assured the Trojans that the wooden horse was safe and would bring luck to the Trojans. The Trojans celebrated what they thought was their victory, and dragged the wooden horse into Troy. That night, after most of Troy was asleep or in a drunken stupor, Sinon let the Greek warriors out from the horse, and they slaughtered the Trojans. 2nd Persian War:   Darius leader of the Persian Empire, and leader of the Persians during the 1st Persian War was unsuccessful in defeating the Greeks due to underestimating the waters during storm season.  As a result the Persians lost many ships and had to retreat for a second effort. However Darius had died in 485 BC before he could launch another assault on Greece, so it was his son Xerxes that set out to complete his fathers’ ambition of conquering Greece. Instead of sending his fleet out to sea he instructed his men to dig a canal through Athos, which took three years to complete. This was because he feared his fleet sustaining damage should another storm arise. Xerxes plan was to go over land to get to Northern Greece, with his fleet providing protection. Sicily was invaded at the same time by Xerxes to stop them from providing the Greeks with any help.  Most of the Greek city states met in Corinth to work out a common defense. It was agreed that there would be a combined army and navy which would be under Spartan command, but with the Athenian leader at the time, providing the strategy. Though all of the men were fine soldiers, they were hugely outnumbered by the Persians. This time though, the numbers were even more against them. Leonidas, the Spartan King, led the army to a pass which is known today as Lamia. This pass was the main passage into central Greece from the north. The plan was to trap the Persian army in this bottle-neck, where the fact they were vastly outnumbered would have little influence on the outcome. This went according to plan, until a traitor showed the Persian army a way over the mountains. Inevitability, the Greeks were forced to retreat along with their fleet which was stationed just off Euboea ,the island of Evia, but Leonides, along with about 300 troops remained and fought for two days until before they were all killed. Perisia now controlled northern Greece, and were able to march down into Athens and take control over the whole of Greece. It had been predicted that Athens would soon be taken over by the Persians so it was ordered that the women and children of Athens be evacuated to the island of Salamis, while the men were sent to sea to join with the Athenian fleet. When the Persians did reach Athens, they destroyed it and burnt it down to the ground. Had they not evacuated the city, it would have been disastrous. The only hope of defeating the Persians was by the Athenian fleet. They however decided against a battle in the open sea. By sending out a fake message, the Persian fleet was enticed into the small strait of Salamis.  This would be the beginning of the end for the Persians. The Battle of Salamis:   The Battle of Salamis, was a naval battle fought between an Alliance of Greek city-states and the  Empire of Persia in September 480 BC in the straits between the mainland of Greece and Salamis, an island near Athens. It marked the high-point of the second Persian invasion of Greece. Although heavily outnumbered, the Greek Allies were persuaded by the Athenian general to bring the Persian fleet to battle again, in the hope that a victory would prevent naval operations against the Peloponessus. The Persian king Xerxes was also anxious for a decisive battle. As a result the Persian navy sailed into the Straits of Salamis and tried to block both entrances. In the cramped conditions of the Straits the great Persian numbers were an active hindrance, as ships struggled to maneuver and became disorganized. Seizing the opportunity, the Greek fleet formed in line and scored a decisive victory, sinking or capturing at least 200 Persian ships. As a result Xerxes retreated to Asia with much of his army, leaving Mardonius to complete the conquest of Greece. However, the following year, the remainder of the Persian army was decisively beaten at the Battle of Plataea and the Persian navy at the Battle of Mycale. Afterwards the Persian made no more attempts to conquer the Greek mainland. These battles of Salamis and Plataea thus mark a turning point in the course of the Greco-Persian wars as a whole; from then onward, the Greeks would take the offensive. A number of historians believe that a Persian victory would have hamstrung the development of Ancient Greece, and by extension 'western civilization, and has led them to claim that Salamis is one of the most significant battles in human history. Greek Gods:   The Olympian gods were the main and strongest gods in Ancient Greek, ruling mankind and majestically living in Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. Greek myths always refer to the twelve Gods of Olympus, but in total there were fourteen Olympian Gods in Ancient Greece.   Aphrodite - The sensual goddess of Love and Beauty Apollo - The youthful god of the Sun and the Music Ares - The fierce god of War Artemis - The wild goddess of the Hunt Athena - The sophisticated goddess of Wisdom and Arts Hades - The gloomy god of the Underworld Hermes - The cunning god of the Trade Demeter - The natural goddess of the Harvest Hera - The mature goddess of the Family Poseidon - The moody god of the Seas Zeus - The heavenly King of the Gods and ruler of mankind Hephaestus - The ill-favored god of Metallurgy Hestia - The calm goddess of the Hearth Dionysus - The joyful god of the Wine The Dark Ages of Ancient Greece: The Dark Ages lasted from 1100 BC until 800 BC, or relatively to the time of Hellenic or Classical Greece. During this time the culture of Greece dwindled. Little is known of how many cultural elements were lost during the Dark Ages, but characteristic of the Dark Age, is the gradual decimation of any urbanized