answersLogoWhite

0

🤝

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

Were Greek mythology titans gods created by anything or did they just create the human race?

The titans were indeed created by 'something'. according to the greek myths, in the beginningwere primordial forces. Accounts may differ , but Chaos is widely accepted as the first. Gaia, the Earth, came next, and Eros and Tartaros may also have sprung into existence at around the same time.

Gaia was the great mother, Earth, who created and then mated with the heavens (Ouranos) and the sea (Pontos).

From her union with Ouranos came the Hecatonchires (hundred-handers: Kottos, Briareos, and Gyes), the three cyclops (Brontes, Sterope, and Arges), and the Titans (Cronus, Rhea, Cruis, Coeus, Phoebe, Oceanus, Tethys, Hyperion, Thea, Iapetus, Mnemosyne, and Themis). The Titan Cronus then killed his father, and then mated with Rhea and created the first Olympian gods (Zeus, Hera, Posiedon, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia). Zeus then killed his father Cronus, battled with the rest of the titans and won. Then Zeus and his wife/sister Hera mated and had the rest of the twelve Olympian gods and others, and they had children etcetera.

Did the conquests of Alexander the Great have a significant impact on ancient Greece?

Of course they had. Alexander the Great as far as the Macedonia kingdom as a whole, were of Greek origins. Alexander's conquests added a significant glory to the history of the Greeks.

What is a prehistory civilization?

One of the keys of civilization is writing. Some historians look at the time before writing as prehistory, and at peoples with organized cultures but without written language as prehistoric civilizations. There were groups of individuals who worked together and formed human networks among other groups all without the benefit of written language. One of the most famous groups of folks are the native Australians, who lived the way they did for something approaching 40,000 years without scrolls or tablets or any written language. A link to the Wikipedia article on prehistory is provided.

How important were the Greek gods to the citizens and what role did religion play in ancient Greek civilization?

Greek life centered around religion, and every problem had a god or goddess to fix it. The great majority of the Greek oral tradition was about the gods. The intricate mythologies of the Greeks were created by the human desire to better understand the surrounding world. Example: the idea that Zeus was responsible for lightning. The Greeks disn't have wikipedia so a lot of what they didn't understand became explainable by the gods.

Addition:

There were two aspects - the mystery cults and the general religion.

The cults were generally carryovers of more primitive religious practices, associated with either an older earth-goddess (eg Demeter/Persephone) or a later sky-god (eg Appollo). The oracle of Delphi was a fusion of both earth and sky gods. These cults often offered the keys to an after-life, but were expensive and restricted to a comparatively few initiates. From these and others in the Middle East arose such later mystery cults as Mithraism, Isis and Christianity, which travelled from their original cult centres and so became widely accessible.

The general religion was based on sky gods, which is natural as they came with the nomadic Greeks when they took over from the earlier agricultural peoples and their earth gods. As with the Roman official religion, it was seen as a compact between the state and the gods. The gods were given their due (respect, consultation and sacrifice) and it was hoped that in return they would influence events or give warnings to the benefit of the state and its people. However underlying this was a cynical use of religious practices by leaders to control the people: the priests were of the aristocracy. Nothing has changed today.

In consequence, all significant acts and many personal acts were accompanied by getting oracles, sacrificing and invoking divine intervention or approval. Even the games and theatric performances were part of religious festivals dedicated to gods.

While they had a somewhat ambivalent attitude which could almost be classed as doubt, it was in fact double-think. While they may have made jokes at the gods' expense (buzzing like blowfiles above a sacrifice), they also were meticulous in their practices, and assigned the death penalty for sacrilege (exit Socrates). In an uncertain world of which they knew relatively nothing of physical cause and effect, the gods and myths provided answers of the unknowable, non-understandable and unpredictable.

The fact that so many today, in a world where scientific knowledge explains all this, still cling to extreme religious beliefs is an indication that superstition was and is hard-wired into our minds as an evolutionary advantage. The Greeks did what so many do today, just with differently-named gods and rituals.

Where did the Spartans conquer the Messenians?

Messenia was in the southwest of the Peloponnesian Peninsula in southern Greece. Sparta was to the east. The Spartans decided to extend their territory and moved into Messenia and successfully conquered it. Having taken over the land, they made the population into serfs, that is the serfs farmed the land and turned over half their produce to Sparta, which allowed the Spartans to devote their time to military training and activities, and keeping control of the restive serfs.

Was Athenian Democracy effective?

Athens' democracy consisted mostly of the occasional plebiscite, comparable with today's referendum. Only freeborn male citizens could participate; women were considered mere 'possessions' of their husbands or fathers who had power of even life and death over them. There were no 'democratic' institutions. The plebiscites mentioned above were usually carefully orchestrated. Which was easy, because the ordinary citizens of Athens all were 'clients' of one or another important family to which they were loyalty-bound and who they visited on a regular basis to pay their respects or to ask for favors or protection..

