Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece was a civilization belonging to a period of

Greek history from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th9th
centuries BC to the end of antiquity (c. 600 AD). Immediately
following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle
Ages and the Byzantine era.[1] Roughly three centuries after
the Late Bronze Age collapse of Mycenaean Greece, Greek
urban poleis began to form in the 8th century BC, ushering in
the period of Archaic Greece and colonization of the
Mediterranean Basin. This was followed by the period of
Classical Greece, an era that began with the Greco-Persian
Wars, lasting from the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Due to the
conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic
The Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena,
civilization flourished from Central Asia to the western end of located on the Acropolis in Athens, is one of the
the Mediterranean Sea. The Hellenistic period came to an most representative symbols of the culture and
end with the conquests and annexations of the eastern sophistication of the ancient Greeks.
Mediterranean world by the Roman Republic, which
established the Roman province of Macedonia in Roman
Greece, and later the province of Achaea during the Roman Empire.

Classical Greek culture, especially philosophy, had a powerful influence on ancient Rome, which carried a version of it
to many parts of the Mediterranean Basin and Europe. For this reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be
the seminal culture which provided the foundation of modern Western culture and is considered the cradle of Western
civilization.[2][3][4]

Contents
1 Chronology
2 Historiography
3 History
3.1 Archaic period
3.2 Classical Greece
3.3 Hellenistic Greece
3.4 Roman Greece
4 Geography
4.1 Regions
4.2 Colonies
5 Politics and society
5.1 Political structure
5.2 Government and law
5.3 Social structure
5.3.1 Slavery
5.4 Education
5.5 Economy
5.6 Warfare
 6 Culture
6.1 Philosophy
6.2 Literature and theatre
6.3 Music and dance
6.4 Science and technology
6.5 Art and architecture
6.6 Religion and mythology
7 Legacy
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Chronology
Classical Antiquity in the Mediterranean region is commonly considered to have begun in the 8th century BC[5]
(around the time of the earliest recorded poetry of Homer) and ended in the 6th century AD.

Classical Antiquity in Greece was preceded by the Greek Dark Ages (c. 1200 c. 800 BC), archaeologically
characterised by the protogeometric and geometric styles of designs on pottery. Following the Dark Ages was the
Archaic Period, beginning around the 8th century BC. The Archaic Period saw early developments in Greek culture
and society which formed the basis for the Classical Period.[6] After the Archaic Period, the Classical Period in Greece
is conventionally considered to have lasted from the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 until the death of Alexander the
Great in 323.[7] The period is characterized by a style which was considered by later observers to be exemplary, i.e.,
"classical", as shown in the Parthenon, for instance. Politically, the Classical Period was dominated by Athens and the
Delian League during the 5th century, but displaced by Spartan hegemony during the early 4th century BC, before
power shifted to Thebes and the Boeotian League and finally to the League of Corinth led by Macedon. This period saw
the Greco-Persian Wars and the Rise of Macedon.

Following the Classical period was the Hellenistic period (323146 BC), during which Greek culture and power
expanded into the Near and Middle East. This period begins with the death of Alexander and ends with the Roman
conquest. Roman Greece is usually considered to be the period between Roman victory over the Corinthians at the
Battle of Corinth in 146 BC and the establishment of Byzantium by Constantine as the capital of the Roman Empire in
AD 330. Finally, Late Antiquity refers to the period of Christianization during the later 4th to early 6th centuries AD,
sometimes taken to be complete with the closure of the Academy of Athens by Justinian I in 529.[8]

Historiography
The historical period of ancient Greece is unique in world history as the first period attested directly in proper
historiography, while earlier ancient history or proto-history is known by much more circumstantial evidence, such as
annals or king lists, and pragmatic epigraphy.

Herodotus is widely known as the "father of history": his Histories are eponymous of the entire field. Written between
the 450s and 420s BC, Herodotus' work reaches about a century into the past, discussing 6th century historical figures
such as Darius I of Persia, Cambyses II and Psamtik III, and alluding to some 8th century ones such as Candaules.

Herodotus was succeeded by authors such as Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato and Aristotle. Most of these
authors were either Athenian or pro-Athenian, which is why far more is known about the history and politics of Athens
than those of many other cities. Their scope is further limited by a focus on political, military and diplomatic history,
ignoring economic and social history.[9]
History

Archaic period
In the 8th century BC, Greece
began to emerge from the Dark
Ages which followed the fall of the
Mycenaean civilization. Literacy
had been lost and Mycenaean
script forgotten, but the Greeks
adopted the Phoenician alphabet,
modifying it to create the Greek
Dipylon Vase of the late Geometric
period, or the beginning of the alphabet. Objects with Phoenician
Archaic period, c. 750 BC. writing on them may have been The Victorious Youth (c. 310
available in Greece from the 9th BC), is a rare, water-preserved
bronze sculpture from ancient
century BC, but the earliest
Greece.
evidence of Greek writing comes from graffiti on Greek pottery from the mid-
8th century.[10] Greece was divided into many small self-governing
communities, a pattern largely dictated by Greek geography: every island, valley and plain is cut off from its neighbors
by the sea or mountain ranges.[11]

The Lelantine War (c. 710 c. 650 BC) is the earliest documented war of the ancient Greek period. It was fought
between the important poleis (city-states) of Chalcis and Eretria over the fertile Lelantine plain of Euboea. Both cities
seem to have suffered a decline as result of the long war, though Chalcis was the nominal victor.