culture on the Greek mainland. In addition, many of the elements left from Mycenaean culture were destroyed, and writing, which had been so important during the Mycenaean, was not practiced. The great trading empire which had begun with the Minoans and was inherited by the Mycenaean's, was destroyed in the Dark Ages. Trade with Asia Minor, the Middle East, and Egypt stopped entirely. Artistic elements of the time portray simple geometrical designs and patterns. During the Dorian invasions, which occurred continually on mainland Greece and down through the Peloponnese, entire villages were abandoned, and migrations occurred toward the islands of the Aegean. Dorian rule in many cities and villages was of either two types. The first type consisted of the Dorians entering a city and assimilating themselves into it. The second type, as in the case of Sparta and Argos, created an upper caste or class which consisted exclusively of themselves, leaving the lower caste entirely made of native citizens--a life of serfdom. What followed the initial invasion and rule of the Dorians and the Greek civil war, (within the years of 1200BC to 750BC) was a shift in lifestyle, centered around a moderately sedentary agricultural lifestyle. However, though Greek civilization had hit its lowest point, the idle time of 450 years allowed the Greeks to rediscover urbanized culture, which in turn created the tales and cultures of Greece as they are classically and popularly known. Birth of Democracy:   Today, when we do something as simple as vote, we are taking part in one of history's great experiments in government--democracy. But our freedoms might not have been possible without the world's first democratic experiment, in ancient Athens. Greek civilization began to develop about 2000 BCE  on the Balkan Peninsula and the western edge of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). By the 6th century B.C., the governments of most Greek city-states were oligarchies (a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, or military control). Power was held by a small group of aristocrats, or members of important families. But something else was stirring in Athens. Made wealthy through trade and powerful by its navy, Athens had become one of the leading city-states. Now Athenians began to want more: laws to make them secure and a direct role in the governing of their city. Greece has its own democratic Founding Fathers. One of the first was an Athenian official named Solon. In 594 B.C., Solon formed a new code of laws for the city. The code defined citizens by class, spelling out the rights and duties of each. Even before the Athenians established a democracy, the Council of 400 played a central role in the government of Athens. Solon, the Athenian legal reformer of the 6th century established a Council of 400 citizens, 100 from each of the four traditional tribes and gave authority as “guardian of the laws”. Solon’s Council existed as a check on the power of the people.   Athenian democracy was established as a result of continuous reorganizations. The name comes from demos-people and kratos-power, so litarally power of the people. Apart from many smaller changes, it was mainly based on the opportunity for all citizens over 20 to take part in governing the country. Athenian democracy also had weak sides, like limited possibility of taking part in the Assembly of Citizens for people living outside Athens. Peasants, especially during harvest, could not take part in voting because of distance they would have to cover to vote. Solution of this problem was delegating a representative from each village who would take care of interests of food producers.   Eventually Athens would fall to invaders but the principles would survive and re-emerge at a later date.  Lucky for us they did.   The 1st Olympics:   The Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece held in honor of Zeus. The exact origins of the Games are shrouded in myth and legend but records indicate that they began in 776 BC in Olympia in Greece. They were celebrated until 393 AD when they were suppressed by Roman Emperor Theodosius I as part of the campaign to impose Christianity as a state religion. The Games were usually held every four years, or Olympiad, as the unit of time came to be known. During a celebration of the Games, an Olympic Truce was enacted so that athletes could travel from their countries to the Games in safety. The prizes for the victors were olive wreaths or crowns.   The Games became a political tool used by city-states to assert dominance over their rivals. Politicians would announce political alliances at the Games, and in times of war, priests would offer sacrifices to the gods for victory. The Games were also used to help spread Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean. The Olympics also featured religious celebrations and artistic competitions. A great statue of Zeus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world was erected in Olympia to preside over the Games.   The ancient Olympics were rather different from the modern Games. There were fewer events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete. As long as they met the entrance criteria, athletes from any country or city-state were allowed to participate. The Games were always held at Olympia rather than alternating to different locations as is the tradition with the modern Olympic Games. There is one major commonality between the ancient and modern Games, the victorious athletes are honored, and praised.   Aristotle Plato, Socrates:   Socrates lived from 470 to 399. He is most admired for his quiet irony in undermining conventional ideas. He was Plato’s teacher. Plato lived from 428 to 348. He is famous for creating the notion that ideas rule the world. He was Aristotle’s teacher. Alexander the lived from 384 to 322. Aristotle is best remembered for setting the basis to logics as a method. He taught Alexander the Great.