Ancient Greece

This article is about the civilization. For the language, see Ancient Greek.

Ancient Greece (Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, romanized: Hellás) was an ancient civilization. It lasted from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th to 9th centuries BC until the end of classical antiquity (around 600 AD). It was a loose group of culturally and linguistically related city-states and regions. Most of them were in the northeastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Before the Roman period, this area was officially unified only once. That happened from 338 to 323 BC, under the Kingdom of Macedon. In Western history, the era of classical antiquity was followed by the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine period.

Scholars say Ancient Greece began with Mycenaean Greece. Mycenaean Greece declined during the Bronze Age collapse, around 1100 BC. About three centuries later, Greek city-states called poleis began to form in the 8th century BC. This started the Archaic period and Greek colonization of the Mediterranean Basin. The Classical period that followed was a time of great learning and creativity. It ran from the Greco-Persian Wars until the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. It included the Golden Age of Athens and the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. It also included the short-lived Spartan and Theban leadership periods, and the creation of the Hellenic league led by Philip II of Macedon. Philip's son, Alexander the Great, then conquered the Achaemenid Empire of Persia.

Alexander's conquests spread Greek culture into Northern Africa and Western Asia. This time is known as the Hellenistic period, which ended around 30 BC. That was when the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, centered in Alexandria, was taken over by Rome.

Classical Greek culture, especially Greek philosophy, had a strong influence on Ancient Rome. Rome spread versions of it across the Mediterranean and much of Europe. For this reason, Classical Greece is often called the cradle of Western civilization. It gave the modern West many of its founding ideas in politics, philosophy, science, and art.

Chronology

For a timeline, see Timeline of ancient Greece. Classical antiquity in the Mediterranean region is usually said to have begun in the 8th century BC, around the time of the earliest known poems by Homer. It is said to have ended in the 6th century AD. Before this, the Greek Dark Ages (c. 1200 – c. 800 BC) came. We know about this time from archaeology and from the protogeometric and geometric styles of patterns on pottery. The Dark Ages were followed by the Archaic period, which began around the 8th century BC. This was a time when Greek culture and society grew and changed, leading to the Classical period. The Classical period lasted from the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC until the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.

The Classical period is known for a "classical" style of art and building. Later people admired it greatly. The most famous example is the Parthenon in Athens. In politics, Athens and the Delian League were in charge during the 5th century. In the early 4th century BC, Spartan hegemony took over. Then power moved to Thebes and the Boeotian League, and finally to the League of Corinth, which was led by Macedon. This period was shaped by the Greco-Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian War, and the Rise of Macedon. Next came the Hellenistic period (323–146 BC), when Greek culture and power spread into the Near East until the Romans took over. Roman Greece is usually counted from the Roman victory over the Corinthians at the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC, until 330 AD. In that year, Constantine made Byzantium the capital of the Roman Empire. Finally, Late Antiquity refers to the time of Christianization in the later 4th to early 6th centuries AD. It ended when Justinian I closed the Academy of Athens in 529.

Historiography

Main article: Greek historiographers

The time of ancient Greece is special in world history. It is the first period known directly from full, story-style historiography. Earlier ancient history, or protohistory, is known from smaller pieces of evidence, such as yearly records, lists of kings, and practical epigraphy.

Herodotus is widely known as the "father of history." His book Histories gave its name to the entire field. It was written between the 450s and 420s BC and covers about a century of the past. It tells about people from the 6th century BC, such as Darius I of Persia, Cambyses II, and Psamtik III. It also mentions a few people from the 8th century BC, such as Candaules. Historians still discuss how accurate Herodotus' works are. After him, other writers such as Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato, and Aristotle continued the work. Most of them came from Athens or supported Athens, so we know much more about Athens than about many other cities. These writers also focused mostly on politics, war, and diplomacy, and paid less attention to economic and social history.

History

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of ancient Greece.

