Ancient Greece, what do we know about it? Philosophy, 300 Spartans, and the mother of many fundamental sciences that we are now studying at university and school. After all, wherever we are, whatever subject we study, every science already had its own ancient Greek scientist who once managed to at least give the science its name.
For example, physics (from ancient Greek φυσική, meaning ‘natural,’ from φύσις, meaning “nature”), biology (from ancient Greek βίος, meaning ‘life,’ and λόγος, meaning ‘teaching, science’), or history (from ancient Greek ἱστορία). It is the cradle of European civilisation, one of the most ancient states with a rich culture and, in particular, a history that you have probably heard about, but may not know some of the details or remember from your school days.
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The Name: Ancient Greece or Hellas?
First of all, it is worth mentioning that the term ‘Ancient Greece’ is not often used in historical sources, as it is a more modern name; previously, the country was called Hellas.
Misconceptions: Was There a Unified Greece?
When we hear the words ‘Ancient Greece,’ we imagine a large country with its capital in Athens, but this is one of the great misconceptions, because there was no such state, but rather a huge number of city-states, or polis. Each of these city-states had its own army, foreign policy, and people. Moreover, different cities had different cultures and, in general, different ways of life.
The Cretan-Mycenaean Period (3000–1000 BC)
So, the early stage of civilisation is called the Cretan-Mycenaean period, which lasted from around 3000 to 1000 BC. The first cities appeared on the island of Crete and the Peloponnese peninsula — these were Mycenae, Pylos, Tiryns and Knossos. As in other ancient civilisations, a monarchical form of government developed in these cities, where everything was very strongly based on power.
Trade, Wealth, and Writing
The Greeks mastered the art of navigation and trade very well, and therefore began to trade actively and, as a result, became wealthy. A lot of gold was found in the tombs of Mycenae, and most of the tablets were covered with accounting calculations and reports.
The Trojan War and Heinrich Schliemann
From Homer’s Iliad, we learn more about Mycenae, which fought against Troy. Incidentally, this was proven by Heinrich Schliemann, who managed to excavate Troy and Mycenae. And there, in Troy, traces of fire and destruction were indeed found, dating back to 1200 BC.
The Dark Ages of Greece
But around this time, almost all Greek civilisations fell into decline and the Dark Ages began. Why is this period of about 300 years called the Dark Ages? Because writing disappeared and the history of the entire civilisation began anew. Fortunately, we have Homer, who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey, from which we can learn about the Dark Ages.
The Dorian Invasion
But why did this happen? The Dorians were tribes that inhabited Central Greece and the eastern Peloponnese. They were also Greeks, but completely wild and warlike. These tribes captured all the city-states of Greece and Crete, and the former inhabitants of these cities were forced to flee to the east or to the mountains. Of all the achievements of the ancient cities, the Dorians preserved only shipbuilding and pottery, as well as the culture of growing grapes and olive trees. But they brought with them the art of smelting and processing iron, which they used not only for jewellery but also for the manufacture of military and agricultural tools.
The Archaic period
At this time, Greece as we know it began to take shape — an ancient state without a single border or capital. The landscape of Ancient Greece was not flat — it was very mountainous. Therefore, this period was marked by colonisation.
The Greeks settled almost all the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea, and they also managed to colonise Kerch and Feodosia. Archaeologists have found a large number of amphorae, which were used to transport grain and wine. Incidentally, wine was only drunk diluted by a third, and only barbarians could drink it neat. Coins were introduced for the convenience of trade, but they were also invented by the neighbours.
Athens and Sparta
In a short period of time, the Greeks managed to settle a huge territory. However, Athens and Sparta did not participate in the colonisation. Sparta was descended from the same warlike Dorians who destroyed the Mycenaean civilisation. They approached the problem of land shortage differently, seizing the border territories — the vast and very fertile region of Messenia. The inhabitants of the conquered territories were called helots, a kind of slave, and this social class outnumbered the Spartans themselves. Thus, Sparta became a huge military base whose main purpose was warfare.
