It is the period of the history of Greece that extends from century XX a. Ç. until century II a. a., when the region of Ancient Greece was conquered by Rome.
The Location of Ancient Greece
Located in southern Europe, in a territory with infertile soil and predominantly mountainous, the history of Ancient Greece it happened on the Balkan Peninsula, extending to the Aegean Islands (Insular Greece) and the coast of Asia Minor (Greece Asian).
From century VIII a. C., the Greeks further extended this territory, founding colonies in the Mediterranean and southern Italy.
Demystifying what many people imagine, the territory that this period took place was not limited to just one country, as it was free of borders.
People from these periods participated in the greek world, because they enjoyed the same customs, spoke the same language and organized themselves politically and socially in a similar way.
Map of ancient greek territory.
The Religion of Ancient Greece: Greek Mythology
ancient greece was polytheist
, that is, the Greek society idealized its own gods who had physical and behavioral attributes human or animal.Each polis (city) had its protector god and Mount Olympus was considered by the Greeks as the home of all their gods.
Therefore, the place starred in many of the Greek mythological stories, even serving as a court, where the deities decided the course of life for mortals and even other gods.
There was a very great intellectual and physical proximity between the gods and the society of Ancient Greece, that's why the stories were passed from generation to generation and had a great influence on transformations and decisions social.
They were used, for example, to justify wars, deaths and even the birth of Greek heroes.
Among the most famous gods, the following stand out: Zeus, considered the greatest god within the Greek mythological hierarchy, aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty and sex and Athena, protector of the city of Athens and the goddess of wisdom.
Mount Olympus - Representation of Zeus in Ancient Greece
Learn more about the meaning of Greek mythology and Polytheism.
Society and Politics
When Greece split into city-states at the end of the Homeric Period, each had its own social and political organization. An example of this were the Sparta and Athens polis.
While Sparta lived in a diarchy, that is, it had two kings who held power over the entire city, Athens lived for many centuries direct democracy, with assemblies where Athenians considered citizens voted and discussed the laws.
Slavery and the division of society into different social classes were also a landmark in Ancient Greece. Athens, for example, admitted slavery when someone was indebted to the government. Already Sparta left its slaves under the power of kings.
Greek society has undergone major transformations throughout its history. During its first colonies, there was a collectivist feeling and behavior among the peoples, who shared equally the food, clothing and housing among themselves.
Learn more about the meaning of City State, direct democracy, Private property and Social class.
Economy
The Greek economy was based on agriculture, with the planting of cereals (wheat and barley), olive trees, fig trees and vines, in addition to raising cattle, sheep and goats and their strong handicrafts.
But due to its infertile soil and proximity to the sea, the most important activities were fishing and maritime trade, which were fostered in commercial exchanges with the currency denominated like Drachma.
Drachma - currency used in trade in ancient Greece
The culture
Greek culture is one of its most important aspects due to the great development and contribution in plastic arts, philosophy, sport, theater, democracy and mythology.
In philosophy, for example, there is progress in questions and thoughts about human existence, constructed by philosophers such as Socrates and Plato.
In sports, the creation of the Olympic Games was one of the greatest milestones in Greece. They offered competitions to the gods and cheered the winners as great heroes.
In turn, the theater represented the tragedies, comedies and legends of Greek mythology for the people. His songs brightened the festivals of the nobility and were played with instruments such as the flute and the harp.
Arena Greek: site of festivals, theater and philosophical discussions
The Origin of Ancient Greece
The formation of Ancient Greece depended on the fusion of at least four peoples who lived in its territory throughout history. They named themselves as Helens and called the region they lived by Hellas, not Greece, which was the name given by the Romans centuries later.
Over the years, the mountainous formation was fundamental for their internal isolation and the formation of city-states independent of each other, dividing the Helens into distinct groups.
The history of Ancient Greece is divided into 5 main periods: Pre-Homeric, Homeric, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic. Each period was marked by great social, political and economic transformations that were decisive for the formation, division and development of the Greek territory.
Summary of Ancient Greek History in Periods
Pre-Homeric Period - 20th century - 12th a. Ç.
The Pre-Homeric period, also known as the period of formation of Greece, began in the south of the Arctic Sea, on the island known as Crete, which had as its capital ours.
THE Crete Island, best known for the Legend of the Minotaur and its supremacy in the region, formed a government that dominated the Mediterranean, consolidating a strong and large maritime trade with neighboring regions.
Around the 15th century BC C, the Archeans, Indo-Europeans, also known as Mycenaeans, were the first people to arrive in the territory of Ancient Greece, coming from Mycenae: one of the most important cities, with strong cultural, economic and social.
They concentrated on the Peloponnese Peninsula and conquered the island of Crete. Thus, they established a strong exchange between the island and Greece, forming a society called Creto-Mycenaean.
After the Archeans, other peoples also arrived in Greece, such as:
- Aeolians
- Ionians, who later founded the city of Athens
- Dorians, who later founded the city of Sparta
The Dorians were known for their violence and skill in building weapons made of iron. Therefore, when they arrived in Greek territory, they caused a great dispersion of other peoples into the interior of the Islands of the Aegean Sea and the coast of Asia Minor, generating one of the most important events of the time, called like: first diaspora.
Map of Ancient Greece in the Pre-Homeric Period
See more about The Legend of the Minotaur and the concept of diaspora.
