Greece

Greek Cities

• Greece-Turkey border
• Neapolis
• Kavala
• Philippi
• Statue of Amphipolis
• Thessalonica (Thessaloniki)
• Berea (Veria)
• Kalabaka
• Monasteries of Meteora
• Delphi
• Athens (Athena)
• Corinth
• Cenchrea
• Salamis

BACKGROUND AND NAME

The word "Greek" comes from the Latin "Graecus" which comes from the Greek "Grekos". The Greki were a Greek tribe living in central Greece, in the region of Boeotia north of Athens. They colonized southern Italy back in the 8th century BCE. It turns out both "Greece" and "Hellas" stem from Greek roots, but "Greece" was the term adopted by the Romans (as "Graecus"), which later entered English according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED says Aristotle himself used "Graiko" as the name for Greece's first inhabitants.

LOCATION AND GEOGRAPHY

Mainland Greece constitutes a large peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea, branching into the Ionian Sea in the west and the Aegean Sea in the east. This encompasses the Cyclades and Dodecanese islands (including Rhodes), the Ionian islands (like Corcyra), Crete, and the Peloponnese peninsula.

Greece's geography impacted its culture. With scarce natural resources yet surrounded by water, seafaring became vital. Mountains span 80% of Greece, leaving little agricultural potential. So early Greeks established island colonies plus coastal Anatolian settlements as trade hubs, growing highly skilled at seafaring while constructing remarkable buildings from ample raw stone materials.

HISTORY

Ancient Greece brought us Western philosophy (think Socrates, Plato, Aristotle), literature, mathematics (Pythagoras, Euclid), history (Herodotus), drama, the Olympics, democracy itself, and more. Concepts of an atomic universe originated with Democritus and Leucippus. And the foundations of today's scientific method started with Thales's investigations into natural phenomena - he was followed by others who began abandoning theistic explanations in favor of observable evidence. The Latin alphabet also derives from the Greek one introduced during Phoenician colonization in the 8th century BCE. And pioneering physics and engineering work was done by Archimedes and other Greeks.

The Neolithic Age

(c. 6000–2900 BCE): Permanent settlements emerge, mostly in northern Greece (Thessaly, Macedonia) closer to Anatolia, focused on agriculture and livestock domestication. People lived in one-room stone houses capped with clay-daubed timber roofs. Pottery similarities suggest migration across from Anatolia.

The Cycladic Civilization

(c. 3200–1100 BCE): Flourished across Aegean islandss through fishing and trade. Inhabited finished stone houses and temples.

The Minoan Civilization

(2700–1100 BCE): Dominant naval power based on Crete, with unsure demise - Authored a thalassocracy centered on Crete until the c. 1650-1550 BCE Thera volcano eruption and ensuing tsunami, Atlantis' purported inspiration. Competing theories suggest Mycenaean Dorian Greeks routed them circa 1100 BCE, contributing to the overall Bronze Age Collapse.

Greek Dark Ages

After obscure Dark Ages, Greek identity cemented through establishing Ionian Asia Minor and neighboring island colonies, spurring cultural leaps like the Archaic Period's emergent democracies.

The Archaic Period

(800–500 BCE): Rise of republics and proto-democracies in Athens, codified laws under Draco, founding of the Panathenaic Festival, distinctive pottery and sculpture emerges, first coins minted on Aegina. This catalyzed Athens’ Classical Period apex under Pericles.

Classical Period

(480–323 BCE), the Golden Age under Pericles. Giants of drama, philosophy, culture like Socrates, Plato, Aristophanes and Phidias flourished. Construction began on the Acropolis. Greece also scored military victories against Persia at Salamis. Athens ascended as Delian League quasi-empire antagonizing Spartan rivals and triggering the Peloponnesian Wars.

Democracy

Empowered all 20+ year old male citizens through voting access. Pre-Socratic philosophers like Anaximander, Anaximenes, Pythagoras, Heraclitus and others pioneered an early scientific method and began moving away from a theistic worldview. Succeeding generations advanced physics, engineering and mathematics.

Ascent of Athens

Rise of Athens: After victory over Persia in 480 BCE, Athens grew into a naval powerhouse by forming the Delian League. But tensions escalated with the rival Peloponnesian League led by Sparta, triggering protracted Peloponnesian Wars.

Peloponnesian Wars

Erupted as Athens flexed its power. This was very costly, ultimately ending with Sparta defeating Athens in 404 BCE, leaving the city in ruins. Leadership tumult enabled Macedonian conquest under Philip II by 338 BCE, succeeded by Alexander the Great.

Late Classical Period

(c. 400–330 BCE): The leadership void enabled Philip II of Macedon to take over Greece after beating Athens and allies at Chaeronea in 338 BCE. His son Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE) continued Philip’s plans to invade Persia seeking revenge for their 480 BCE invasion of Greece. Tutored by Aristotle, Alexander spread Greek culture through his vast empire before dying in 323 BCE.

Hellenistic Period

Alexander's death kicked off the Hellenistic Period (323–31 BCE) with four generals dividing Alexander’s territory. After the Wars of the Diadochi amongst Alexander's successors, Antigonus I's dynasty took over Greece until the rising Roman Republic defeated Macedon at Pydna in 168 BCE. Rome annexed Greece in 146 BCE following the Battle of Actium.

GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Greek myths provided an origin narrative to many Greeks. An early creation myth recounts the primordial goddess Eurynome dancing with the serpent Ophion to separate the waters that existed at first. Their dance birthed creation, positioning Eurynome as the original Mother Goddess and Creator of All. By Hesiod and Homer's 8th century BCE time, this evolved into the more familiar Titans vs. Olympians mythology. Either way, the gods were an integral fabric of ancient Greek life and ritual.

The Wars between the Titans and Olympians

Main account is Hesiod's Theogony. The Titans ruled Mount Othrys under Cronus. After overthrowing his father Uranus, Cronus imprisoned his siblings and devoured his offspring to retain power. But Zeus was saved and raised in secret. He tricked Cronus into regurgitating his brothers and sisters then convinced them and others (e.g. Cyclopes, Hecatonchires) to join his rebellion, which sparked the ten year Titanomachy ending in most Titans imprisoned and Zeus taking Mount Olympus alongside his brothers Poseidon and Hades.

Homer's Iliad and Odyssey (8th century BCE):

• The Iliad depicts the Trojan War - basically a battle between the Greeks and non-Greek "barbarians". Key figures:
  • Achilles: the fierce warrior critical to Greece’s victory
  • Hector: Trojan prince killed by Achilles in revenge for his comrade's death
• The Odyssey charts Odysseus' long, epic return voyage home after the war, cementing his image as the cunning adventurer archetype

These works reinforced Greek cultural identity against outsiders while setting aspirational behavioral standards embodied in Achilles’ heroism and Odysseus’ wanderlust.

Title image credit

A work in progress...