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Ancient Greece
The ancient greek civilization starts around 3200 BC with the Cycladic civilization [followed by the Minoan (2700 BC) and the Mycenean civilization (1600 BC)] and flourished from the 7th century BC to the 2nd century AD, especially in the 5th century BC with the city-states of Athens and Sparta.
10,833 Questions
Why was mythology important to the ancient Greeks?
Myth is a traditional stories about their gods. Epics is a long narrative poem celebrating the deeds of legendry or traditional heroes. Through the myths the greeks sought to understand the mysteries of natureband the power of human passions. A greek could display this ideal on the battle field in combat or in athletic contests on the playing field.
What kind of laws did the oligarchs pass in ancient Greece?
they included laws that were fair to alll
How did the ancient Greeks contribute to democracy?
They had an experiment in direct democracy in the 5th Century BCE. It reached it's peak in the second half of that cemtury in Athens as a direct democracy - that is the citizens gathered each fortnight and gave directions to the Council and passed laws put before them. It was not very successful as the people were easily deluded by orators leading them up false paths, and into a disastrous 27-year war with the Peloponnesian League which they lost. The people began to lose interest in it, and more autocratic forms of government returned.
To day we have representative democracy, electing representatives to parliament as the ability to get the populace together is impracticable in most countries.
They produced the idea, but we implement it in a quite different way, and often not all that successfully. The general feeling in ancient Greece was that a well-conducted oligarchy was a better form of government than a democracy where the people were manipulated. Not much different from today.
What did ancient Greece use to travel?
Ancient Greeks used to travel on foot because they were whell trained but if the distances where too long they used horses.
The ancient Greeks used to travel on foot because they were well trained.They used to travel very long distances for example 500 km so they had some places or sth like hotels to rest.But going on foot such a long trip was exausting so sometimes they used horses or even took them why they were travelling on foot so when they couldn`t walk any more they ride them to continue there trip. they also rode in chariots.
What was religion like in Athens?
Greek people are very strict about religion. Most people of Greece follow one religion and one religion only that is certainly the Greek Orthodox religion. Us Greeks worship God at our beautiful Church, God's home were a lot of us visit every Sunday. Although there are a lot of us that do not visit every Sunday we are all very passionate about our love for God. We have special days such as Name Days, Greek Easter ( which is called Greek Easter because it is on a different day to regular Easter) The Elevation Of Our Holy Cross and Christmas. This great religion was created over a thousand years ago but no, it was not brought to Earth by Jesus but it was brought by the Apostils and people like John the Baptist and Moses. Jesus was the man, the God that defined us about the world and about him. To this day Christianity is the biggest religion in the world and in my opinion it is a great religion but I not forcing people to agree with me. Also in my opinion I believe for the reasons I have stated that Greece has chosen this beautiful, pure religion for my current reasons.
How was the roman culture changed by contact with the Hellenistic of Greece?
Several Greek city-states established colonies (settlements) in southern Italy and Sicily in the 8th and 7th century BC, presumably due to insufficient land to support population growth in the homeland. Being a more advanced civilisation, their arrival had a big impact on all the Italic peoples they came in contact with during the archaic (early) period. This led, among other things, to the adoption and adaptation of the western Greek alphabet by all Italic peoples, including the Latins and the Romans (the Romans were Latins).
Etruscan civilisation arose out of trade with and influence by these Greeks in what has been called the orientalising period; a term which refers to a period when Greek art was influenced by motifs from their east/orient, notably Syria and Egypt. The wealth which gave rise to Etruscan civilisation came from their mines and selling their metals to the Greeks. The Etruscans imported Greek manufactures, particularly pottery. They also adapted and adopted the orientalised style for their own pottery.
The Italic peoples also adopted stone houses and temples and the columns used to support roofs or for porticoes of the Greeks. Recent archaeological finds have shown that the archaic Latins were also involved in this process described above and that there was influence by the Greeks of Cumae (a Greek city near Naples, some 125 miles south of Rome) as well as the Etruscan neighbours.
Very early Roman religion was influenced by the Sabines and the Etruscans. The Sabines were part of the early population of Rome. The foundation of Rome involved a fusion between the Latins and the Sabines who lived on the Seven Hills of Rome. The second king of Rome was a Sabine from the nearby land of the Sabines. He laid the foundation of archaic (early) Roman religion (which then decayed). The Etruscans were Rome's next door neighbours.