A mercantile class arose in the first half of the 7th century BC, shown by the introduction of coinage in about 680
BC.[12] This seems to have introduced tension to many city-states. The aristocratic regimes which generally governed
the poleis were threatened by the new-found wealth of merchants, who in turn desired political power. From 650 BC
onwards, the aristocracies had to fight not to be overthrown and replaced by populist tyrants. This word derives from
the non-pejorative Greek tyrannos, meaning 'illegitimate ruler', and was applicable to both good and bad
leaders alike.[13][14]

A growing population and a shortage of land also seem to have created internal strife between the poor and the rich in
many city-states. In Sparta, the Messenian Wars resulted in the conquest of Messenia and enserfment of the
Messenians, beginning in the latter half of the 8th century BC, an act without precedent in ancient Greece. This
practice allowed a social revolution to occur.[15] The subjugated population, thenceforth known as helots, farmed and
labored for Sparta, whilst every Spartan male citizen became a soldier of the Spartan Army in a permanently
militarized state. Even the elite were obliged to live and train as soldiers; this commonality between rich and poor
citizens served to defuse the social conflict. These reforms, attributed to Lycurgus of Sparta, were probably complete
by 650 BC.

Athens suffered a land and agrarian crisis in the late 7th century BC, again resulting in civil strife. The Archon (chief
magistrate) Draco made severe reforms to the law code in 621 BC (hence "draconian"), but these failed to quell the
conflict. Eventually the moderate reforms of Solon (594 BC), improving the lot of the poor but firmly entrenching the
aristocracy in power, gave Athens some stability.

By the 6th century BC several cities had emerged as dominant in Greek affairs: Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes.
Each of them had brought the surrounding rural areas and smaller towns under their control, and Athens and Corinth
had become major maritime and mercantile powers as well.
Rapidly increasing population in the 8th and 7th centuries
BC had resulted in emigration of many Greeks to form
colonies in Magna Graecia (Southern Italy and Sicily), Asia
Minor and further afield. The emigration effectively ceased in
the 6th century BC by which time the Greek world had,
culturally and linguistically, become much larger than the
area of present-day Greece. Greek colonies were not
politically controlled by their founding cities, although they
often retained religious and commercial links with them.

The emigration process also determined a long series of

conflicts between the Greek cities of Sicily, especially
Syracuse, and the Carthaginians. These conflicts lasted from
Political geography of ancient Greece in the
600 BC to 265 BC when the Roman Republic entered into an Archaic and Classical periods
alliance with the Mamertines to fend off the hostilities by the
new tyrant of Syracuse, Hiero II and then the Carthaginians.
This way Rome became the new dominant power against the fading strength of the Sicilian Greek cities and the
Carthaginian supremacy in the region. One year later the First Punic War erupted.

In this period, there was huge economic development in Greece, and also in its overseas colonies which experienced a
growth in commerce and manufacturing. There was a great improvement in the living standards of the population.
Some studies estimate that the average size of the Greek household, in the period from 800 BC to 300 BC, increased
five times, which indicates a large increase in the average income of the population.

In the second half of the 6th century BC, Athens fell under the tyranny of Peisistratos and then of his sons Hippias and
Hipparchos. However, in 510 BC, at the instigation of the Athenian aristocrat Cleisthenes, the Spartan king Cleomenes
I helped the Athenians overthrow the tyranny. Afterwards, Sparta and Athens promptly turned on each other, at which
point Cleomenes I installed Isagoras as a pro-Spartan archon. Eager to prevent Athens from becoming a Spartan
puppet, Cleisthenes responded by proposing to his fellow citizens that Athens undergo a revolution: that all citizens
share in political power, regardless of status: that Athens become a "democracy". So enthusiastically did the Athenians
take to this idea that, having overthrown Isagoras and implemented Cleisthenes's reforms, they were easily able to
repel a Spartan-led three-pronged invasion aimed at restoring Isagoras.[16] The advent of the democracy cured many
of the ills of Athens and led to a 'golden age' for the Athenians.

Classical Greece
Early Athenian coin, depicting the
head of Athena on the obverse and
her owl on the reverse5th century
BC
In 499 BC, the Ionian city states under Persian rule rebelled against the
Persian-supported tyrants that ruled them.[17] Supported by troops sent
from Athens and Eretria, they advanced as far as Sardis and burnt the city
down, before being driven back by a Persian counterattack.[18] The revolt
continued until 494, when the rebelling Ionians were defeated.[19] Darius
did not forget that the Athenians had assisted the Ionian revolt, however,
and in 490 he assembled an armada to conquer Athens.[20] Despite being
heavily outnumbered, the Athenians supported by their Plataean allies
defeated the Persian forces at the Battle of Marathon, and the Persian fleet
withdrew.[21]

Ten years later, a second invasion was launched by Darius' son Xerxes.[22] The city-states of northern and central
Greece submitted to the Persian forces without resistance, but a coalition of 31 Greek city states, including Athens and
Sparta, determined to resist the Persian invaders.[23] At the same time, Greek Sicily was invaded by a Carthaginian
force.[24] In 480 BC, the first major battle of the invasion was fought at Thermopylae, where a small force of Greeks,
led by three hundred Spartans, held a crucial pass into the
heart of Greece for several days; at the same time Gelon,
tyrant of Syracuse, defeated the Carthaginian invasion at the
Battle of Himera.[25]

The Persians were defeated by a primarily Athenian naval

force at the Battle of Salamis, and in 479 defeated on land at
the Battle of Plataea.[26] The alliance against Persia
continued, initially led by the Spartan Pausanias but from
477 by Athens,[27] and by 460 Persia had been driven out of
the Aegean.[28] During this period of campaigning, the Delian
league gradually transformed from a defensive alliance of
Greek states into an Athenian empire, as Athens' growing
Map showing events of the first phases of the
naval power enabled it to compel other league states to
Greco-Persian Wars.
comply with its policies.[29] Athens ended its campaigns
against Persia in 450 BC, after a disastrous defeat in Egypt in
454 BC, and the death of Cimon in action against the
Persians on Cyprus in 450.[30]

