Ancient Greek

The civilization of the ancient Greeks grew up around the Aegean Sea and spread through the Greek mainland. At its height it extended to Sicily and Italy on the west, and through Asia Minor and around the end of the Mediterranean Sea to the east and south. The Greek world, called Hellas by the Greeks, was united culturally, but never politically. It was not brought under a single government until it became part of the Roman Empire in the second century B.C.

Greek civilization arose along the shores of the Aegean and Ionian seas. Ancient Greece consisted chiefly of a peninsula that separated the two seas, nearby islands, and the coast of Asia Minor (now part of Turkey).

Greek civilization developed later than that of the Euphrates and Nile valleys, but earlier than that of Rome. Ancient Greece reached its highest point of achievement in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., but its influence remained strong throughout the era of Roman supremacy. The Greeks are the most celebrated people of antiquity because their accomplishments form the basis of Western civilization. Vigorous, adventuresome, and freedom-loving, of strong practicality and great intellectual capacity, they produced art, architecture, literature, drama, and philosophic concepts that have never been surpassed. The Greeks developed the political institution of democracy, established freedom of speech and religion, and founded a system of law defining the rights of citizens. They made major discoveries in astronomy, physics, mathematics, and medicine. The first experimental scientists were Greeks. The Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses, each representing either some part of the universe (such as the sea or the underworld) or some aspect of human life (such as love or war). They believed that these gods frequently intervened in human affairs, and they turned to the gods for aid and revelations. Many Greek myths tell of adventures of the gods and their dealings with humans. The names of the Greek gods and many of the legends about them have survived to become part of Western tradition.

The Greek Mythology

The Greek gods In the Greek mythology, all the Olympics gods were born from the old god of the sky Ouranos and the old god of the earth Gaia. Together they gave birth to the Cyclops and the Titans, among whom Cronos, the time, who married Rha. Cronos and his wife, at their turn, gave birth to children among whom Zeus and Era. Zeus, himself is the father of many Olympic gods but also of many famous heroes.

Ancient Greek history

Ancient Greek history is best picked up after the paleolithic era and during the neolithic period, when the Minoan civilization had successfully established itself primarily on the island of Crete. The Minoans reached their peak during the Bronze age, from around 2700BC to 1450 BC . Traces of previous inhabitants in Greece date back as far as 11,000 BC, but the Minoans, who came from the east, were the first to establish a more complex society. The Minoans are often identified as the true cradle of civilization, showing a high level of organization especially after 1700 BC. The Minoans would spread to islands such as Santorini and Mykonos, and within their villages they began to erect unique palaces that have contributed to ruins found in the Cycladic islands. The Minoans eventually fell near 1100 BC, and during their waning years the Mycenaean civilization was on its way to establishing itself on the Greek mainland. Eventually, the Mycenaeans would dominate most of southern Greece. The Mycenaean period covers ancient Greek history from 1600 BC - 1100BC. The Mycenaeans were based at Mycenaea some 55 miles southwest of Athens on the Peleponnese peninsula, where traces of their civilization can be found today.

The Parthenon.
It is the most important and characteristic monument of the ancient Greek civilization and still remains its international symbol. It was dedicated to Athena Parthenos (the Virgin), the patron goddess of Athens. It was built between 447 and 438 B.C. and its sculptural decoration was completed in 432 B.C. The construction of the monument was initiated by Perikles, the supervisor of the whole work was Pheidias, the famous Athenian sculptor, while Iktinos (or Ictinus) and Kallikrates (Callicrates) were the architects of the building. The temple is built in the Doric order and almost exclusively of Pentelic marble. It is peripteral, with eight columns on each of the narrow sides and seventeen columns on each of the long ones. The central part of the temple, called the cella, sheltered the famous chryselephantine cult statue of Athena, made by Pheidias.

The rest of sculptural decoration, also by Phidias, were completed by 432 BC. The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon is a unique combination of the Doric metopes and triglyphs on the entablature, and the Ionic frieze on the walls of the cella. The metopes depict the Gigantomachy on the east side, the Amazonomachy on the west, the Centauromachy on the south, and scenes from the Trojan War on the north.

The Parthenon, the Doric temple, the pinnacle of Pericles' building programme, is beyond question the building most closely associated with the city of Athens, a true symbol of ancient Greek culture and its universal values.

Ancient Greek Theater

Great theater of Ephesus Greek theater flourished in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BC and had a significant and sustained impact on Western culture as a whole. The center of ancient Greek theater was Athens, where crowds of more than 18,000 people would gather in very large theater to see a play. In ancient Greece, theatre was a very rewarded art. Part of the reason theater was so important is that originally plays were performed to honor Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of harvest and wine. Greeks were always weaving the gods into their stories. Over time, many different gods got in the act, so to speak, especially the 12 Olympians - the major gods of ancient Greece.

The Daily Life of Greek Families

A Greek banquet The Greek society was male dominated only males could be citizens and only upper-class males enjoyed a formal education. Women had few political rights and were expected to stay at home and take care of children. Nevertheless, More than one quarter of the population was made of slaves, usually prisoners captured during the many wars.

Ancient Greek Pottery

Thanks to its durability, pottery is a large part of the archaeological record of Ancient Greece. More than 100,000 vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum, an international research project for ceramic documentation of the classical area, and exerted a great influence on our understanding of Greek society. Greek painted pottery developed very much over time, from the Stone Age to the Hellenistic period, and many styles succeeded. At the Archeological Museum of Milan can be observed two main pottery painting styles: black figures and red figures, corresponding to the middle to late archaic (c.750- c.500 BC) and classical eras (c.500-c. 323 BC). Vase production in Athens stopped around 330-320 BC possibly due to Alexanders control of the city, and had been in slow decline over the 4th century along with the political fortunes of Athens herself.

Sport in Ancient Greece

Amphora, about c. 500 BC. In ancient Greece, there was the tendency to turn everything into an agon: a competition. As a result, a lot of games of all kinds were organized. Especially, the physical athletic competitions were taken very seriously. The most famous of these is the Olympic Games, but there were other games held in other places as well, like the Isthmian Games at Corinth.