The biggest influence on Roman religion was the Greeks. Originally it came for the colonies (settlements) the Greeks established in southern Italy and Sicily from the 8th and 7th century BC. Then with the beginning of contacts with mainland Greece, there was also influence for that part of the Greek world.
Already the 6th century BC the Romans started using the books of the Sibylline who were Greek oracles, some of whom lived in Greek city of Cumae in in southern Italy, just 125 moles south of Rome. They also adopted the Greek god Apollo, who was an oracular god (that is he was the god of the oracles) and built the Temple of Apollo Medicus (the doctor) in in 431. BC. Apollo's son, who mediated Apollo's association with medicine and healing, was also adopted. The Senate was instructed to build a temple in his honour by the Sybil oracles in 293 BC. The Romans also procured a statue of him from Greece. The Romans also adopted the Greek twin gods Castor and Pollux and the mythology associated with them by the late 5th century. They turned Heracles, the Greek mythological hero (whom they called Hercules) into a god because he was said to have killed Cacus, a fire-breathing giant who was terrorising the Roman countryside during his 10th labour and founded an altar of Hercules. During the Second Punic War (218-202 BC) they 'imported' Cybele (whom they called Magna Mater, Great Mother) a Greek goddess because the books of the Sibyl oracles said that with this Rome could defeat Carthage. Besides adopting some Greek gods, at one point the Romans linked their gods to the Greek gods and their associated mythologies
With contact with mainland Greece, there was also influence from this part of the Greek world. The first professional teachers in Rome were Greeks. The children of the rich received an education in both Latin and Greek and were fluent in Greek. The pinnacle of their education was a stay in Greece to study Greek philosophy. From Augustus onwards, the Romans modelled their statues on the Hellenistic ones. They also copied and modelled statues on those of the great classical sculptors of Greece. They adopted Greek medicine and Greek sports. They adopted and greatly improved on the Greek cranes and the ballista (a crossbow-like) catapult. Latin tragedies and comedies and theatre were based on the Greek ones. Roman theatre architecture was inspired by that of the Greeks. However, whilst the seating of Greek theatres were always built on hillsides, the Romans also built theatres with their own foundations which could be built on flat land.
What skills did rich Athenian boys learn in a school?
They began with the usual 3 Rs - reading, riting and rithmetic, then could move on to philosophy/science, literature or arts.
Miltiades the Elder (died c. 524 BCE) wealthy Athenian, and step-uncle of Miltiades the Younger Miltiades the Younger (c. 550 - 489 BCE), tyrant of the Thracian Chersonese; took part in the Battle of Marathon Pope Miltiades (died 314), African saint and pope
Why in 431 BC did Sparta and other city-states join forces against Athens to fight the war?
After the Persian War, Athens turned the 180 city-states it had led against the Persian Empire into an empire of its own. It then tried to use this power to dominate other city-states. The final straw was when it tried to bankrupt its neighbour Megara, which belonged to the Dorian Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Megara asked for help, Sparta demanded Athens back off, Athens continued and the devastating 27-year Peloponnesian War followed.
The Greeks invented the idea of democracy. However, their concept of democracy was different. Nowadays we have indirect democracy, which means that the people elect representatives of the people and it is them who vote on bills. The Greek had direct democracy, which means that it was the people themselves, gathered in the assembly of the people, who voted on bills. Demorcacy means power by the people in Greek.
Both the Greeks and the Romans had the concept of citizenship and the idea that citizens had rights. During the Roman Republic and in the Greek democracies, this included the right to vote. It has to be noted that not all Greek states had democracies and in that other states (such as kingdoms, oligarchies and tyrannies) there was no voting. During the period of rule by emperors which followed the Roman Republic the people no longer voted and there was absolute rule by emperors.
During the Roman Republic there was also the power of veto. The idea for American veto system came from the Romans.
What effect did the geographic setting have on the greek civilization that grew there?
Geography had a profound effect on the early civilization (and also later) of Greece in the ancient world. With the rugged land-terrain preventing easy unification or domination by any one group, distinct Greek populations were forced to for themselves and develop according to their own particular conditions and inspirations. Thus, great variety was possible, which gave rise to distinct accomplishments of distinct kinds. Further, the dominance of water around Greece and its many islands forced the Greeks to become outstanding sea-farers. This skill enabled them to defend themselves from invasion and spread their culture to the far corners of the Mediterranean Basin.
