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400
God and Goddesses
The Greeks believed in many gods: they were polytheistic (PA-lee-thee-ISS-tick). It is impossible to say how many Greek gods there were, because different Greeks worshipped different gods. Certainly there were hundreds. The most famous of them, and the ones which the most people sacrificed to, were Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Artemis, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Athena, Demeter, Hermes, Ares, and Hades. -
400
The Orcales
The word oracle in Greek can mean several related things. It means a god who predicts the future, like Apollo. It also means the priest who hears the message, and the message itself, and the place where the priest hears the message. Most often it means the priest or the message.
The Greeks believed (like all other ancient people) that you could communicate with the gods at certain places, at certain times, -
400
Socrates
In his use of critical reasoning, by his unwavering commitment to truth, and through the vivid example of his own life, fifth-century Athenian Socrates set the standard for all subsequent Western philosophy. Since he left no literary legacy of his own, we are dependent upon contemporary writers like Aristophanes and Xenophon for our information about his life and work. -
400
Plato and Aristole
In passing from Plato to Aristotle, we at once become conscious of a distinct change in philosophical concepts and methods. This is all the more noticeable because of our ignorance of Aristotle's complete system. The writings which have come down to us comprise only about a quarter of his works. These are all incomplete, some of them seeming to be notes intended for elaboration in his lectures. They are often sketchy and obscure, highly technical and full of repetitions. -
400
Visual and Dramatic Arts
The ancient greeks devoted great attention to their arts. The greeks used visual arts, such as architecture and sculpture, to glorify and honor their gords. the ancient greeks are also kniwn as the first playwrights, people who write dramas. -
May 23, 600
A New Type Or Ruler
as the greeks sailed to foreign ports trading olive oil, marble and other products, the city states became richer. Amiddle class of merchants and artisans developed. they wanted some say in the government of their cities. these people could not afford to equip themselves with horses and cahroits for war. However, they could afford armor, swords, and spears. With these weapons, large groups of soldiers could fight effectively on foot. grdually military strength in the cities shifted. -
Jan 1, 750
city-states Develop
After the dark ages, herding and farming sprang up again. Soon, borders of areas became fixed, each area became independent by 800 BC. There were forts on hilltops for protection, and a polis grew up around each one. The polis was the center of Greek community life. (The plural of Polis is Poleis.) People were Hellenes, or Greeks. Hellas was their word for Greece. There were two main city states: Sparta and Athens. -
Jan 1, 750
Aristocracy: Nobles Rule
the earliest rulers of city- states were probably chieftains or kings who were military leaders. by the end of greece's dark ages, most city states were ruled by aristocrats, members of the rich and powerful families. aristocrats controlled most of the good land. they could afford horses, chariots, and the best weapons to make themselves stronger than others. -
May 23, 750
The Dark Ages of Greece
After most of the Mycenean palaces were destroyed around 1200 BC, nobody rebuilt them. The only palace we know of which was not destroyed was the one at Athens. But even Athens seems to have had a hard time for the next several hundred years. There were no more kings. Nobody collected taxes. Nobody repaired the roads, and the roads gradually became full of holes and you could only use them for walking or riding donkeys, not for wagons. Maybe a lot of people died, these years 1100 to 750 b.c. -
Jan 1, 776
Many City-states, One People
The Greeks had a lot of different kinds of governments, because there were many different city-states in ancient Greece, and they each had their own government. In addition, people's ideas about what made a good government changed over time.
Aristotle divided Greek governments into monarchies, oligarchies, tyrannies and democracies, and most historians still use these same divisions. For the most part, Greece began by having monarchies, then oligarchies, then tyrannies and then democracies, -
Jan 1, 1100
Greek begginings (minoan civilization)
from 3000 to about 1100 b.c, bronze age people called the minoans lived on the island of crete.The island of Crete is located in the center of the eastern Mediterranean at the crossroads of Africa, Asia, and Europe. It measures about 200 Km from east to west, and between 12 to 58 Km from north to south at its narrowest and widest distances, making it one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean sea. crete was an ideal place for minoans to develop a broad sea trade network. -
Jan 1, 1100
Greece's Geographic Setting
greece's geographic setting was moutains, and a pennisulas. mountains are major landforms of greece. greece's islands are mostly mountain peaks. moutains wrinkle the mainland, so there are only small patches of farmland. only about a fifth of greece is good for growing crops. no wonder the greeks traders and sailors. at times, they left greece to found colonies far away.in a way greeks were all islanders. some lived on real islands completely surrounded by water or on small peninsulas. -
Jan 1, 1200
The Trojan War
The Trojan War has its roots in the marriage between Peleus and Thetis, a sea-goddess. Peleus and Thetis had not invited Eris, the goddess of discord, to their marriage and the outraged goddess stormed into the wedding banquet and threw a golden apple onto the table. The apple belonged to, Eris said, whomever was the fairest. The trojan war greek myths tells the story of the trojan war, a long struggle between greece and the city of troy on the west coast of asia minor, in present day turkey. -
Jan 1, 1400
The mycenaeans
The civilization that took root on the mainland is called Mycenaean after the first major archaeological site where this culture was identified. The Mycenaeans, an Indo-European group, were the first speakers of the Greek language. They may have entered Greece at the end of the early Bronze Age; in the middle Bronze Age, or in the Neolithic period. The excavation of exceptionally wealthy graves, and the size and spacing of palace foundations, indicates that the Mycenaeans formed an elite. -
Period: to May 23, 1500
ANCIENT GREECE
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Democracy in Greece
About the year 1000 BC, in the area of today's Greece, after long and hard fights the first city-states (polis) started to arise. As a result Greece was divided into: Doric part (Sparta), Achaian part (Arcadia) and Ionic part (Attica). From these three cultures the Spartan culture had the lowest status, although when we look at its military potential, (Democracy: citizens govern themselves.) -
The Golden Ages of Athens
The golden age of Athens was a time of peace and prosperity. Each civilization has had a golden age. It's a time for learning and invention. When people think of Athens being the "smart" polis (meaning city),they are usually referring to the golden age of Athens. The population of Athens in the fifth and fourth centuries was divided into three distinct groups: the citizens, the metics, and the slaves.
