Overview of Ancient Greece Essay

capital of Greece, Sp cunninga, black lovage, the Parthenon and intermit antediluvian ruins are vivid reminders of Greeces al close to hallowed past. Greece is a cragged land surrounded by e actuallyplace 1000 islands and almost completely circled by the Mediterranean Sea. The early furthermers settled at that place in some approximately 7000 BC due to the ideal weather of acerbic dry summers and rain only in winter and soon developed into itty-bitty independent communities cut off from severally(prenominal) otherwise by the mountains and often competing for the trump land, because the fertile farming was in shortstop supply.These small communities later developed into the city-states and severally had a strong individual identity, although very little is cognize about these be measures settlers. The Bronze Age is considered the prototypical historical period, and it was within this period that the early composing outlines were developed. During the Bronze Age there were ii extensive civilisations- the Minoans and Mycenaeans. The Bronze Age witnessed study social, economic, and technological advances that make Greece the main burden of activity in the Mediterranean it was characterized by its rapid growth of commonwealth and ontogeny of trade.It was in the Bronze Age that metals were first used. The Minoan nuance was the first prominent civilisation of the Aegean world it emerged around 3200 BC on the island of Crete. The affluent Cretan soil produced oil, grain and wine in abundance. The Minoans were not classical and may get under ones skin originally love from westward Asia as early as 6000 BC. The civilization grew wealthy through trade with countries such(prenominal) as Egypt, Asia Minor and the Levant. The Minoans were skilled artists and craftsmen, creating bonnie objects, their architecture reaching near perfection.The Minoans too ruled the other Aegean Islands and mingled cities on the mainland. New somaing s constantly replaced the hollow out d headings of the previous age. The great Minoan give ruled the Mediterranean, providing wealth to the island from trade and art as well as providing vindication from any invaders. They were peaceful wad with a love of life and equality among men and women. A major(ip) earthquake hit Crete around 1450 BC, causing big destruction of the palaces however the palaces were rebuilt soon later and the Minoan civilization continued to flourish.not everyone was as lucky as others to per give-and-takeify in the palaces but whoever didnt, then lived in small farmhouses. A new hazard hit Crete around 1450 BC, causing large-scale destruction to the palaces and settlements and resulting in the eventual dying of the great civilization. The Mycenaean civilization flourished on mainland Greece from around 1600 BC. It was a war worry rules of order and weapons and armour have been found in their graves. Mycenae, city of Agamemnon, was one of several severely fortified strongholds. They are also know for being great traders as they sailed far and wide.They traded with Egypt, Asia Minor, Italy and Cyprus. The Mycenaeans were very wealthy and archaeologists have bring out more objects in gold, silver and drop from their towns. Their writing system called Linear B was adapted from a Minoan script. hostile the Minoans, the Mycenaeans spoke Hellenic. Around 1250 BC the Mycenaeans started to build huge defensive walls around the major towns because they were under threat from foreign invaders. By 1200 BC the cities began to be abandoned or destroyed. 1100-700BC, after the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization, Greece was plunged into a Dark Age.The rich Mycenaean towns and palaces wing into decline or were destroyed, writing was no colossaler used and trade with other countries decreased dramatically. Although very little is known about this period it is thought the population of Greece became much smaller with passel livel y in hardly a(prenominal)er and smaller settlements possibly due to famine and the depopulation. The Archaic decimal point was a time of great shift in Greece from 700 -480 BC. legion(predicate) cities like Athens, Corinth, Argos and S separatea, grew rich and powerful. Great temples to the beau ideals were built in some places around Greece.The cities developed new ways to govern themselves. some(prenominal) cities were ruled by kings or rich families. Others were ruled by a small group of people called an oligarchy. At the end of the 6th degree centigrade BC, Athens developed a system in which more of its citizens helped to make the rules and decisions. This grapheme of government was called democracy. S break ina invaded the neighbouring land of Messenia and advertized most of its inhabitants into slavery. To make sure they could control such a large good turn of slaves, Sparta became a troops society. Men and women were expected to be fit and strong.The men were f orbidden to have jobs or trade because they were full-time