Historical Look: Greek Antiquity

After my 3 days in Greece, I came back most inspired by Greek history than the other countries I visited. It's nothing against Sweden or Belgium, and certainly not against England as I have written numerous times about British history,. I suppose I just felt overdue for a better understanding and appreciation of Greek history.

I have always been very fascinated with Greek culture, history, and mythology. As a matter of fact, the first of my cultural studies on this blog was on Greece; see (Study of Greek Culture). I admire their romantic style that celebrates human beauty thru all components of it's culture. This post will be a study of the historical timeline of Greek Antiquity. I will provide a better understanding on the events and the key people who played a part in shaping one of the most influential cultures in history.

Archaic Period

I think many people will sometimes overlook the fact that the Greek Civilization came before the Roman Empire and played an influential role on their establishment. Today we often consider the Roman Empire as the start of organized civilization, however much of their societal structure was derived from their neighbors in the Mediterranean, the Greeks. And to even go a step further the Greeks were ultimately influenced by the Egyptians. However It was the Greek states that provided a significant shift to a more academic society. This age was a renaissance of philosophy, democracy, theater, art, mythology, stories, architecture, sports, and so much more. For nearly 3 centuries Greece had become the military and cultural power of the world.

During the Archaic Period of Ancient Greece around 800 BC, the region of Greece consisted of city-states known as poleis. Some of these included Athens, Sparta, and Olympia (which became the birthplace of the Olympic Games in the year 776 BC). These ancient Olympic games were the first form of peaceful competition among rival states. They were held to honor the gods (such as Zeus), to celebrate the human body, and probably most importantly to strengthen ties with their neighboring nations. The Olympic games became a cornerstone of Greek and later world culture.

Greco-Persian Wars

By the late 6th century Athens had become the leading power of Greece through it's political dominant structure. Sparta also became a worthy state of Greece well reknown for their military structure. However during this team many of these Greek city-states were still under the influence of the mighty Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great. That all changed in 500 BC, with the Ionian Revolt in Asia Minor that sparked the first of the Greco-Persian Wars.

The first campaign of the Greco-Persian Wars began in 492 BC, when the Persian Armies invaded Macedonia. The Persian Emperor Darius, sent ambassadors to negotiate peace with the Greek states, and all accepted the Persian terms except for Athens and Sparta who killed the ambassadors. At this point the Persian armies continued further into Greece, until they were shockingly defeated at the Battle of Marathon. This became a major turning point for the Greek states, and glorified all the more by the messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta to ask for help. (His run was actually 145 miles but later was settles as 26.2 in the modern Olympic games) This Athenian victory over the Persians marked an end to the 1st of the Greco-Persian Wars.

In 481 BC, the Persians led a 2nd campaign against the Greek-states led by the son of Darius, King Xerxes. His army was believed to have been the greatest army ever assembled, with upwards of 2.5 million soldiers at his command. However the Greek soldiers had superior combat skills as was proved in the famous Battle of Thermopylae. It was here that King Leonidas of Sparta was able to hold the entire Persian army at a mountain pass for seven days, until he was flanked from behind. While this battle became a Persian victory it was ultimately a Greek rally cry.

Following the fall of Athens, the Greek allies were able to push the Persians back in a decisive naval battle at Salamis. At this point King Xerxes fled the campaign leaving his generals in charge. A year later the Greeks assembled one of the largest hoplite armies (spear and shield-men) to finish the Persians off at the Battle of Plataea. Several sea battles along the Agean Sea ensued which were also Greek victories that brought an abrupt end to the 2nd Greco-Persian War. By 479 BC the Greek states had established themselves as a new power in the Mediterranean.

The Delian League

Shortly after the conclusion of the 2nd Greco-Persian War, Athens established the Delian League as a committee of Greek state allies. With Athens at it's center there was between 170 and 330 Greek City states that were members of the association. The purpose was to unite Greece against their greater enemy of Persia. During this period of peace and unity, the Greek region continued to thrive. In 447 the Parthenon was built on the mountain of Acropolis as a temple to Athena and a modern day wonder of Greek culture. This marked a new high point of Greek society, who wanted to commemorate their victories over the Persian invaders.

The Peloponnesian War

However by 431 BC, the Spartans grew frustrated with the Athenian control of the Delian League and a civil war broke out between the Greek city states known as the Peloponnesian War. The Greek city states were thus divided between a Delian League, led by Athens and a Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. The war was fought in three phases of heavy fighting, beginning with the Archidamian War, in which the Athenians were able to suppress Spartan aggression at the Peace of Nicias in 421. However the fighting continued in the Peloponnesian region and the Athenian armies sent large forces towards Sparta who were eventually crushed.

By 413 BC in what became the third and final phase of the war, known as the Decelean War, the Spartans were aided by the Persians with a strengthened offensive. It was in 405 BC, at the Battle of Aegospotami that the Athenians were defeated by the Spartan commander Lysander. At this point Athens became a small state of subjection, with Sparta as the center-piece of Greek society. However Sparta quickly proved that it was more of a military state and not quite cut out for a political role.