What did Greek city states have in common?
The Helenistic culture, which is the language, religion, etc.
- That's after Alexander the Great..
Greek City State
The ancient Greeks shared a common language, culture, and religion. They considered anyone who did not speak Greek a barbarian. Although the Greek people had much in common, they were also very independent of each other. They took great pride in what city-state (also known as a polios) they belonged to. A city-state was an independently ruled city with its own laws, customs, money, and army. A Greek citizen's loyalty was directed to his city-state. These city-states often made alliances with other cities, forming into leagues, confederations, or federations while maintaining an independent identity. When the very rocky landscape around a city no longer supported the growing population, they sent people to start colonies in other areas along the Mediterranean Sea.
What city's are in Ancient Greece?
In Ancient Greece there were city states that had a variety of political systems like democratic [Athens at Classical Era], oligarchy [Thebes], monarchy [Sparta, Macedonia, Epirus, Thrace etc..]
Why did the people of Ancient Greece worship the gods and goddesses?
They probably didn't spend "so much time" when you compare them to us today and our view of how much is appropriate and the Greeks and their view.
The ancient Greeks spent an appropriate amount of time (to their minds) building temples and worshipping their gods. They, after all, had a lot of gods to keep happy and had a lot of free slave labour to do the work. Keep in mind that the Greek gods really didn't care about the people as the present Judeo-Christian god is thought to do. You had to do a lot of work to get their praise and attention, and avoid their wrath.
As far as the Greeks being excessive, the christian cathedrals and churches of Europe and the Americas are certainly numerous and opulent (e.g. The Vatican) and the mosques of Islamic countries and the Americas are in large numbers and just as well appointed. As far as devoting excessive time to worship, the whole economy of Christendom used to drag to a halt at least one day a week for sure and for dozens of special celebrations like Easter and Christmas every year. In Muslim countries there are calls to prayer five times a day that stop all activity - business and otherwise - and the observation of the Eids causes massive changes in lifestyle.
Why were many Greeks poli unhappy with Athens in the years preceding the peoloponnesian war?
The Greeek Poli was unhappy with the Athens in the preceding years of the Peloponnesian War because the Athens became the supreme naval power in Grece. It created the Delian League to ward off possible Persian attacks. ... This power made the Athenian policy makers arrogant and intolerant with other city-states; creating a discontent of the Greek Polis.
Tyranny
Why did king Darius become angry with the Greeks?
When the Ionian Greek cities in Asia Minor revolted, he put down the revolt in a 7 year operation, and installed local Greek tyrants to keep them under control.
The revolt was supported from mainland Greece by Eretria and Athens who sent contingents to help. These were involved in an expedition which burnt down the Persian provincial capital Sardis, and destroyed the gods in the city.
Persia resolved to punish this and sent an amphibious force to capture them and install locals as tyrants, again to keep them quiet in the future. When this expedition was defeated at Marathon, the Persian king decided to get control of mainland Greece to keep them all quiet. This was done by gaining control of the cities in central Greece by bribery, then a major expedition was mounted to capture the southern cities.
This invasion failed at the battles of Salamis, Plataia and Mycale. The fighting went on for a further 20 years, until the Persians got tired of this and agreed to leave the Greeks alone to continue their usual fighting amongst each other.
So after 50 years of warfare, neither Greeks nor Persians had any love for each other.
What are some ways ancient Greek culture is reflected in todays society?
We still use many of the Olympic events that were used in Ancient Greece.
The Olympics was very special to the Ancient Greeks as it was a huge event that happened only once every four years. The Olympics brought men together so it was easier for the Greeks to trade or invest politically, food and product trade. The Olympics also held a religious value as some was based around religion. Also it was a chance to show off Greece to foreign travellers.
How were the people of ancient Greece affected by the geography of their homelands?
The Greece's landforms separated many communities from each other so each developed their own customs and beliefs. Each believing it's own land, traditions, and way of life were the best. Even though they all shared a common heritage, spoke the same language, and worshipped the same gods.
God is eternal. Eternal implies Infinity. So, that be it.