In terms of day-to-day government Athens was an Oligarchy, run by the members of a small group of rich and powerful families. The idea of Athens being the 'cradle of democracy' is largely an invention of 19th century poet Lord Tennyson who in this way (and succesfully) drummed up support from Britain and France for Greece's revolution against its Ottoman overlords.

WHAT WERE THE FEATURES OF ALEXANDRIA THAT SHOW IT WAS A CENTER OF HELLENISTIC CULTURE?

The city became submerged in the sea, with only some artefacts recovered. We have to rely on the historical record which describes the efforts of the Ptolemies to establish as the city as the main centre of culture, art, learning and and science.

What effect did the geography of ancient Greece have on it's early development?

It's rugged mountains, poor soils,rivers, sea coasts separated settling tribes who formed separate independent city-states which defended their independence fiercely, resulting in continuing warfare. Their fecundity and limited arable land resulted in over-population, so the surplus were periodically shipped off to seize land in other locations around the Mediterranean and Black Seas, resulting in over 2,000 independent city-states.

How were the acropolis and agora important in a polis?

The acropolis was primarily the high ground which provided a defensive fortress,, and also provided temples for the gods and also a repository for assets placed under protection of the gods.

The agora was a meeting ground which also was used as a market, usually surrounded by public buildings.

What writers in Rome copied Ancient writings?

Ancient Roman writings were not copied by writers in Rome. They were transcribed by monks in monasteries and abbeys dotted around Europe from the 800s and 820s. Charlemagne ordered them to do these transcriptions.

What did Athenians valued?

The Athenians valued many different things that we value today, in the 21st century. They valued balance of mind and body. This means people shouldn't only be a good athlete, but they should also be intelligent. If someone was the strongest person in Athens but was not smart, they would not receive the same fame as someone who was balanced intellectually and physically.

What was a volute krater vase used for?

It was used to mix wine and water. The Greeks usually diluted their wine, and despised those who drank it straight

What did both Xerxes and Darius unsuccessfully try to do?

They attempted to stabilise the Greek world by bringing the warring city-states under control by installing local Greek tyrants to each city-state, with a Persian provincial governor to oversee them.

What does the Greeks sculptor polykleitos statue the spear bearer emphasize?

The Greek sculptor Polykleito's statue, The Spear Bearer, emphasizes the theory of the ideal mathematical proportions of the human body. Polykleito is considered one of the most important sculptors of Classical antiquity.

What did the Persians add to their army ten years after the Battle of Marathon?

Ten years after the Persian defeat at the Battle of Marathon, they planned a better attack. The next landing of the Persians in Greece saw them bring a large and powerful army of infantry and cavalry forces. They also enlisted the aid of hoplites from their Greek allies.The massive Persian cavalry troops well well armed and the Greeks were at a huge disadvantage with virtually no cavalry. The Greeks depended on their heavy infantry and some light infantry as well.

What did the Greeks trade over distant lands?

Trade was unavoidably seaborne as there were no motor vehicles, trains or aeroplanes. Being located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, they naturally traded their surplus produce and goods by sea for those produced by other peoples which they wanted.

What type of democrcy did Athens have?

It started in 508 BCE as a limited democracy for landowners, revrted to oligarchy during the Persian War, was reestablished as a full democracy by Ephialtes in 460 BCE, and after his assassination, became a radical democracy under the leadership of Pericles. After Athens' defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BCE it reverted to a limited democracy.

Why did the Greeks develop colonies in Asia Minor?

Even with constant wars amogst each other, their fuecudity meant that their sparse agricultural land could not suppost a burgeoning population, so the city-states sent shipped out their surplus populations to sieze new land and establish new city-states, stretching around the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

What were the different forms of government of the Greek city-states?

Each city-state was independent. The people who lived in them were fiercely proud of their homes. These city-states had different kinds of government. A monarch or king might rule some. A family of nobles might rule a few. A few wealthy merchants might rule others. Also, the idea of a government made of representatives chosen by the people took hold in some city-states. The most prominent of these city-states was Athens.

What was the struggle of the Greek-Speaking world faced in uniting all of Greece into one political unit?

There was no attempt by the over 2,000 independent city-states to unite. The reality was that they each greatly valued their own independence and fought endlessly to maintain it. They united in various and ever-changing groups to oppose other cities and groups. So the struggle was to stay un-united - indepndent, not to be united and be dominated by others in the name of unity.

What philosophies are invented in the Greek Athenian Golden age?

Philosophy was not invented, it evolved as different people proposed different ideas. Philosophy then included what we today call science.

During its so-called golden age, Athens was rich enough to attract philosophers from around the Greek world - including such examples as Euclid (mathematics), Plato (metaphysics, politics, dialectic), Aristotle (ethics, psychology, five elements, motion, optics), Theophrastus (logic, physics, ethics).