Greece is situated in southeastern Europe. It is defined by a series of mountains and surrounded by water on all sides except the north. It is surrounded by the Aegean Sea, Lonian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, and its land borders are Albania, Fyrom, and Bulgaria to the north, Turkey to the east. The Mediterranean Sea moderates Greece's climate. It cools the air in summer and provides warmness in the winter months. Summers are generally hot and dry and winter is moderate and rainy in coastal regions and cold and snowy in mountainous areas.
The Greek civilization began in the Balkan Peninsula. However, a few Greeks lived in the islands and Asia Minor (Turkey). They began to live respectively in city-states or polis, which had their own government, laws, and armed forces. Athens and Sparta were significant city-states.
Greek civilization began around 2000 B.C. By 1600 B.C, the Greek people had constructed fortified cities in the significant valleys and numerous individuals were educated. Greece at that time had a few wars, including the Trojan War around 1200 B.C., which tossed them into what is known as the Dark Age. During the Dark Age, knowledge of writing was lost and many people lived in isolated villages. The Dark Age finished in around 800 B.C when the Greeks began to write again with an alphabet dependent on that of the Phoenicians. Around 477 B.C., two city-states, Athens and Sparta, turned into the predominant powers in that area and continually battled each other for power. Ancient Greece had its Golden Age in Athens around 477-431 B.C.
Alexander of Macedonia is also known as Alexander the Great. He was born in Pella of Macedonia in July 356 BC. He changed the nature of the ancient world in a very short time. His father, Philip II, was king of Macedon and his mother was Olympias. Aristotle was the tutor of Alexander the Great and he made him a great man with his philosophy. Alexander’s father was assassinated in 336 BC. After his father, he inherited a powerful yet volatile kingdom. He quickly handled his enemies and reasserted Macedonian power within Greece. He then started to conquer the massive Persian Empire. He then led his army to victories across the Persian territories of Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt without any defeat. His greatest victory was in the war of Gaugamela in 331 BC. Alexander became the king of Macedonia, leader of the Greeks, ruler of Asia Minor and pharaoh of Egypt, and great king of Persia at the age of 25.
Over the subsequent eight years, as a king, commander, politician, scholar, and explorer, Alexander led his army an extra 11,000 miles, founding over 70 cities and creating an empire that prevailed across three continents and covered around two million square miles.
Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia to the north, defeated the Greeks in 334 B.C., ushering in what is known as the Hellenistic period. Greece reluctantly stayed under Macedonian control until the Romans vanquished both Macedonia and Greece around 140 B.C. Greece turned out to be a piece of the eastern or Byzantine Empire and Greek literature turned into the reason for learning in Byzantine institutions, particularly in Constantinople, its capital.
The government structure of the Greeks was not similar. In 800 B.C, the majority of Greek states were governed by groups of rich landowners called aristocrats and this was a system called ‘Oligarchy’ ruled by a few people. In 750 B.C, Athenian power in the archaic period was supervised by Aeropagus or the council. The policies were delivered through three magistrates called Archons. In 500 B.C, democracy was introduced by an aristocratic man.
The ancient Greek economy was the most advanced economy in the world and some economic historians look at it as one of the most advanced preindustrial economies. Craftsmanship and commerce were later on developed and gradually became more important in the ancient period.
The major crops of the Greeks were olives, barley, and grapes. They used olives for eating. They made olive oil from olives and used it for cooking and as a lubricant. They used grapes to make wine and the common drink of everyone was a mixture of wine and water. Even young children drink it. Barley and cereals were used to make a bread called Maza and porridge. Maza was flatbread that was made from barley flour. The bread was a very important daily diet in ancient Greece. The Greeks developed a bread oven that is similar in function to the ovens we use today.'
If we talk about livestock, the people of Greece keep chickens, pigs, sheep, and goats for milk and meat. They would just eat the meat of animals that had been sacrificed for the sake of God. For the most part, they didn't eat a great deal of meat, yet rather relied on fish and legumes (beans, chickpeas, and lentils) for protein.
Farmers had to give a little part of their crops to gods as a sacrifice and the city-state for taxes. This left the farmers with only enough to feed their families. The land was separated exactly. Every family unit in a polis was given a plot of land. This plot would be passed on to the kids. If the farmer could not pay his land taxes, then a wealthier landowner could take it and pay the debt for the farmer. Many landowners made wealth this way.