While Athenian activity against the Persian empire was

ending, however, conflict between Sparta and Athens was
increasing. Sparta was suspicious of the increasing Athenian
power funded by the Delian League, and tensions rose when
Sparta offered aid to reluctant members of the League to
rebel against Athenian domination. These tensions were
exacerbated in 462, when Athens sent a force to aid Sparta in
overcoming a helot revolt, but their aid was rejected by the
Spartans.[31] In the 450s, Athens took control of Boeotia, and
won victories over Aegina and Corinth.[32] However, Athens Delian League ("Athenian Empire"), immediately
failed to win a decisive victory, and in 447 lost Boeotia before the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC
again.[33] Athens and Sparta signed the Thirty Years' Peace in
the winter of 446/5, ending the conflict.[34]

Despite the peace of 446/5, Athenian relations with Sparta declined again in the 430s, and in 431 war broke out once
again.[35] The first phase of the war is traditionally seen as a series of annual invasions of Attica by Sparta, which made
little progress, while Athens were successful against the Corinthian empire in the north-west of Greece, and in
defending their own empire, despite suffering from plague and Spartan invasion.[36] The turning point of this phase of
the war usually seen as the Athenian victories at Pylos and Sphakteria.[37] Sparta sued for peace, but the Athenians
rejected the proposal.[38] The Athenian failure to regain control at Boeotia at Delium and Brasidas' successes in the
north of Greece in 424, improved Sparta's position after Sphakteria.[39] After the deaths of Cleon and Brasidas, the
strongest objectors to peace on the Athenian and Spartan sides respectively, a peace treaty was agreed in 421.[40]

The peace did not last, however. In 418 an alliance between Athens and Argos was defeated by Sparta at Mantinea.[41]
In 415 Athens launched a naval expedition against Sicily;[42] the expedition ended in disaster with almost the entire
army killed.[43] Soon after the Athenian defeat in Syracuse, Athens' Ionian allies began to rebel against the Delian
league, while at the same time Persia began to once again involve itself in Greek affairs on the Spartan side.[44] Initially
the Athenian position continued to be relatively strong, winning important battles such as those at Cyzicus in 410 and
Arginusae in 406.[45] However, in 405 the Spartans defeated Athens in the Battle of Aegospotami, and began to
blockade Athens' harbour;[46] with no grain supply and in danger of starvation, Athens sued for peace, agreeing to
surrender their fleet and join the Spartan-led Peloponnesian League.[47]
Greece thus entered the 4th century BC under a Spartan hegemony, but it was clear from the start that this was weak.
A demographic crisis meant Sparta was overstretched, and by 395 BC Athens, Argos, Thebes, and Corinth felt able to
challenge Spartan dominance, resulting in the Corinthian War (395387 BC). Another war of stalemates, it ended with
the status quo restored, after the threat of Persian intervention on behalf of the Spartans.

The Spartan hegemony lasted another 16 years, until, when attempting to impose their will on the Thebans, the
Spartans were defeated at Leuctra in 371 BC. The Theban general Epaminondas then led Theban troops into the
Peloponnese, whereupon other city-states defected from the Spartan cause. The Thebans were thus able to march into
Messenia and free the population.

Deprived of land and its serfs, Sparta declined to a second-rank power. The Theban hegemony thus established was
short-lived; at the Battle of Mantinea in 362 BC, Thebes lost its key leader, Epaminondas, and much of its manpower,
even though they were victorious in battle. In fact such were the losses to all the great city-states at Mantinea that
none could establish dominance in the aftermath.

The weakened state of the heartland of Greece coincided with the Rise of Macedon, led by Philip II. In twenty years,
Philip had unified his kingdom, expanded it north and west at the expense of Illyrian tribes, and then conquered
Thessaly and Thrace. His success stemmed from his innovative reforms to the Macedonian army. Phillip intervened
repeatedly in the affairs of the southern city-states, culminating in his invasion of 338 BC.

Decisively defeating an allied army of Thebes and Athens at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), he became de facto
hegemon of all of Greece, except Sparta. He compelled the majority of the city-states to join the League of Corinth,
allying them to him, and preventing them from warring with each other. Philip then entered into war against the
Achaemenid Empire but was assassinated by Pausanias of Orestis early on in the conflict.

Alexander the Great, son and successor of Philip, continued the war. Alexander defeated Darius III of Persia and
completely destroyed the Achaemenid Empire, annexing it to Macedon and earning himself the epithet 'the Great'.
When Alexander died in 323 BC, Greek power and influence was at its zenith. However, there had been a fundamental
shift away from the fierce independence and classical culture of the poleisand instead towards the developing
Hellenistic culture.

Hellenistic Greece
The Hellenistic period lasted from 323 BC, which marked the end of the
wars of Alexander the Great, to the annexation of Greece by the Roman
Republic in 146 BC. Although the establishment of Roman rule did not
break the continuity of Hellenistic society and culture, which remained
essentially unchanged until the advent of Christianity, it did mark the end
of Greek political independence.

Alexander Mosaic, National During the Hellenistic period, the importance of "Greece proper" (that is,
Archaeological Museum, Naples. the territory of modern Greece) within the Greek-speaking world declined
sharply. The great centers of Hellenistic culture were Alexandria and
Antioch, capitals of Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria respectively.

The conquests of Alexander had numerous consequences for the Greek city-states. It greatly widened the horizons of
the Greeks and led to a steady emigration, particularly of the young and ambitious, to the new Greek empires in the
east.[48] Many Greeks migrated to Alexandria, Antioch and the many other new Hellenistic cities founded in
Alexander's wake, as far away as what are now Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the
Indo-Greek Kingdom survived until the end of the 1st century BC.
After the death of Alexander his empire was, after quite some
conflict, divided among his generals, resulting in the
Ptolemaic Kingdom (based upon Egypt), the Seleucid Empire
(based on the Levant, Mesopotamia and Persia) and the
Antigonid dynasty based in Macedon. In the intervening
period, the poleis of Greece were able to wrest back some of
their freedom, although still nominally subject to the
Macedonian Kingdom.
The major Hellenistic realms included the
The city-states within Greece formed themselves into two Diadochi kingdoms:
leagues; the Achaean League (including Thebes, Corinth and Kingdom of Ptolemy I Soter

