Ancient Greek History

There are no fixed timelines for Ancient Greece - many experts believe that this period began a fair time after the culture of the Mycenaeans declined (around about 1100 BC) and ended when the Romans conquered Greece in 146 BC.

It is thought that one of the milestone moments of Ancient Greek history was the democracy that sprang up in Athens in approximately 500 BC. The advances made during the times of the Ancient Greeks are held to have had a major influence of the development of Western civilisation as a whole.

So, some of the innovations of Ancient Greece that have influenced us through the years include:

The notion and practice of democratic government.
The first alphabet that used vowels.
The Trial By Jury system.
The theatre - most theatres to this day will follow the planning styles that the Ancient Greeks developed.
The Olympic Games and the Marathon.
The adoption of Greek architecture.

From this point on the Greeks ruled an empire that spread from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea and became leading lights in philosophy, politics, science, medicine, drama, art, architecture and literature. And, of course, the Olympics saw the Greeks excel in sporting matters as well. The Greek empire was a wealthy one and the Greeks were one of the first civilisations to produce a coin system and to use it for commercial purposes.

However, the Ancient Greeks lived in turbulent times - despite (and often because of) their commitment to democracy at home. During this period of history the Greek empire was often at war. For example, in around 461 BC the Peloponnesian War saw Sparta challenge the Athenians because their democratic system of government was not considered to be acceptable. Athens won this, the first of two Peloponnesian Wars, but lost the second and Sparta took over Athens.

In 336 BC Alexander the Great took control of the Ancient Greek empire and added Persia to it. When he died the empire was divided into three areas although they found it hard to co-exist in harmony which gave the Romans the chance to take over and to pull Ancient Greece into the Roman Empire.