My view of Greek History

Started reading the DK Greece guide last night. It starts with an executive summary of Greek history and culture. Wow. Lots to cover in 40 pages. I skimmed it all. My history is so foggy.

Greece became a country most recently in 1830, the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire. Before that... well let me start at the beginning. Broad brush here.  Recounting their history will help me understand. And I love maps.

Greece is known as the birthplace of Western Civilization. Wow. What more to be said.

Start with the Cycladic civilization (3,000 to 2,000 BC), the Minoans from Crete, and the Mycenaeans. Writing, language developed. Lots of island kingdoms. Aegean Civilization. 

Then the Greek Dark Ages, nothing recorded. The darkness before the dawn.

First Olympics were 776 BC, in Olympia. This seems to be the traditional  end of the Dark Ages and the beginning of the Classical Era. Next door neighbor Roman Empire put an end to Greece's heyday in 146 BC. But until then, it was quite a place. The Classical Era (776BC-323BC) was followed by the Hellenistic Era (323BC - 146BC.) To confuse us (me) more, some people don't separate Classical and Hellenistic. They call them both Classical.

And then what is "Ancient" Greece? Some start in 1000BC and go to 300 AD. Others start in 776BC (the Olympics) and end in 146BC (The Romans.) Most seem to do the 776BC to 146BC timeline. Just telling you. I realize you can't put definite time markers on changes in entire civilizations, but precise and world wide nomenclature would help us trying to learn.

Classical Greece - City States

In 776 BC, Greece was city-states.  Start of Classical Greece. Sparta, Athens, Thebes were the big three. They fought amongst themselves. A lot. Can anybody say Peloponnesian Wars? Maybe their competitive situation created an environment where culture flourished.

And how they flourished over those 600 years of Greek dominance (until the Greeks were taken over by the Romans, remember?)  Homer wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey, seminal in the start of western literature. Buildings beautiful and majestic. Balanced. The golden ratio. The golden rectangle. Temples, markets, grand theaters, amphitheaters, gymnasiums, government buildings. Stone and marble. Some with optical illusions.  The Parthenon. Oedipus the King, Lysistrata, Medea. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. Physics, Astronomy. Calculus, Geometry. Pythagoras, Euclid, Hippocrates the father of medicine. Democracy in 508 BC in Athens.

The Persians wanted to control Greece. Lots of battles. In 490 BC, Battle of Marathon (the 26.2 mile race is named for the messenger.) Finally in 337 BC Macedonian Phillip II unites all the city-states into the League of Corinth, the first time they are a "country." He had 7 wives. Funny the details that jump out.

Aristotle and Alexander

His son became Alexander the Great. He only had 2 wives. Do you know who Alexander's tutor was? Aristotle. Plutarch, the Greek historian, writes that Phillip II was looking for a tutor for Alexander when he turned 13. He assigned the Temple of the Nymphs in Mieza as the classroom for Alexander and several other sons of Phillip's friends. These students were taught medicine, logic, philosophy, literature, science, religion and art.  By Aristotle. In a temple. Of Nymphs. Enough said.

Alexander the Great's Empire

In 336 BC Alexander the Great took over as King of Macedonia (which was part of Greece), one year after his father had united the city-states. His father was assassinated. Being king is a dangerous occupation.

Alexander then grew the Empire east to Pakistan, south to Egypt. He became King of the Persians and King of Egypt as well. Fought huge battles. His horse Bucephalus (Greek for ox-head) died in Pakistan, so he named the town to honor his horse.

 Alexander died in 323BC in Babylon, in Nebuchadnezzar's palace. He was 32 years old. His generals divided his kingdom. He is said to have never lost in battle, to have been one of history's most successful commanders. He ruled the largest empire of the ancient world.

Alexander the Great's Empire divided in 301BC

Therein started the Hellenistic Era.  323 BC to 146 BC.  Greek culture spread. Thrived and spread wide and far.  The creativity and advancement of science, math, theater, literature was exponential. Everyone wanted to be Greek. Being the largest empire, most everyone was Greek.

Roman Empire

In 146 BC, the Romans looked east and started invading Greece inch by inch.  Battle by battle, until all Greece was under Roman rule. Interestingly the Romans revered Greek culture, adopted it and adapted to it. Consumed it. So all that Greek culture and those Greek advancements in so many fields spread throughout the Roman Empire. Horace said, "Greece, though captured, took its wild captors captive."

Rome ruled the Greeks for 550 years.

Byzantine Empire

Turn the corner on the year counting.  Now we are  in the AD's.

The Roman Empire fell. It seems around 324 AD when the Eastern Roman Empire became the Byzantine Empire, with capital at Constantinople. It was a process. Greek culture continued to spread, throughout the Byzantine Empire.

One thousand years as part of the Byzantine Empire. Still lots of fighting. Greece was attacked by the Huns, Goths, Barbarians, Slavs. Fought them all off.

Ottoman Empire

But in 1460 Greece was successfully taken over by the Turkish Ottomans. Many academics and wealthy Greeks fled west to safety, to Italy.  This influx of immigrants with their large body of art,  literature and learning helped fuel the Renaissance in Italy.










Finally in 1830, Greece declared independence. They separated from the Ottoman Empire. Fought for their independence. Won independence. Phew.


During the 1900's there were struggles still. Tumultuous periods with pretty much every neighboring country at some point. Currently it appears Greece has enjoyed 40 years of peace with neighbors.

Now Greece is part of the European Union. The Euro is the money. Currently, the economy is struggling. Debt crisis. I hope they want to see tourists.  Wikipedia says 16% of their GDP is tourism.

Mike and I will do our part.