Men did the majority of the hard, muscle power jobs, for example, furrowing and harvesting. The ladies planted the seeds, weeded the fields, and tended the family unit and children. Greek women had very little freedom. They could just attend funerals, weddings, and some religious festivals. They could visit female neighbors for a brief period. Their duty was to run the house and bear the children. Female slaves were assigned to cook, clean, and work in the fields, while male slaves were assigned to keep an eye on the door to ensure no one came in while the men of the house were away.
There was an education system in Greece. Formal education was primarily for men and not offered to slaves and women. Formal education was attained by attending a public school or by hiring a tutor. Informal education was done through an unpaid teacher. For example, a mother teaching her daughter how to perform duty at home and maintain a household.
The Ancient Greek mathematicians like Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes contributed many crucial developments to the field of mathematics, such as basic rules of geometry, the idea of formal mathematical proof, discoveries in number theory, mathematical analysis, applied mathematics, and an approach close to establishing the integral calculus. The inventions of these mathematicians in the field of mathematics are still used in mathematical teaching today.
The Greeks developed astronomy, which they considered a branch of mathematics. The first three-dimensional models to explain the movements of the planets were developed in the 4th century BC by eudoxus of Cnidus and Callippus of Cyzicus. The Antikythera, a device for calculating the motions of planets, dates from about 80 BC and was the first ancestor of the astronomical computer. Hippocrates was a physician of the Greek period. He is regarded as an outstanding figure in the history of medicine and he is also known as the "father of medicine".
Citizens wanted to live in the city because it was an important part of Greek life, so the housing system was very simple. They had built private houses along narrow streets and houses were built in a very simple manner, not like luxurious public buildings. Houses were made of stone, clay bricks, and wood. They were made up of two or three rooms with an open-air courtyard. Larger houses have a kitchen, room for bathing, a men’s dining room, and a women’s sitting area.
The clothes of the Greek people were very simple; men and women usually wore linen in the summer and wool in the winter. There was a market, Agora. People could buy clothes there but it was very expensive. Greeks could make their own clothes. Mothers, daughters, and female slaves made clothes at home.
The Greeks were masters of art and literature. There were some renowned writers, Greeks such as Sophocles, who wrote Oedipus the King, and Euripides, who wrote Electra, which was a famous work. Similarly, Aeschylus was also a renowned tragedian playwright and he wrote ‘the Oresteia'. It is a very famous work. He invented drama. Moreover, tragedies were performed at the annual Dionysius festival to purify their emotions from the sins. Tragedies were performed in a large circular theater with a huge number of spectators. Epic poems such as the Iliad and the Odyssey are very famous in the modern era.
Greek art and sculpture have had a deep effect throughout the ages. The Greeks used materials in their sculptures, including stone, marble, and limestone. These materials were abundant in Greece. Greek sculptures are very important. The majority of the sculptures tell us a story about Gods, Heroes, Events, Mythical Creatures, and Greek culture.
The Greeks had developed three architectural systems called orders and these Greek orders are Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The Temples of Parthenon, Nike, Eerechtheum, Apollo are examples of these orders.
The Greeks were polytheistic and didn't all worship a similar god. There were many Greek divine Gods, maybe around 1,000. Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Artemis, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Athena, Demeter, Hermes, Ares, and Hades were the most popular Gods. Sacrifices were part of the Greek religion. They sacrificed the domesticated animals to please the Gods. When an animal was sacrificed, it had to burn and cooked and it had to be eaten on the spot before sunset. Ancient Greeks had believed that the god’s spirit was within the animal sacrificed, and by eating they could consume his power. In this way, they strengthened the connection between man and god.
The Greeks invented many games and there were many athletic contests in different years. The ancient Greek Olympics began in the early 700 B.C in honor of Zeus. No women were allowed to watch the games because the participants were bare.
It was a wonderful civilization in the history of the world. Nobody can deny the advancement and development of Greek culture. The Greeks have contributed a lot in the fields of mathematics, science and philosophy, astronomy, medicine, theater, art and literature, sculpture, and architecture. Because Greek knowledge is so advanced and innovative, it is still taught today.
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