Argos) and the Aetolian League (including Sparta and Kingdom of Cassander
Athens). For much of the period until the Roman conquest, Kingdom of Lysimachus
these leagues were usually at war with each other, and/or Kingdom of Seleucus I Nicator
allied to different sides in the conflicts between the Diadochi Epirus
(the successor states to Alexander's empire).
Also shown on the map:
Greek colonies
The Antigonid Kingdom became involved in a war with the
Roman Republic in the late 3rd century. Although the First Carthage (non-Greek)
Macedonian War was inconclusive, the Romans, in typical Rome (non-Greek)
fashion, continued to make war on Macedon until it was The orange areas were often in dispute after 281
completely absorbed into the Roman Republic (by 149 BC). BC. The kingdom of Pergamon occupied some of
this area. Not shown: Indo-Greeks.
In the east the unwieldy Seleucid Empire gradually
disintegrated, although a rump survived until 64 BC, whilst
the Ptolemaic Kingdom continued in Egypt until 30 BC, when
it too was conquered by the Romans. The Aetolian league grew wary of Roman involvement in Greece, and sided with
the Seleucids in the Roman-Syrian War; when the Romans were victorious, the league was effectively absorbed into
the Republic. Although the Achaean league outlasted both the Aetolian league and Macedon, it was also soon defeated
and absorbed by the Romans in 146 BC, bringing an end to the independence of all of Greece.

Roman Greece
The Greek peninsula came under Roman rule during the 146 BC conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth.
Macedonia became a Roman province while southern Greece came under the surveillance of Macedonia's prefect;
however, some Greek poleis managed to maintain a partial independence and avoid taxation. The Aegean islands were
added to this territory in 133 BC. Athens and other Greek cities revolted in 88 BC, and the peninsula was crushed by
the Roman general Sulla. The Roman civil wars devastated the land even further, until Augustus organized the
peninsula as the province of Achaea in 27 BC.

Greece was a key eastern province of the Roman Empire, as the Roman culture had long been in fact Greco-Roman.
The Greek language served as a lingua franca in the East and in Italy, and many Greek intellectuals such as Galen
would perform most of their work in Rome.

Geography

Regions
The territory of Greece is mountainous, and as a result, ancient Greece consisted of many smaller regions each with its
own dialect, cultural peculiarities, and identity. Regionalism and regional conflicts were a prominent feature of ancient
Greece. Cities tended to be located in valleys between mountains, or on coastal plains, and dominated a certain area
around them.

In the south lay the Peloponnese, itself consisting of the regions

of Laconia (southeast), Messenia (southwest), Elis (west), Achaia
(north), Korinthia (northeast), Argolis (east), and Arcadia
(center). These names survive to the present day as regional
units of modern Greece, though with somewhat different
boundaries. Mainland Greece to the north, nowadays known as
Central Greece, consisted of Aetolia and Acarnania in the west,
Locris, Doris, and Phocis in the center, while in the east lay
Boeotia, Attica, and Megaris. Northeast lay Thessaly, while
Epirus lay to the northwest. Epirus stretched from the
Ambracian Gulf in the south to the Ceraunian mountains and the
Aoos river in the north, and consisted of Chaonia (north),
Molossia (center), and Thesprotia (south). In the northeast
corner was Macedonia,[49] originally consisting Lower
Macedonia and its regions, such as Elimeia, Pieria, and Orestis.
Map showing the major regions of mainland
Around the time of Alexander I of Macedon, the Argead kings of
ancient Greece and adjacent "barbarian"
Macedon started to expand into Upper Macedonia, lands lands.
inhabited by independent Macedonian tribes like the Lyncestae
and the Elmiotae and to the West, beyond the Axius river, into
Eordaia, Bottiaea, Mygdonia, and Almopia, regions settled by Thracian tribes.[50] To the north of Macedonia lay
various non-Greek peoples such as the Paeonians due north, the Thracians to the northeast, and the Illyrians, with
whom the Macedonians were frequently in conflict, to the northwest. Chalcidice was settled early on by southern
Greek colonists and was considered part of the Greek world, while from the late 2nd millennium BC substantial Greek
settlement also occurred on the eastern shores of the Aegean, in Anatolia.

Colonies
During the Archaic period, the population of Greece grew
beyond the capacity of its limited arable land (according to one
estimate, the population of ancient Greece increased by a factor
larger than ten during the period from 800 BC to 400 BC,
increasing from a population of 800,000 to a total estimated
population of 10 to 13 million).[51]

From about 750 BC the Greeks began 250 years of expansion,

settling colonies in all directions. To the east, the Aegean coast of
Greek cities & colonies c. 550 BC.
Asia Minor was colonized first, followed by Cyprus and the
coasts of Thrace, the Sea of Marmara and south coast of the
Black Sea.

Eventually Greek colonization reached as far northeast as present day Ukraine and Russia (Taganrog). To the west the
coasts of Illyria, Sicily and Southern Italy were settled, followed by Southern France, Corsica, and even northeastern
Spain. Greek colonies were also founded in Egypt and Libya.

