BulletAncient Greece & Alexander the Great

The Greek civilization is considered by historians as the first one in the history of humanity. A study of the archeological remains confirms that the ancient Greek had a highly developed society. The lifestyle and inventions of the ancient Greeks indicate a high sense of order and aesthetics.
The Greeks are believed to have migrated southward into the Balkan peninsula in several waves beginning in the late millennium 3 BC, the last one being the Dorian invasion. The period from 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is described in history as the Mycenaean Greece, best known for the rule of king Agamemnon and the wars against Troy, as narrated in the epics of historian Homer. The period from 1100 BC to the end of 8 century BC is considered the "Dark Age of Greece", from which only scant archaeological evidence remains. The end of the ancient Greece is often considered to be the reign of Alexander the Great, who died in 323 BC. The subsequent events are considered to be parts of the Hellenistic Greece.
Any information about the history of ancient Greece requires a cautionary atention about sources. Those Greek historians and political writers whose works have survived, especially Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato and Aristotle, were mostly Athenian. This is the reason why we know far more about the history and politics of Athens than about any other Greek city-state. These writers concentrated almost wholly on political, military and diplomatic history and ignored the economic and social history.

BulletThe Greek civilization

Different communities grow from the ancient Greek civilization. Some of them were the Aegean and Achaeans civilizations. Crete was the center of the Aegean civilization and was the dominant community of the Greece in 2500 BC. The Achaeans made Mycenae their capital. A volcano eruption caused the destruction of the Aegean community around 1400 BC. In the course of time, many Greek settlements were transformed into city-states around the Mediterranean Sea and each city-state was ruled by a king. A few Greek city-states were founded even on the Black Sea coast.
The great athletic contest called Olympic games began in 776 BC and marked the beginning of the rise of the Greek civilization. At that point of time, the Greek philosophy was greatly influenced by many different foreign cultures. The ancient age of Greek civilization saw the birth of a few great philosophers - like Pluto and Socrates - and of the emperor Alexander the Great.
In the middle of the 8th century BC Greece began to emerge from the "Dark Age" which followed to the fall of the Mycenaean civilization. Literacy had been lost and the Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adapted the Phoenician alphabet and from about 800 BC written records begin to appear. In that period Greece was divided into many small self-governing communities, a pattern dictated by Greek geography, where every island, valley and plain is separated from its neighbors by sea or mountain ranges.
As Greece progressed economically, its population grew beyond the capacity of its limited arable land. From about 750 BC the Greeks began 250 years of expansion, settling colonies in all directions. To the east, the Aegean coast of Asia Minor was colonized first, followed by Cyprus and the coasts of Thrace, the Sea of Marmara and south coast of the Black Sea. To the west the coasts of Albania, Sicily and southern Italy were settled, followed by the south coast of France, Corsica, and even northeastern Spain. Greek colonies were also founded in Egypt and Libya. Modern Syracuse, Naples, Marseille and Istanbul had their beginnings as Greek colonies: Syracuse, Neapolis, Massilia and Byzantium.

BulletColonies of ancient Greece

From the 6 century BC the Greek world became a cultural and linguistic area much larger than the geographical area of present Greece. The colonies of ancient Greece politically were not controlled by their founding cities, although they often retained religious and commercial links with them. The Greeks organized themselves into independent communities and the city-state became the basic unit of the Greek government.
In this period a huge economic development occurred due to the growth of commerce and manufacture. There was also a large improvement in the living standards of the population. In the 4 century BC this country had the most advanced economy in the world. According to some economic historians, it was one of the most advanced pre industrial economies.
Greece is the country that once ruled the entire known world, through Alexander the Great. And even when military the conquests were no longer part of its civilization, many believe that the Greek culture conquered the Roman culture because the Romans copied the Greek art and architecture and even parts of its religion. When the Roman Empire split into eastern and western halves, the Byzantine Empire was the Greek half of the empire, which lasted far into the Middle Age. The civilization of the ancient Greece had a great influence in the Renaissance in Western Europe with its language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, science, and arts.
Greece is truly a country to enjoy and to learn from. The most enjoyable way to learn about the ancient and modern Greece is through a vacation in this magnificent country!