Further information: History of Greece and Ancient Greek tribes

Main article: Archaic Greece

Main article: Classical Greece

Main articles: Wars of Alexander the Great, Diadochi, Hellenistic period, and Hellenistic Greece

Main article: Greece in the Roman era

Further information: Byzantine Greece

From about 800 to 500 BC, during the Archaic period, the polis (city-state) became the most important way that Greeks organised their government. Many towns were separated by mountains, so small, independent city-states grew up. Greeks started colonies around the Mediterranean, such as Al-Mina and Ischia. In Athens, citizen men gained the right to attend the assembly. Leaders such as Solon, Pisistratus, and Cleisthenes helped shape its democratic system. In Sparta, the Peloponnesian League was formed under Spartan leadership. In 499 BC, the Ionian city-states rebelled against Persian rule, and Athens sent help. In 490 BC, Athens defeated a Persian army at the Battle of Marathon. Ten years later, Persia invaded again. The Greeks fought back at Thermopylae, at the Battle of Salamis, and at the Battle of Plataea. Later, the Delian League became an Athenian empire. A long war between Athens and Sparta, the Peloponnesian War, began in 431 BC. Athens was defeated at the end of it. In the 4th century, Thebes and other states competed for power. Then Philip II of Macedon defeated a Greek alliance at the Battle of Chaeronea. His son Alexander the Great then conquered Persia and reached India.

After Alexander died in 323 BC, his generals ruled new kingdoms, including Demetrius, Ptolemy, and Seleucus I. This time is called the Hellenistic period. It ended when Cleopatra, the last Macedonian ruler of Egypt, died. Greek city-states joined alliances such as the Aetolian League and the Achaean League. Over time, the Romans conquered Macedon and the other Greek lands. Greece became part of the Roman world, and the Romans organised Macedonia as a Roman province. The Greek language was widely used in the eastern Roman Empire. Many Greek thinkers, such as Galen, did much of their work in Rome.

Geography

Main article: Regions of ancient Greece

Main article: Greek colonisation

Further information: Magna Graecia, Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul, and List of ancient cities in Thrace and Dacia § Greek

The land of Greece is mountainous, so ancient Greece was made up of many small regions. Each had its own dialect, customs, and identity. Conflicts between regions were common. Cities were usually built in valleys between mountains or on coastal plains, and they controlled the land around them. In the south lay the Peloponnese, with regions such as Laconia, Messenia, Elis, Achaia, Korinthia, Argolis, and Arcadia. Some of these names are still used for regional units of modern Greece. North of the Peloponnese was the area now called Central Greece. It included Aetolia, Acarnania, Locris, Doris, Phocis, Boeotia, Attica, and Megaris. Thessaly lay to the northeast and Epirus to the northwest. Epirus stretched from the Ambracian Gulf to the Ceraunian Mountains and the Aoos river. It included Chaonia, Molossia, and Thesprotia. In the northeast corner was Macedonia. It first included Lower Macedonia and regions such as Emathia (Macedonia), Pieria, and Bottiaea. Later it also included Almopia and Amphaxitis. The first capital of Macedon was Aigai. In the 4th century BC, the capital moved to Pella. Around the time of Alexander I of Macedon, the Argead kings of Macedon began to expand into Eordaia and the rest of Upper Macedonia. That area was home to independent Macedonian tribes, such as the Lyncestae, Orestae, and Elimiotae. The kings also expanded east, across the Axius river, into Mygdonia and lands settled by Thracians. North of Macedonia lived non-Greek peoples. The Paeonians lived to the north, the Thracians to the northeast, and the Illyrians to the northwest. They often fought with the Macedonians. Chalcidice was settled early by southern Greek colonists and was seen as part of the Greek world. From the late 2nd millennium BC, many Greeks also settled on the eastern shores of the Aegean, in Anatolia.

During the Archaic period, the Greek population grew larger than the small amount of arable land in Greece could support. This led people to start colonies in other places. These settlements were not only for trade but also to found new towns. Unlike Roman colonies, Greek colonies were not controlled by their mother cities. They were independent city-states. Greeks settled outside Greece in two ways. The first was through permanent settlements that became independent poleis. The second was through emporia, trading posts where Greeks and non-Greeks both lived. Emporia mainly made and sold goods. Examples are Al Mina in the east and Pithekoussai in the west. From about 750 to 500 BC, Greeks founded colonies in every direction. To the east, the Aegean coast of Asia Minor was settled first. Then came Cyprus, the coasts of Thrace, the Sea of Marmara, and the south coast of the Black Sea. The colonies reached as far northeast as present-day Ukraine and Russia, at Taganrog. To the west, the coasts of Illyria, Southern Italy (called "Magna Graecia"), Southern France, Corsica, and even eastern Spain were settled. Greek colonies were also founded in Egypt and Libya. Today's Syracuse, Naples, Marseille, and Istanbul began as the Greek colonies Syracusae, Neapolis, Massalia, and Byzantion. These colonies helped spread Greek influence across Europe. They also built long-distance trade networks between the Greek city-states, which helped the economy of ancient Greece grow.