Modern Syracuse, Naples, Marseille and Istanbul had their beginnings as the Greek colonies Syracusae (),
Neapolis (), Massalia () and Byzantion (). These colonies played an important role in the
spread of Greek influence throughout Europe and also aided in the establishment of long-distance trading networks
between the Greek city-states, boosting the economy of ancient Greece.
Politics and society

Political structure
Ancient Greece consisted of several hundred relatively independent city-states (poleis). This was a situation unlike
that in most other contemporary societies, which were either tribal or kingdoms ruling over relatively large territories.
Undoubtedly the geography of Greecedivided and sub-divided by hills, mountains, and riverscontributed to the
fragmentary nature of ancient Greece. On the one hand, the ancient Greeks had no doubt that they were "one people";
they had the same religion, same basic culture, and same language. Furthermore, the Greeks were very aware of their
tribal origins; Herodotus was able to extensively categorise the city-states by tribe. Yet, although these higher-level
relationships existed, they seem to have rarely had a major role in Greek politics. The independence of the poleis was
fiercely defended; unification was something rarely contemplated by the ancient Greeks. Even when, during the
second Persian invasion of Greece, a group of city-states allied themselves to defend Greece, the vast majority of poleis
remained neutral, and after the Persian defeat, the allies quickly returned to infighting.[52]

Thus, the major peculiarities of the ancient Greek political system were firstly, its fragmentary nature, and that this
does not particularly seem to have tribal origin, and secondly, the particular focus on urban centers within otherwise
tiny states. The peculiarities of the Greek system are further evidenced by the colonies that they set up throughout the
Mediterranean Sea, which, though they might count a certain Greek polis as their 'mother' (and remain sympathetic to
her), were completely independent of the founding city.

Inevitably smaller poleis might be dominated by larger neighbors, but conquest or direct rule by another city-state
appears to have been quite rare. Instead the poleis grouped themselves into leagues, membership of which was in a
constant state of flux. Later in the Classical period, the leagues would become fewer and larger, be dominated by one
city (particularly Athens, Sparta and Thebes); and often poleis would be compelled to join under threat of war (or as
part of a peace treaty). Even after Philip II of Macedon "conquered" the heartlands of ancient Greece, he did not
attempt to annex the territory, or unify it into a new province, but simply compelled most of the poleis to join his own
Corinthian League.

Government and law

Initially many Greek city-states seem to have been petty kingdoms; there
was often a city official carrying some residual, ceremonial functions of the
king (basileus), e.g., the archon basileus in Athens.[53] However, by the
Archaic period and the first historical consciousness, most had already
become aristocratic oligarchies. It is unclear exactly how this change
occurred. For instance, in Athens, the kingship had been reduced to a
hereditary, lifelong chief magistracy (archon) by c. 1050 BC; by 753 BC this
had become a decennial, elected archonship; and finally by 683 BC an
annually elected archonship. Through each stage more power would have
Inheritance law, part of the Law been transferred to the aristocracy as a whole, and away from a single
Code of Gortyn, Crete, fragment of individual.
the 11th column. Limestone, 5th
century BC Inevitably, the domination of politics and concomitant aggregation of
wealth by small groups of families was apt to cause social unrest in many
poleis. In many cities a tyrant (not in the modern sense of repressive
autocracies), would at some point seize control and govern according to their own will; often a populist agenda would
help sustain them in power. In a system wracked with class conflict, government by a 'strongman' was often the best
solution.
Athens fell under a tyranny in the second half of the 6th century. When this tyranny was ended, the Athenians founded
the world's first democracy as a radical solution to prevent the aristocracy regaining power. A citizens' assembly (the
Ecclesia), for the discussion of city policy, had existed since the reforms of Draco in 621 BC; all citizens were permitted
to attend after the reforms of Solon (early 6th century), but the poorest citizens could not address the assembly or run
for office. With the establishment of the democracy, the assembly became the de jure mechanism of government; all
citizens had equal privileges in the assembly. However, non-citizens, such as metics (foreigners living in Athens) or
slaves, had no political rights at all.

After the rise of the democracy in Athens, other city-states founded democracies. However, many retained more
traditional forms of government. As so often in other matters, Sparta was a notable exception to the rest of Greece,
ruled through the whole period by not one, but two hereditary monarchs. This was a form of diarchy. The Kings of
Sparta belonged to the Agiads and the Eurypontids, descendants respectively of Eurysthenes and Procles. Both
dynasties' founders were believed to be twin sons of Aristodemus, a Heraclid ruler. However, the powers of these kings
were held in check by both a council of elders (the Gerousia) and magistrates specifically appointed to watch over the
kings (the Ephors).

Social structure
Only free, land owning, native-born men could be citizens
entitled to the full protection of the law in a city-state. In
most city-states, unlike the situation in Rome, social
prominence did not allow special rights. Sometimes families
controlled public religious functions, but this ordinarily did
not give any extra power in the government. In Athens, the
population was divided into four social classes based on
wealth. People could change classes if they made more Fresco of dancing Peucetian women in the Tomb
money. In Sparta, all male citizens were called homoioi, of the Dancers in Ruvo di Puglia, 4th-5th century
BC
meaning "peers". However, Spartan kings, who served as the
city-state's dual military and religious leaders, came from two
families.

Slavery
Slaves had no power or status. They had the right to have a family and own
property, subject to their master's goodwill and permission, but they had
no political rights. By 600 BC chattel slavery had spread in Greece. By the
5th century BC slaves made up one-third of the total population in some
city-states. Between forty and eighty per cent of the population of Classical
Athens were slaves.[54] Slaves outside of Sparta almost never revolted
because they were made up of too many nationalities and were too
scattered to organize. However, unlike Western culture, the Ancient Greeks
did not think in terms of race.[55] Gravestone of a woman with her
slave child-attendant, c. 100 BC
Most families owned slaves as household servants and laborers, and even
poor families might have owned a few slaves. Owners were not allowed to
beat or kill their slaves. Owners often promised to free slaves in the future to encourage slaves to work hard. Unlike in
Rome, freedmen did not become citizens. Instead, they were mixed into the population of metics, which included
people from foreign countries or other city-states who were officially allowed to live in the state.
City-states legally owned slaves. These public slaves had a larger measure of independence than slaves owned by
families, living on their own and performing specialized tasks. In Athens, public slaves were trained to look out for
counterfeit coinage, while temple slaves acted as servants of the temple's deity and Scythian slaves were employed in
Athens as a police force corralling citizens to political functions.

Sparta had a special type of slaves called helots. Helots were Messenians enslaved during the Messenian Wars by the
state and assigned to families where they were forced to stay. Helots raised food and did household chores so that
women could concentrate on raising strong children while men could devote their time to training as hoplites. Their
masters treated them harshly (every Spartiate male had to kill a helot as a rite of passage), and helots often resorted to
slave rebellions.

