History of Ancient Greece &: Alexander the GreatThe 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 Greeks had a highly developed society. The lifestyle and inventions of the people of Greece indicate a high sense of order and aesthetics.
Is believed that the Greeks have migrated southward to the Balkan peninsula in several waves beginning in the late 3rd millennium B.C., the last one being the Dorian invasion. The period from 1600 B.C. to about 1100 B.C. 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 8th century B.C. 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, probably the most important hero of the Greek people, who died in 323 BC. The subsequent events are considered to be parts of the Hellenistic Greece.
Any information about the history of 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.
Main Events Of The Greek HistoryDifferent 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 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 of them 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 B.C. 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 heroes such as Alexander the Great.
In the middle of the 8th century B.C. people of Greece began to emerge from the "Dark Age" which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization. Literacy has been lost and the Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adapted the Phoenician alphabet and from about 800 B.C. written records begin to appear again. In that period Greece was divided in many small self-governing communities, a pattern dictated by the 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 B.C. the Greek people 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. The modern Syracuse, Naples, Marseille and Istanbul had their beginnings as Greek colonies: Syracuse, Neapolis, Massilia and Byzantium.
Colonies of Ancient GreeceFrom the 6th century B.C. the Greek world became a cultural and linguistic area much larger than the geographical area of present Greece. The colonies of ancient Greece weren't politically controlled by their founding cities, although they often retained religious and commercial links with them. The Greek people organized themselve 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 4th century B.C. 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. 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 reigns, the Byzantine Empire was the Greek half of the empire and 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 a country to learn from. The most enjoyable way to learn about the ancient and modern Greece is by spending a vacation in this magnificent state and visiting its most important historical vestiges and landmarks!
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