Homeric Period - 12th century - VIII a. Ç.
After the First Diaspora, the Creto-Mycenaean civilization was absorbed and Greece underwent a major cultural setback and a restructuring of its social and economic organization.
The Homeric period is known for the Gentile social organization, which was based on the genos: individuals with blood ties led by the pater, a patriarch who held political, religious and military powers.
Each pater and his closest relatives were the owners of the best and greatest lands. Thus, society began to be divided as follows:
- Eupatrids: landowners
- georgols: small farmers
- Thetas: those who had nothing
During this tension, Gentile society suffered from its disintegration. It was then that the genos united and formed larger groups called factories, in an attempt to monopolize political power and build a land-based aristocracy.
Even after this union, the factories they failed to achieve the expected power and united once more, forming an even larger group called tribes. It was from this union that the polis, best known for City-States.
With the degradation of the gentile society, many Greeks moved to extended areas along the Mediterranean, in search of better life opportunities and fertile lands. Important event named as the Second Diaspora, when large colonies formed in the areas of the Mediterranean, Asia Minor and North Africa.
Map of Ancient Greece in the Homeric Period
Archaic Period - VIII century - VI a. Ç.
With the end of the gentile society and the rise of the city-states, in the Archaic Period important events took place. such as the emergence of the phonetic alphabet, economic progress with the division of labor in commerce and the process of urbanization.
At this stage Greece had more than one hundred independent city-states, which followed their own political regimes. And among the most eminent cities were: Athens and Sparta.
Athens
Athens, known as the cradle of the democracy instituted by Clístenes (570 a. Ç. - 508 a. C.), was founded by the Jonians and was located in the Attic Peninsula. Their society basically consisted of navigators, merchants, poets, philosophers and artists.
Education in Athens was aimed at the complete formation of man, that is, developing his intellectual, physical, artistic and critical sense.
Sparta
Sparta, founded by the Dorians and situated in the interior of the Peloponnese Peninsula, was known to be a predominantly militaristic, aristocratic and conservative city, with lands and slaves under the power of the State.
His education was aimed at training citizen-soldiers with physical perfection, habits of obedience to created laws and courage, based on a laconic ideal, a form of direct communication and succinct.
Location Map of the city-states: Athens and Sparta
The end of the Archaic Period
With great political, social and cultural progress, the end of the Archaic Period was marked by the Archaic Colonization.
As a result of population growth, large maritime expeditions were organized, leading some Greeks to colonize lands around the world.
These expeditions reached various parts of the West, such as all of southern Italy, as well as France and Egypt. New city-states were instituted in these territories, being Naples (new polis in Greek), in Italy, one of the best known.
Map of Greece in the Archaic Period
Classic Period - Century VI - IV a. Ç.
Known as the Golden Age of Ancient Greece, this period was marked not only by the rise of theatre, music and philosophy, but also by decisive wars and battles such as the Wars Mothertips (or Greco-Persian Wars).
Athens was the main polis and collected taxes from other cities, using it for its own benefit. But even after the Battle of Thermopylae (484 a. C), defeated by the Persians, Athens remained strong. Consequently, other cities became indignant, joining Sparta, thus creating the Peloponnesian League.
It is exactly at this moment that Sparta and Athens, each with their allies, fight each other.
Taking advantage of the existing crises in the two main city-states of Greece, Thebes, an ally of the Sparta polis, rebels and expels the Spartan soldiers, imposing their hegemony over the cities Greeks.
Sparta was defeated in 371 a. Ç. by the Theban army at the Battle of Leuctras. This victory was due to the organization of the phalanxes, the generals Pelopidas and Epaminondas, and a rebellion of slaves in Sparta, forcing most of the soldiers to suspend their campaign in defense of the city.
Thus began the predominance of Thebes over the other Greek city-states.
See more about the meaning of Hegemony.
Map of Ancient Greece in the Classical Period
Hellenistic Period - IV – II century a. Ç.
With the great hegemony of Thebes, all the Greek city-states were weakened. led by the king Philip II (Philip of Macedonia), the Macedonian people, who were located in the northern region of Greece, conquered all of Greece in the Battle of Cherokee, in August of 338 a. Ç.
After the death of King Philip II, his son Alexander the Great, also called by Alexander, the Great, succeeded his father's throne, consolidating all of Greece and sending his Empire to the East.
Phenicia, Egypt, Palestine and India were the places conquered by Alexander the Great, the historical character who founded one of the vastest empires of mankind
After its conquest in the East, there was a fusion of Greek culture with that of other dominated peoples, mainly Egyptians, Mesopotamians and Persians, giving rise to the Hellenistic Culture.
The Influence of Ancient Greece in the Present Day
Greece's cultural heritage extends throughout the West to the present day. We live daily with countless Greek creations, including:
- Olympic Games: the meeting of several nations every 4 years, with competitions in several sports games;
- Visual arts: Greek painting and sculpture are still classified as classical and harmonic, influencing great artists;
- Philosophy: in the teaching of human sciences, authors and philosophers such as Socrates and Plato are cited as important references;
- Math: great mathematicians such as Pythagoras and Thales of Miletus have their discoveries used in teaching the exact sciences;
- Democracy: established in Athens, democracy is practiced in several countries, such as Brazil.
- theater: created to represent emotions and make people happy, the theater has gained even more strength in the last few centuries, influencing many people, becoming a great means of entertainment in society Western.