Education
For most of Greek history, education was private, except in Sparta. During
the Hellenistic period, some city-states established public schools. Only
wealthy families could afford a teacher. Boys learned how to read, write
and quote literature. They also learned to sing and play one musical
instrument and were trained as athletes for military service. They studied
not for a job but to become an effective citizen. Girls also learned to read,
write and do simple arithmetic so they could manage the household. They
almost never received education after childhood.

Boys went to school at the age of seven, or went to the barracks, if they
lived in Sparta. The three types of teachings were: grammatistes for
arithmetic, kitharistes for music and dancing, and Paedotribae for sports.
Mosaic from Pompeii depicting
Plato's academy
Boys from wealthy families attending the private school lessons were taken
care of by a paidagogos, a household slave selected for this task who
accompanied the boy during the day. Classes were held in teachers' private houses and included reading, writing,
mathematics, singing, and playing the lyre and flute. When the boy became 12 years old the schooling started to
include sports such as wrestling, running, and throwing discus and javelin. In Athens some older youths attended
academy for the finer disciplines such as culture, sciences, music, and the arts. The schooling ended at age 18, followed
by military training in the army usually for one or two years.[56]

A small number of boys continued their education after childhood, as in the Spartan agoge. A crucial part of a wealthy
teenager's education was a mentorship with an elder, which in a few places and times may have included pederastic
love. The teenager learned by watching his mentor talking about politics in the agora, helping him perform his public
duties, exercising with him in the gymnasium and attending symposia with him. The richest students continued their
education by studying with famous teachers. Some of Athens' greatest such schools included the Lyceum (the so-called
Peripatetic school founded by Aristotle of Stageira) and the Platonic Academy (founded by Plato of Athens). The
education system of the wealthy ancient Greeks is also called Paideia.

Economy
At its economic height, in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, ancient Greece was the most advanced economy in the world.
According to some economic historians, it was one of the most advanced preindustrial economies. This is
demonstrated by the average daily wage of the Greek worker which was, in terms of wheat, about 12 kg. This was more
than 3 times the average daily wage of an Egyptian worker during the Roman period, about 3.75 kg.[57]

Warfare
At least in the Archaic Period, the fragmentary nature of ancient Greece,
with many competing city-states, increased the frequency of conflict but
conversely limited the scale of warfare. Unable to maintain professional
armies, the city-states relied on their own citizens to fight. This inevitably
reduced the potential duration of campaigns, as citizens would need to
return to their own professions (especially in the case of, for example,
farmers). Campaigns would therefore often be restricted to summer. When
battles occurred, they were usually set piece and intended to be decisive.
Casualties were slight compared to later battles, rarely amounting to more
than 5% of the losing side, but the slain often included the most prominent
citizens and generals who led from the front.
Greek hoplite and Persian warrior
The scale and scope of warfare in ancient Greece changed dramatically as a depicted fighting, on an ancient
result of the Greco-Persian Wars. To fight the enormous armies of the kylix, 5th century BC
Achaemenid Empire was effectively beyond the capabilities of a single city-
state. The eventual triumph of the Greeks was achieved by alliances of city-
states (the exact composition changing over time), allowing the pooling of resources and division of labor. Although
alliances between city-states occurred before this time, nothing on this scale had been seen before. The rise of Athens
and Sparta as pre-eminent powers during this conflict led directly to the Peloponnesian War, which saw further
development of the nature of warfare, strategy and tactics. Fought between leagues of cities dominated by Athens and
Sparta, the increased manpower and financial resources increased the scale, and allowed the diversification of warfare.
Set-piece battles during the Peloponnesian war proved indecisive and instead there was increased reliance on
attritionary strategies, naval battle and blockades and sieges. These changes greatly increased the number of casualties
and the disruption of Greek society. Athens owned one of the largest war fleets in ancient Greece. It had over 200
triremes each powered by 170 oarsmen who were seated in 3 rows on each side of the ship. The city could afford such a
large fleetit had over 34,000 oars menbecause it owned a lot of silver mines that were worked by slaves.

Culture

Philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and inquiry. In
many ways, it had an important influence on modern philosophy, as well as
modern science. Clear unbroken lines of influence lead from ancient Greek
and Hellenistic philosophers, to medieval Muslim philosophers and
Islamic scientists, to the European Renaissance and Enlightenment, to the
secular sciences of the modern day.
The stadium of ancient Olympia,
Neither reason nor inquiry began with the Greeks. Defining the difference home of the Ancient Olympic
between the Greek quest for knowledge and the quests of the elder Games
civilizations, such as the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians, has long been
a topic of study by theorists of civilization.

Some of the well-known philosophers of ancient Greece were Plato and Socrates, among others. They have aided in
information about ancient Greek society through writings such as The Republic, by Plato.

Literature and theatre

 The earliest Greek literature was poetry, and was composed for
performance rather than private consumption.[58] The earliest Greek poet
known is Homer, although he was certainly part of an existing tradition of
oral poetry.[59] Homer's poetry, though it was developed around the same
time that the Greeks developed writing, would have been composed orally;
the first poet to certainly compose their work in writing was Archilochus, a
lyric poet from the mid-seventh century BC.[60] tragedy developed, around
the end of the archaic period, taking elements from across the pre-existing
genres of late archaic poetry.[61] Towards the beginning of the classical
The theatre of Epidauros, 4th
period, comedy began to develop the earliest date associated with the
century BC
genre is 486 BC, when a competition for comedy became an official event
at the City Dionysia in Athens, though the first preserved ancient comedy is
Aristophanes' Acharnians, produced in 425.[62]