passs. more of the Greek cities joined together when go about with a common enemy. At the tooth root of the 5th Century BC Greece was invaded doubly by the Persians and even thought the Greeks were outnumbered they were hush up able to drive the invaders past from their land. From 323-31 BC, the Hellenic Period was the time from the death of horse parsley the Great to the beginning of the Roman Empire. The Greek world was now dominated by large kingdoms ruled by dynasties kinda than individual city states.This was a time when Greek influence spread passim a great deal of the world. The countries that horse parsley had conquered adopted the Greek language, religion and styles of art often mixing them with local traditions. Greek towns with gymnasia, temples and theatres were built in all separate of the empire, even as far away as Afghanistan. The word politics come from the Greek word polis, import city-state or community. Greece was a collection of some 1500 separate communities scattered round the Mediterranean.Those cities that were not democracies were every oligarchies where power was in the hands of the few richest citizens- or monarchies, called tyrannies in cases where the sole swayer had complete power by force rather than inheritance. Of the democracies, the oldest, the most stable, the most long-lived, but also the most radical, was Athens. Athens was the first city to develop democracy. Democracy meaning that all the citizens had a say in how a state or city is governed. In Athens the people, who acquired power and freedom, drove out the tyrants.All decision is Athens had to be voted for by the majority of the people. The aggregation was the main forum of political life. At least 6000 people had to be dedicate for a meeting to set out place. The assembly made important decisions, for example, whether or not to declare war. In times of war, decisions were made about the def ence of the city by a group of ten military commanders called strategoi. These were elected annually and could be re-elected many times. However, not everyone in Athens was allowed to take part in the democracy. Only potent citizens had the right to vote.This meant that women and children could not take part in the government. An Ancient Greek soldier was known as a Hoplite. He had to provide his own weapons and armour. A hoplites weapons and armour were very simple and go away large areas of the remains unprotected, but worked well when he fought in a phalanx. The hoplites armour consisted of a bronze helmet with long nose guard and cheek guards, bronze cuirass (breastplate) designed to protect the top part of the body, large shield to protect the body and bronze greaves (leg guards) to protect the get off part of the legs.A hoplites weapons were a long spear and short sword. The ancient Greeks believed that there were a great number of gods and goddesses. They believed that al l the gods were posterity of Gaia (the earth) and Uranos (the sky). These gods had control over many different things on earth. In many ways the Greek gods were very human. They could be kind or mean, angry or pleasant, cruel or loving. They fell in love with each other, argued with each other, argued with each other and even stole from each other The ancient Greeks built great temples and sanctuaries to their gods.They held fiestas in their honour, with processions, sports, sacrifices and competitions. Religion played a large part in the lives of popular people. Worshippers believed that the gods would treat them well and meet their involve if they offered the fruits of the harvest and animal sacrifices. Stories of the gods lives were told to children by their mothers and to large audiences by nonrecreational tellers. One key individual of Greece was Alexander the Great. The story of his life sounded more like that of a Greek hero.He was a great military leader and courageous . Many thought he was a descending(prenominal) of Hercules and another legend claimed he was the son of Zeus. His loyal army would follow him anyplace and he won the respect of the people he conquered. He died aged 33 thousands of miles from home in Macedon with an enormous empire. some other individual was Homer. He was a storyteller and a poet who lived sometime in the eighth century BC. He was greatly look up to and created both of the most popular and unchanging stories ever told, The Iliad and the Odyssey.Homers stories about Mycenae are still told today and speculate real incidents of war, battles and sieges. Drama and theatre were Greek inventions. They held great festivals where plays were performed. At the end of the festival they would choose one of the plays as the winner. The two main types of play performed were tragedy and japery. Tragedies dealt with imposing events like war or murder. oft they recreated famous Greek myths and legends. A comedy poked fun at c urrent events and people. Many thousands of people would attend these festivals which were dedicated to the god Dionysus.