Ancient Greek History – very short

With its unique culture, political system, and philosophy, Greece is one of the first settlements of mankind. Ancient Greece is a universe in itself.

The history of Ancient Greece spans from the 8th to the 2nd centuries BCE. During this period, Greek culture began to form, a new Greek alphabet was created based on the Phoenician alphabet, and the first Olympic Games were held.

City-states (polis) were formed, and the aristocracy and merchant class already existed. Sparta was evolving into a militaristic state. In Sparta, which completely conquered a city and subdued its population, every male citizen, regardless of title, had to be a soldier. As a result, Sparta became one of the most powerful states of the era.

In Athens, at the beginning of the 6th century BCE, Solon carried out reforms to eliminate the contradictions between the aristocracy and the population and to improve the living conditions of citizens. Solon, one of the “Seven Sages” of Ancient Greece, laid the foundation for democracy, which would take shape a century later. Solon cancels the debts of the Athenians and abolishes debt slavery. He supports craftsmanship, imposes a ban on the export of grain from Athens, and reforms the monetary system, boosting foreign trade. The new judicial body grants every Athenian the right to be elected. Solon’s reforms cover many areas.

In the 6th century BCE, Athens, Sparta, and Corinth became powerful city-states and even small states. The Greeks began establishing colonies along the shores of the Mediterranean. At the end of the century, democracy was forming in Athens, and the city took its first steps toward the “Golden Age” that would last for a century.

The Classical Period of Ancient Greece begins. During this period, Greece fights for its freedom against the Achaemenids. In 492 BCE, King Darius of Persia decides to strike at Greece, and perhaps the largest army of the ancient world moves towards Athens. However, Greek intellect demonstrates its superiority. In 490 BCE, at the Battle of Marathon, under the leadership of Miltiades, the Greek army, despite being outnumbered, defeats the Persian forces, freeing Greece from the Persians for the next 10 years.

The next attempt is made by Darius’s son, Xerxes. The Persian king once again decides to suppress Greek democracy. However, at the Battle of Salamis, Greek intellect shows its superiority once again. The numerically inferior Greek navy, under the command of Themistocles and Eurybiades, defeats the Persian navy. A year later, the same scenario repeats itself, but this time on land, near the small city of Plataea, where the Greek army once again defeats the Persian army. The Persians are forced to leave the Aegean shores.

As a result of the war, two strengthened Greek cities—Athens and Sparta—transform from allies into rivals. The next century begins with Sparta’s hegemony, but this dominance doesn’t last long. In the north, a new power arises—Philip II of Macedon looks southward. In 338 BCE, at the Battle of Chaeronea, Philip II defeats the united Greek army.

As a result, Sparta, and all of Greece except for it, falls under Macedonian rule. Two centuries later, in 146 BCE, Greece is conquered by the rising western empire—Ancient Rome. With this, the freedom of the Greeks ends. The torch of philosophy, science, and culture now passes from Greece to Rome.

Abdalov David