Like poetry, Greek prose had its origins in the archaic period, and the
earliest writers of Greek philosophy, history, and medical literature all date
to the sixth century BC.[63] Prose first emerged as the writing style adopted
by the presocratic philosophers Anaximander and Anaximenes though
Thales of Miletus, considered the first Greek philosopher, apparently wrote
nothing.[64] Prose as a genre reached maturity in the classical era,[65] and
the major Greek prose genres philosophy, history, rhetoric, and dialogue
developed in this period.[66]

The Hellenistic period saw the literary epicentre of the Greek world move
from Athens, where it had been in the classical period, to Alexandria. At
the same time, other Hellenistic kings such as the Antigonids and the
Attalids were patrons of scholarship and literature, turning Pella and
Pergamon respectively into cultural centres.[67] It was thanks to this
cultural patronage by Hellenistic kings, and especially the Museum at
Alexandria, which ensured that so much ancient Greek literature has
survived.[68] The Library of Alexandria, part of the Museum, had the
previously-unenvisaged aim of collecting together copies of all known
authors in Greek. Almost all of the surviving non-technical Hellenistic
literature is poetry,[69] and Hellenistic poetry tended to be highly
intellectual,[70] blending different genres and traditions, and avoiding
A scene from the Iliad: Hypnos and
linear narratives.[71] The Hellenistic period also saw a shift in the ways
Thanatos carrying the body of
literature was consumed while in the archaic and classical periods Sarpedon from the battlefield of
literature had typically been experienced in public performance, in the Troy; detail from an Attic white-
Hellenistic period it was more commonly read privately.[72] At the same ground lekythos, ca. 440 BC.
time, Hellenistic poets began to write for private, rather than public,
consumption.[73]

With Octavian's victory at Actium in 31 BC, Rome began to become a major centre of Greek literature, as important
Greek authors such as Strabo and Dionysius of Halicarnassus came to Rome.[74] The period of greatest innovation in
Greek literature under Rome was the "long second century" from approximately 80 AD to around 230 AD.[75] This
innovation was especially marked in prose, with the development of the novel and a revival of prominence for display
oratory both dating to this period.[76]

Music and dance

Music was present almost universally in Greek society, from marriages and funerals to religious ceremonies, theatre,
folk music and the ballad-like reciting of epic poetry. There are significant fragments of actual Greek musical notation
as well as many literary references to ancient Greek music. Greek art depicts musical instruments and dance. The word
music derives from the name of the Muses, the daughters of Zeus who were patron goddesses of the arts.

Science and technology

Ancient Greek mathematics contributed many important developments to
the field of mathematics, including the basic rules of geometry, the idea of
formal mathematical proof, and discoveries in number theory,
mathematical analysis, applied mathematics, and approached close to
establishing integral calculus. The discoveries of several Greek
mathematicians, including Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes, are still
used in mathematical teaching today.

The Greeks developed astronomy, which they treated as a branch of

mathematics, to a highly sophisticated level. The first geometrical, three-
The Antikythera mechanism was an dimensional models to explain the apparent motion of the planets were
analog computer from 150100 BC developed in the 4th century BC by Eudoxus of Cnidus and Callippus of
designed to calculate the positions Cyzicus. Their younger contemporary Heraclides Ponticus proposed that
of astronomical objects.
the Earth rotates around its axis. In the 3rd century BC Aristarchus of
Samos was the first to suggest a heliocentric system. Archimedes in his
treatise The Sand Reckoner revives Aristarchus' hypothesis that "the fixed stars and the Sun remain unmoved, while
the Earth revolves about the Sun on the circumference of a circle". Otherwise, only fragmentary descriptions of
Aristarchus' idea survive.[77] Eratosthenes, using the angles of shadows created at widely separated regions, estimated
the circumference of the Earth with great accuracy.[78] In the 2nd century BC Hipparchus of Nicea made a number of
contributions, including the first measurement of precession and the compilation of the first star catalog in which he
proposed the modern system of apparent magnitudes.

The Antikythera mechanism, a device for calculating the movements of planets, dates from about 80 BC, and was the
first ancestor of the astronomical computer. It was discovered in an ancient shipwreck off the Greek island of
Antikythera, between Kythera and Crete. The device became famous for its use of a differential gear, previously
believed to have been invented in the 16th century, and the miniaturization and complexity of its parts, comparable to
a clock made in the 18th century. The original mechanism is displayed in the Bronze collection of the National
Archaeological Museum of Athens, accompanied by a replica.

The ancient Greeks also made important discoveries in the medical field. Hippocrates was a physician of the Classical
period, and is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is referred to as the
"father of medicine"[79][80] in recognition of his lasting contributions to the field as the founder of the Hippocratic
school of medicine. This intellectual school revolutionized medicine in ancient Greece, establishing it as a discipline
distinct from other fields that it had traditionally been associated with (notably theurgy and philosophy), thus making
medicine a profession.[81][82]

Art and architecture

The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times to
the present day, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was
largely derived from Greek models. In the East, Alexander the Great's conquests initiated several centuries of
exchange between Greek, Central Asian and Indian cultures, resulting in Greco-Buddhist art, with ramifications as far
as Japan. Following the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards of Greek art
inspired generations of European artists. Well into the 19th century, the classical tradition derived from Greece
dominated the art of the western world.

Religion and mythology

Greek mythology consists of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks
concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins
and significance of their religious practices. The main Greek gods were the
twelve Olympians, Zeus, his wife Hera, Poseidon, Ares, Hermes,
Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, and Dionysus. The Temple of Hera at Selinunte,
Sicily
Other important deities included Hebe, Hades, Helios, Hestia, Persephone
and Heracles. Zeus's parents were Cronus and Rhea who also were the
parents of Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia, and Demeter.

Legacy
The civilization of ancient Greece has been immensely influential on
language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, science, and the arts. It
became the Leitkultur of the Roman Empire to the point of marginalizing
native Italic traditions. As Horace put it,

Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit et artis / intulit Mount Olympus, home of the
agresti Latio (Epistulae 2.1.156f.) Twelve Olympians
"Captive Greece took captive her uncivilised conqueror
and instilled her arts in rustic Latium."

