|  |   | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Century Explorer | BC | AD | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
|
Ancient Greece |
||||||||||||||
| Greece is a land of hard limestone mountains and deep valleys cut almost in two by the Corinthian Gulf. To the east the mainland is continued by islands, to the south by the greater island of Crete. Even including the islands, Greece is a small country that has never had more than a few million inhabitants. However, it has always played an important role in the history of Western civilization. Bound by the Ionian and Aegean seas, the Greeks have long been a maritime people, reliant on maritime trade and mobility to prosper. In ancient Greece central control over every district was difficult because areas were separated from one another by mountains or the sea. |
|
||||||||||||||
|
Geography largely determined the political make-up of ancient Greece, which was composed
of city-states that continually sought to increase their boundaries to accommodate their
inhabitants. The isolated nature of the city-states did not stem the flow of ideas, however,
particularly aesthetic and philosophical ones, and ancient Greece gave rise to a rich tradition of thought.
During the Classical period of Greece's history, Athens reached great heights in politics and culture. This was the period during which Pericles developed his democratic ideas, Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripedes wrote their great tragedies and Socrates and Plato set up their great philosophy schools. Through philosphers such as Socrates the Greeks disseminated ideas about man's existence and search for knowledge. Socrates' questioning philosophy and his belief in the rational human mind guided other philosphers and established a fundamental base to western philosophical thought. The Greeks also had strong political ideas, which would eventually come to influence current democratic ones, that tied in with their philosophical explorations of the human experience-the idea of liberty for the individual also found its representation in political ideology. Just as a Greek inhabitant would have detested the thought of being subjected to external powers, so it was that a man claimed his own circle to allow himself the freedom to do all he was capable of in order to realize his full potential within society. Freedom of speech and freedom of movement were fundamental rights, the belief in freedom sustained by a deep respect for personal honor, nurtured by a love for action. The Greeks also had at their disposal a wonderfully subtle, expressive and adaptable language, and they made full use of it. Poetry was given a high place in the cultural life of the Greeks, evoking as much respect and admiration as the visual arts. A poet, said the philosopher Socrates, was "a light and winged and holy thing." If a person had something important to say he often said it in verse - which would have meant that he said it in song, for almost all Greek poetry was originally sung or spoken with music. |
|||||||||||||||
|
ANCIENT GREECE BLOG:
The Power and Prophecy of the Oracle at Delphi Though oracles were commonplace throughout ancient Greece and Rome, the most famous dwelled at Delphi, a limestone temple on the western face of Mount Parnassus. Built in the 6th century BC, the complex was presided over by a chaste and elderly priestess called the Ptyhia who channeled the “breath” of the sun god Apollo into prophecy. According to legend, Apoll Ancient Greek Government in Athens and Sparta Two particularly interesting periods in Greek history were the Archaic (between 750 B.C. and 500 B.C.) and the Classical periods (between about 500 B.C. and 336 B.C.), which comprise most of the era termed 'Ancient Greece' in the time line of western history. These periods of Greek history are notable because of the achievements in art, architecture, literature, and the so A Brief History of Ancient Greece What historians typically designate as the ancient Greek period are the years between 1000 B.C. and 323 B.C. when Alexander the Great died or through the 3rd century C.E., when the Christian era began. The legacy of Greek civilization was greatly influential to the succeeding Roman Empire and to subsequent western cultures. The Archaic Period and Classical p Ancient Greece: Sowing the Seeds of Western Politics and Culture Greece is a land of hard limestone mountains and deep valleys cut almost in two by the Corinthian Gulf. To the east the mainland is continued by islands, to the south by the greater island of Crete. Even including the islands, Greece is a small country that has never had more than a few million inhabitants. However, it has always played an important role in the history of The Greco-Persian Wars Part V: Battle of Plataea The negotiations continued through the spring, but as summer approached the army of Mardonius was on the move. Sparta was not ready to meet the invader, and the Athenians once more took refuge on their ships, ten months after their return. Mardonius took possession of the city, and this time effectually destroyed it; but as [...]
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
   
|
|||||||||||||||
Historical Revolvers :: Replica Shields :: Automatic Pistols :: Historical Rifles :: Historical Muskets :: Replica Machine Guns :: Battlefield Accessories ::
Replica Statues :: Model Ships :: Crosley Radio :: Ancient Roman Products :: Ancient History Products :: Medieval Products :: Renaissance Products
Colonial History Products :: Pirate Products :: Civil War Products :: World War 1 Products :: World War 2 Products :: Museum Products :: History Products
History Gifts :: 24 Hour Sales :: History Links :: History Affiliate Program :: European Wall Tapestries :: History Gift Ideas :: Egyptian Statues :: Siege Weapons
:: Old West Reenactment Clothing :: Daggers :: Replica Weaponry :: :: Museum Reproductions :: Vintage Typewriters :: :: Authentic Artifacts :: :: Oak Barrels :: Replicas ::