The Rise of Macedonia

Sparta quickly lost allies due to it's new relations with Greek enemy, Persia.  Sparta was once again challenged at the Corinthian War in 395 which ended in a stalemate yet more lost territory for Greece.  By this point Greek unification began to wither into seperate empires and kingdoms.By 371 BC, Thebes emerged as the new power of Greece for a while, yet was also short-lived. This then gave way to the new rising power of Macedon that would ultimately end the age of Greek antiquity. It was Philip II who had established a new super power in the northern regions of Greece and by 359 BC had declared himself King of Macedonia.

Philip's son Alexander, whom was taught by Aristotle, went on to lead one of the greatest military campaigns in history. From 336 to 323 BC Alexander went on to conquer all of Persia, Asia, India, and the eastern lands to establish a new Macedonian Empire. With the death of Alexander in 323 BC, this ultimately marked the end of Greek antiquity and gave way to a new Hellenistic Period in Greek history, where the Romans had now become the driving force of the Mediterranean region.

Famous Greek Temples

• Temple of Zeus
• Built in 470 BC
• Completed in 457 BC
• Located in Olympus, Greece
• Temple to Zeus
• Parthenon 
  
• Built in 447 BC
• Completed in 434 BC
• Located in Athens, Greece
• Temple to Athena
• Erechteum
• Built in 421 BC
• Completed in 406 BC
• Located in Athens, Greece
• Temple to Athena and Poseidon
• Temple of Hephastus
• Built in 449 BC
• Completed in 415 BC
• Located in Athens, Greece
• Temple to Hephastus
• Temple of Poseidon
• Built in 444 BC
• Completed in 440 BC
• Located in Cape Sounion, Greece
• Temple to Poseidon

Famous Greek Philosophers

• Dmocritus
• 490-370 BC
• Metaphysics, Mathematics, Astronomy
• Notable ideas: Atomic theory of the Universe, Milky Way as a concentration of distant stars
• Socrates
  
• 470-399 BC
• Ethics, Epistemology
• Notable ideas: Socratic method; disctinction between good and justice; Socratic Irony: "I know that I know nothing"
• Plato
• 428-348 BC
• Metaphysics, Ethics, Politics, Epistemology
• Notable ideas: Platonic Philosophy
• Notable works: Apology, Phaedo, Symposium, Republic
• Aristotle
• 384-322 BC
• Physics, Metaphysics, Psychology, Logic, Ethics, Politics
• Notable Ideas: Theory of the soul, virtue ethics, problem of future contingents
• Epicurus
• 341-270 BC
• Physics, Ethics, Epistemology 
• Notable ideas: Pleasure principle, moving-static pleasures disctinction

Famous Greek Writers

• Homer
• Approx 800-700 BC
• Wrote the two epic poems of Greek mythology and the foundation of Greek literature
• Notable works:
• The Illiad
• The Odyessy
• Hesiod
• Approx 750-650 BC
• Wrote several epic poems on Greek mythology, as well as contributions to farming techniques, early economic theories, astronomy, and time-keeping
• Notable works:
• Theogony
• Works and Days
• Sappho
• 630-570 BC
• Poet from Island of Lesbos, known for her lyric musical poetry accompanied with the lyre
• Notable works:

• Ode to Aphrodite
• Brothers Poem
• Alceaus
• 620-550 BC
• Lyric poet from the island of Lesbos; credited with invention of Alcaic stanza; alleged lover of Sappho
• Notable works:
• Drinking Poem
• Hymns
• Pindar
• 522-443 BC
• Lyric poet from the island of Thebes
• Notable works:
• Victory Ode
• Songs of Praise
• Songs for Maidens
• Aeschylus
• 523-456 BC
• Famous Playwright; Often considered the father of tragedy
• Notable works:
• The Persians
• Seven Against Thebes
• The Suppliants
• The Oresteia
• Prometheus Bound 
• Sophocles

• 497-405 BC
• Famous playwright and tragedian from Athens; Wrote over 120 plays
• Notable works:
• Ajax
• Antigone
• The Women of Trachis
• Oedipus Rex
• Electra
• Philoctetes
• Oedipus at Colonus
• Euripides
• 480-406 BC
• Famous playwright/tragedian from Athens; Credited with 95 plays
• Notable works:
• Bacchae
• Iphigenia at Aulis
• Hippolytus
• Alcestis
• The Trojan Women
• Medea
• Aristophanes
• 486-386 BC
• Comic playwright from Athens; often considered the Father of Old Comedy
• Notable works:
  
• The Acharnians
• The Knights
• The Clouds
• The Wasps
• Peace
• The Birds
• Lysistrata
• Thesmophoriazusae
• The Frogs
• Ecclesiazusae
• Wealth
• Menander
• 342-290 BC
• Dramatist writer known for the Athenian style of New Comedy; wrote 108 comedies
• Notable works:
• Dyskolos
• Samia
• Apollonius of Rhodes
• 290-210 BC
• Best known for his epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece; which has become a staple of Greek mythology
• Notable works:
• Argonautica