Via the Roman Empire, Greek culture came to be foundational to Western culture in general. The Byzantine Empire
inherited Classical Greek culture directly, without Latin intermediation, and the preservation of classical Greek
learning in medieval Byzantine tradition further exerted strong influence on the Slavs and later on the Islamic Golden
Age and the Western European Renaissance. A modern revival of Classical Greek learning took place in the
Neoclassicism movement in 18th- and 19th-century Europe and the Americas.

See also
Outline of ancient Greece

Regions of ancient Greece

Outline of ancient Rome
Outline of ancient Egypt
Outline of classical studies

Regions in Greco-Roman antiquity

Classical demography
History of science in classical antiquity

References
Notes

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A27). BRILL. pp. 2750. ISBN 978-90-04-08846-7. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
2. Maura Ellyn; Maura McGinnis (2004). Greece: A Primary Source Cultural Guide (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=N69iOTtVHGYC&pg=PT8). The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-8239-3999-2.
 3. John E. Findling; Kimberly D. Pelle (2004). Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement (https://books.google.
com/books?id=QmXi_-Jujj0C&pg=PR23). Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-313-32278-5.
4. Wayne C. Thompson; Mark H. Mullin. Western Europe, 1983 (https://books.google.com/books?id=serMXIpALD0
C). Stryker-Post Publications. p. 337. "for ancient Greece was the cradle of Western culture ..."
5. Osborne, Robin (2009). Greece in the Making: 1200479 BC. London: Routledge. p. xvii.
6. Shapiro 2007, p. 1
7. Shapiro 2007, pp. 23
8. Hadas, Moses (1950). A History of Greek Literature (https://books.google.com/books?id=dOht3609JOMC&pg=PA
273&dq=%22end+of+antiquity%22+%2B+%22529%22#v=onepage&q=%22end%20of%20antiquity%22%20%2
B%20%22529%22&f=false). Columbia University Press. p. 273. ISBN 0-231-01767-7.
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d=IUNxvi0kbd8C&dq=). Routledge, 1995. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-415-11770-8.
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11. Sealey, Raphael (1976). A history of the Greek city states, ca. 700338 B.C (https://books.google.com/?id=kAvbh
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19. Martin 2013, p. 127
20. Martin 2013, p. 128
21. Martin 2013, pp. 1289
22. Martin 2013, p. 131
23. Martin 2013, p. 131
24. Martin 2013, p. 131
25. Martin 2013, pp. 1313
26. Martin 2013, pp. 1346
27. Martin 2013, pp. 1378
28. Martin 2013, p. 140
29. Martin 2013, pp. 13741
30. Martin 2013, p. 147
31. Martin 2013, p. 142
32. Martin 2013, p. 147
33. Martin 2013, p. 147
34. Martin 2013, p. 147
35. Martin 2013, p. 149
36. Hornblower 2011, p. 160
37. Hornblower 2011, p. 160
38. Hornblower 2011, p. 162
39. Hornblower 2011, p. 162
40. Hornblower 2011, p. 163
41. Martin 2013, pp. 1989
42. Martin 2013, p. 200
43. Hornblower 2011, p. 177
44. Martin 2013, pp. 2023
45. Hornblower 2011, pp. 1869
46. Martin 2013, p. 205
47. Hornblower 2011, p. 189
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50. The Cambridge Ancient History: The fourth century B.C. (https://books.google.com/books?id=vx251bK988gC&pg
=RA6-PA750&dq=ancient+macedon&lr=&hl=bg#PRA6-PA719-IA4,M1) edited by D.M. Lewis et al. I E S Edwards,
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59. Kirk 1985, p. 44
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Bibliography

Bowersock, G. W. (1985). "The literature of the Empire". In Easterling, P. E.; Knox, Bernard M. W. The Cambridge
History of Classical Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bulloch, A. W. (1985). "Hellenistic Poetry". In Easterling, P. E.; Knox, Bernard M. W. The Cambridge History of
Classical Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Handley, E. W. (1985). "Comedy". In Easterling, P. E.; Knox, Bernard M. W. The Cambridge History of Classical
Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hornblower, Simon (2011). The Greek World: 479323 BC (4 ed.). Abingdon: Routledge.
Kirk, G. S. (1985). "Homer". In Easterling, P. E.; Knox, Bernard M. W. The Cambridge History of Classical
Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Knig, Jason (2016). "Literature in the Roman World". In Hose, Martin; Schenker, David. A Companion to Greek
Literature. John Wiley & Sons.
Martin, Thomas R. (2013). Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times (2 ed.). New Haven: Yale
University Press.
McGlew, James (2016). "Literature in the Classical Age of Greece". In Hose, Martin; Schenker, David. A
Companion to Greek Literature. John Wiley & Sons.
Mori, Anatole (2016). "Literature in the Hellenistic World". In Hose, Martin; Schenker, David. A Companion to
Greek Literature. John Wiley & Sons.
Power, Timothy (2016). "Literature in the Archaic Age". In Hose, Martin; Schenker, David. A Companion to Greek
Literature. John Wiley & Sons.

External links
The Canadian Museum of CivilizationGreece Secrets of the Past (http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/
greece/gr0000e.shtml)
Ancient Greece (http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk) website from the British Museum
Economic history of ancient Greece (https://web.archive.org/web/20060502201333/http://eh.net/encyclopedia/arti
cle/engen.greece)
The Greek currency history (http://www.fleur-de-coin.com/currency/drachma-history)
Limenoscope (http://www.limenoscope.ntua.gr/index.cgi?lan=en), an ancient Greek ports database
The Ancient Theatre Archive (http://www.whitman.edu/theatre/theatretour/home.htm), Greek and Roman theatre
architecture
Illustrated Greek History (http://people.hsc.edu/drjclassics/lectures/history/history.shtm), Dr. Janice Siegel,
Department of Classics, HampdenSydney College, Virginia

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