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ANCIENT GREECE Basic Concepts Chronology- Periods
Concepts
Cretian or Minoan Civilization 3000-1450 B.C
Thalassocracy: The Control of neighbouring countries due to the commercial fleet or to the navy. The Minoan Civilization held this power over the river based populations of the Aegean Sea, and they offered them protection in exchange for loyalty and for the payment of taxes. The Legend of the Minotaur probably came about in response to this concept.
Mycenaean Civilization 1600-1200 B.C
War of Troy: A legendary war which involved the sides of with the Trojans. This war inspired two great epic works of the Antiquity: The Iliad and The Odyssey, both composed by the blind poet HOMER.
The dark period 1200-750 B.C
The Alphabet: A System of phonetic writing (in which each symbol is identified with a sound). The Greeks adopted this from the Phoenicians, a people with whom they shared many commercial relations. Before adopting this type of writing they used a syllabic type such as Linear A (Minoan writing – not deciphered (translated)) or Lineal B (Mycenaean writing, deciphered by Sir Arthur Evans.)
Archaic Greece c. VII to VI B.C. (776 B.C date of the celebration of the first Olympics to 499 B.C. start of the Greco-Persian
Polis: This means a City- independent state, under this name is grouped the boundaries of the city and the rustic lands belonging to the citizens and used for agriculture and farming. Each polis had its own political system, its own army and its own way of running its economy. Colony: this is an occupied territory which is administered by a group of people from the city (polis).
Wars (also often called the Persian Wars)
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Athens: Classic Period c. V – c. IV B.C (499 B.C until 338 B.C. the date of the battle of Queronea, in which Athens and all Greece came under the power of King Phillip of Macedonia.
A Democracy: the power is in the hands of the people. The citizens vote in the Assembly (ekklesía) on the proposals of the Council (bulé). They also choose the magistrates who carry out the decisions of the Assembly. Only males born of a mother and a father from Athens could be citizens. Sparta: Oligarchy: the power resides in a small group of people, generally from the same family or social category. The city is governed by: Two kings (diarchy) with religious and civil functions, the Gerousia (γερουσία) was the Spartan council of elders, which was made up of 28 men over the age of sixty , the Ephors were a council of five elected annually, the Apella was the deliberative assembly, every Spartan male full citizen who had completed his thirtieth year was entitled to attend the meetings The Persian Wars (494-479 B.C): Confrontations between the Greeks and the Persians or the Medes, for the control of Asia Minor and for the rest of Greece. At the end of these wars the Greeks after beating the Persians organized. The most important battles were:
In the 1st Persian wars- The Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. In the 2nd Persian wars- The Battle of Termópilas 480 B.C, The Battle of Salamina in 480 B.C, The Battle of Platea, 479 B.C.
The Delian League was an association of Greek city-states under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to defend themselves from the Persians, after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea. they had to provide men, navy and money during war. It was based on the Island of Delos. The war of Peloponnese, (431-404 B.C): Armed conflict between Athens, Sparta and their respective allies. The taking of treasure from the Delian League by Athens caused this war to break out. The war lasted for 27 years and caused political, economic and military waste in Athens. Sparta won the war and led the power in Greece, but the end of
Sparta came ten years later. Hellenistic Period c. IV-II B.C From 338 B. C. until 146 B.C. when Greek territory was annexed to Rome.
Alexander The Great (356-323 B.C): he was the king of Macedonia who extended the borders of Greece to reach the River Indus in India. He conquered Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia. His army was accompanied to all the conquered lands by several scientists and scholars of all the arts which were part of Greek culture and knowledge.
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