In Athens, too, things were not as they had been before. The struggle for land led to confrontation between different social groups, which eventually resulted in democracy, but before that there were tyrants. However, the tyrants in Greece fought for power with the aristocrats, calling for popular support, and once they seized power, they eliminated their rivals. The tyrant promised a good life, introduced new holidays, but did not reform the system. However, time passed and the tyrant was overthrown, and the weakened aristocracy came to an agreement with the people and democracy was formed. But their democracy was different in that it was direct. Every citizen had the right to vote.
The Greco-Persian Wars
By the middle of the sixth century BC, the city-states of Ionia were the most developed, as they were the first to learn about the technologies of the Eastern countries, namely mathematics, naval warfare, and complex trade logistics. Over time, the Persian Empire was formed.
In 499 BC, the city of Miletus resisted Persia, and Athens came to its aid, but it all ended in defeat for the Greeks. The Persians burned Miletus and set out to conquer Greece, which took 20 years. Herodotus described these events, writing that in this war, some of the Greek city-states fought on the side of Persia. But why were the Greeks able to repel the enemy? It was all because the Greeks had military technology called the ‘phalanx.’ Then there is the story of the Thermopylae Pass, where 300 Spartans led by King Leonidas held back a huge Persian army for three days, but besides the Spartans, there were other Greeks there, such as the Helots. Nevertheless, the Spartan spirit was the key factor in this confrontation. The third reason was the fleet. A huge amount of money was spent on 200 triremes, and with the help of the fleet, the Greeks defeated the Persians in a decisive naval battle and then won on land. They then went from defence to counterattack. Together, the different city-states of Ancient Greece were able to defend their territory, where classical Greek culture was born.
The Golden Age of Athens
To finally free the city-states that were under Persian rule, Athens decided to form a naval alliance. And now Athens finally secured its title as the ‘Centre of the Greek world.’ More than a hundred cities agreed to pay annual contributions to maintain a common army and navy. The treasury would be kept on Delos, but after a while it would be moved to Athens for greater security. The Parthenon, which was under construction, would soon become the financial centre of the entire alliance and serve as its central bank. Without such finances, there would have been no rich architecture, sculptures and other cultural treasures. Pericles became the leader, concluded a 30-year peace with Sparta, restored the Acropolis and built fortress walls around the port. New talented professionals appeared in Athens.
The Peloponnesian War
Athens’ former allies, such as Sparta and Corinth, wanted to take Athens’ achievements for themselves, thereby regaining their greatness and the title of ‘Centre of the Greek World.’ A great crisis ensued, during which war broke out. The Spartans and their allies laid siege to Athens. The inhabitants of the city hid behind the walls, and there were no food problems, as the port was within the fortress walls, but at the same time, diseases penetrated the city, causing epidemics in which Pericles died. After Pericles, Alcibiades became the leader of Athens. His new strategy was to wage a small victorious war, go to Sicily and defeat everyone there. But the unimaginable happened: someone organised provocations in which Alcibiades was accused, and the people demanded a trial. But Alcibiades decided to flee to Sparta and ask them for asylum. The allies withdrew from the war, the former strategist defected to the enemy, and the fleet was defeated. Athens accepted all of its enemies’ demands. It was a time of classic tragedy and comedy. Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, and Aristophanes wrote plays that are still performed today.
The conquests of Alexander the Great
Despite Sparta’s victory, Greece fell into decline, while Macedonia rose in power. Philip of Macedon defeated a Greek coalition and united most of Greece in preparation for a war against Persia. However, Philip was assassinated, and his son, Alexander the Great, took over.
Alexander swiftly conquered the Persian Empire. His campaigns led to the fusion of Greek and Eastern cultures, creating a new Hellenistic world. Greek became the language of the Asian elite, and Alexander was even worshipped as a god in Egypt. After his death, Babylon briefly became the capital of his empire, which soon fragmented.
As Macedonia weakened, a new power rose in the west—Rome. Greece was conquered, but Greek culture endured and spread across the Roman Empire.
In 330, Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople on the site of a former Greek colony. It became the capital of Byzantium, marking the start of the Byzantine Empire, which preserved Greek culture for another thousand years.