Politics and society

Further information: History of citizenship § Ancient Greece

Main article: Ancient Greek law

Ancient Greece was made up of several hundred independent city-states (poleis). This was different from most other societies of the time, which were either tribal or kingdoms that ruled large areas. The Greeks shared the same religion, culture, and language, but they rarely joined together. Each city-state strongly protected its independence. Hills, mountains, and rivers also helped keep the city-states apart. Smaller city-states often formed leagues with one another. Later, a few large cities, such as Athens, Sparta, and Thebes, became the most powerful. Philip II of Macedon conquered most of ancient Greece. He did not take its land for himself. Instead, he brought most of the city-states into his own league.

At first, many city-states were ruled by kings. By the Archaic period, most were ruled by small groups of wealthy families, which is called an oligarchy. In Athens, the government changed slowly over time, and the Athenians later started the world's first democracy. Only free men who owned land and were born in the city could be citizens. Slaves and metics did not have political rights. Sparta was different. It had two hereditary kings, whose power was limited by a council of elders (the Gerousia) and officials called the Ephors.

Slavery was common. In some city-states, slaves made up a large part of the population. Slaves did not have political rights, but some could own property and have families. In Sparta, the helots were enslaved people who were given to families and had to stay with them. For most of Greek history, children were taught privately, except in Sparta. Boys learned reading, music, and sports to prepare for citizenship and military service. Girls learned reading, writing, and simple math to manage their homes. Free citizens in Greece were among the wealthiest people in the ancient world.

Warfare changed a great deal after the Greco-Persian Wars. The Peloponnesian War brought bigger armies and new strategies. Athens had one of the largest navies, with over 200 triremes. According to Josiah Ober, many Greek city-states were at real risk of being destroyed during the Archaic and Classical periods.

Culture

Main article: Ancient Greek philosophy

Ancient Greek philosophy was about thinking carefully using reason and inquiry. It had a big influence on later philosophy and science. Ideas from ancient Greece still shape how we think today. Other people asked questions before the Greeks did, but historians study what made the Greek search for knowledge special. The first Greek philosophers tried to explain the world without using myths. Socrates helped start Western philosophy, but we know his ideas mostly from what other people wrote about him. His student Plato wrote The Republic. Plato's student Aristotle wrote about nature and how people should behave. Early Greek poetry was meant to be performed out loud. The poet Homer is the earliest Greek poet we know of. The first poet known to have written down their work was Archilochus.

Main articles: Ancient Greek literature and Theatre of ancient Greece

Plays and comedies were performed for audiences. The comic writer Aristophanes wrote one of the first comedies that still survives today. Greek prose, such as writing about philosophy, history, and stories, grew strong during the classical period. Music was very important in ancient Greek life. Men sang and played music at the symposium, a gathering for talk and drinks. People also sang at work and at ceremonies. Greek music was mostly sung, often with instruments such as the lyre and the reed instrument called the aulos.

Main articles: Music of ancient Greece

Main articles: List of Graeco-Roman geographers, Greek astronomy, Greek mathematics, Ancient Greek medicine, Ancient Greek technology, and Science in classical antiquity

Greek mathematicians gave the world many important ideas, including the basic rules of geometry. Mathematicians such as Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes are still studied in schools today. Greek thinkers also studied the sky very carefully. The doctor Hippocrates is called the "father of medicine" because of his lasting work in the field. Greek art has influenced the art of many countries, especially sculpture and architecture.

Main articles: Ancient Greek art and Ancient Greek architecture

Main article: Ancient Greek religion

Religion was central to ancient Greek life. Greeks in different cities worshipped similar gods, but their customs and beliefs about the gods could be different from place to place. The Greeks were polytheistic, which means they worshipped many gods. The most important religious act was animal sacrifice, most often of sheep and goats. It was accompanied by public prayers and hymns.

Legacy

Further information: Classics

Ancient Greece had a huge influence on language, politics, schools, philosophy, science, and the arts. Greek culture became the Leitkultur of the Roman Empire. It even pushed aside some of the traditions of the Italic peoples. The Roman poet Horace wrote about this in his Epistulae:

Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit et artis / intulit agresti Latio

Captive Greece took captive her uncivilised conqueror and instilled her arts in rustic Latium.

Through the Roman Empire, Greek culture became a foundation of Western culture in general. The Byzantine Empire carried on Greek learning and culture directly. Later, this Byzantine tradition influenced the Slavs, the Islamic Golden Age, and the Renaissance in Western Europe. Renaissance In the 18th and 19th centuries, Greek learning was revived again in Europe and the Americas through the Neoclassicism movement.