History 1

Six eras

Greek History is very long and big. Here we will present only a few main points. Greek History could be divided into six broad periods; a) before Alexander b) Alexanders' and Hellenistic era c) Roman era d) Byzantine era e) Ottoman era f) New Greek State era. During Roman and Ottoman era, Greece was occupied by foreign rulers, Romans and Ottomans. It was also occupied for sometime towards the end of Byzantine era and for three and a half years during World War II.  

Delphi and Dodona

Most popular archaelogical sites are Acropole, Olympia, Delphi. Ancient Greeks considered the center of the world to be Delphi where the Temple of Apollo was. Pythia was the high Priestess of the Temple. She served as an oracle, giving prophecies that were inspired by Apollo. The name Delphi may have originated from female serpend Delphyne (dracaina) that lived there and was killed by god Apollo. Pythia's name may have derived from male serpend Python (Dragon) or most likely from Pythios which was an epithet of Apollo.

Records of Pythia are as early as 8th century BC. There are indications that the Temple may have existed since 14th centrury BC. During 7th century, Pythia's prophecies gained large acceptance and continued at least till 4th century BC. There were more Temples that had oracles. Although the one in Delphi was the most famous, the oldest was in Dodona, Epirus. According to Herodotus, it dated since 2nd millenium BC. Initially it was devoted to Dione, daughter of Uranus and Gaia, sister of Rhea and mother of Aphrodite. Dione was the feminine form of Zeus. Later, the Temple was devoted to Zeus as well. 

Trojan War

Iliad is a known poem written by Homer. It describes events during Trojan War. Troy was also named Ilion by ancient Greeks. The movie "Troy" is based on Iliad. According to Homer, Greeks fought against Trojans because Paris, prince of Troy, took Helen, queen of Sparta, from her husband Menelaos, king of Sparta. Agamemnon, king of Mycanae and Argos, brother of Menelaos was the commander of the Greek army. Homer's poem is historical fiction but it may have been based on real events. Although Homer may have used his imagination in making the story of Iliad, Trojan war probably happened around 12th or 13th century BC.

Philistines

At that same time, a group of Hellenic seafarers left from some lands in Aegean Sea, probably from Crete. They passed through Cyprus, Minor Asia, Syria and ended in Egypt. They made several attempts to invade into Egypt. In the battle of Delta, in 1176 BC, Pharaoh Ramses III repelled a massive attack of Sea Peoples, as they were named by the Egyptians. They are mentioned in the mortuary temple of Ramses III.

After their unsuccessfull attempts to invade into Egypt, they settled in the coastal area known as Pentapolis which in Greek means Five (Pente) Cities (Polis). These five cities were Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, Ekron and comprised the Philistine state. At that same time Israelites settled in the Judean hill country that was next to Philistia, the land of Philistines.

After some time, they came into conflict. Initially Philistines prevailed due to their superior arm and military organization. The battle between David and Goliath is mentioned in the Book of Samuel. Goliath was a Philistine giant. In 10th century BC, Philistines were defeated by king David, in the battle near the valley of Elah.

At another battle on Mount Gilboa, Philistines defeated Israelites and killed king Saul and his three sons. Subsequently they came under the rule of Assyrians and Babylonians. Eventually they were assimilated and were no longer mentioned as a separate group. The name Palestine is derived from Philistia, the land of Philistines.

Olympic Games

Ancient Olympic games or Ancient Olympics started in 776 BC. They were held every four years at the Panhellenic religious sanctuary of Olympia, dedicated to Zeus. Athletes from all city states participated and Olympic Truce was declared while they lasted. The last recorded Olympic games were in 393 AD. During the reign of Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, a fire burned down the Temple of Olympian Zeus and that probably caused the end of Ancient Olympic games.

City states and tribes

Ancient Greeks did not have a single state until Philip, Alexanders' father, united them under Macedonian rule. Instead they had several city-states and there were alliances among them. Tribes were important for the alliances. Athens and Sparta were initially the strongest cities.  Although they occasionally fought against each other, they united against common enemies. 

There were four main Hellenic tribes; Dorians, Ionians, Achaeans, Aeolians. Dorians were in Sparta, Messinia, Argos, Corinth, Megara, Macedonia, Epirus, Corfu, Lefkada, Illyria, Sicily, Southern Italy, Rhodes, Kos and other places. Ionians were mostly in Attica (Athens), Aegean Islands and Minor Asia. Achaeans were mainly in Achaia and were Aeolians. The rest of Aeolians were in Thessaly and Central (Sterea) Hellas. Generally, Dorians were allies of Spartans and Ionians of Athenians. 

Greco-Persian Wars and 300

Greco-Persian Wars was a series of wars between Hellenic city states and Achaemenid Empire (Persians). They started in 499 BC and lasted till 449 BC. The conflict had started earlier, in 547 BC, when Cyrus conquered the region of Ionia in Minor Asia, inhabited by Greeks. In the battle of Thermopylae, in 480 BC, king Leonidas and 300 Spartans fought against a much larger Persian army.

Initially Leonidas had a total force of approximately 7.000 men from Sparta and other Greek cities, while Persian army is estimated from 70.000 to 300.000 men. Leonidas had intentionally chosen to give the fight in the narrow pass of Thermopylae. His strategy was initially successful because Greek forces were able to hold their lines.

Ephialtes, a Spartan traitor, showed Persians a secret path and led them behind Leonidas' forces. When this happened, Leonidas sent away all other Greek troops except the 300 Spartans. Thebans and Thespians refused to leave. Leonidas and every man who remained died in battle. This historic event is presented in the movie "300".

Peloponnesian and Delian Leagues

Sparta and Athens were the strongest city states. From 550 to 540 BC, Sparta formed separate treaties with most city states in Peloponnese and these created Peloponnesian League, a group of city-states led by Sparta. The Delian League was a confederacy of 150 - 330 city states led by Athens. It was founded in 478 BC, on the island of Delos, which would be the meeting place of the League.

The initial purpose of Delian League was to continue fighting Pesian Empire. There was another reason for Delian League, the rivalry between Athens and Sparta which were the strongest city - states in Hellas. Sparta had superior military organization. Sparta was a land power and Athens was a naval power. Athens had superior civilization than Sparta. It is the birthplace of Democracy. 

Both Leagues were trying to get on their side king Perdiccas of Macedonia. Macedonians were Dorians, probably from Argos. Founders of Macedonian kingdom were the Argead dynasty in which Philip II and Alexander the Great belonged. So, initially Macedonians became allies of Sparta but later made a treaty with Athens. On the contrary, Thracians, the Odrysian kingdom, joined Athens and Delian League.

Thracians

Thracians were not considered Hellenes at that time but contemporary Hellenes originate partly from Thracians. In ancient Greece, only those who spoke a Hellenic dialect were considered Hellenes and all the rest were considered barbarians because they trully had inferior civilization.  Not much is known about Thracians because they did not have writing. Most information regarding Thracians is from Hellenes.

A couple of years before Delian League's formation, in 480 BC, King Teres I established the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace by uniting many Thracian tribes. In the south, it included today's Eastern Macedonia and Thrace which is one of the 13 contemporary Hellenic prefectures. The Odrysian kingdom of Thrace was the first state in Balkans. According to Thucydides, it was strong and prosperous.

The language of administration was Greek and ruling class supported the hellenization of Thracians. Later, Seuthopolis, named after king Seuthes, became the capital. It is located near present day city of Kazalnak, in Stara Zagora province, roughly at the center of today's Bulgaria. The coastal areas were part of Delian League, led by Athens. So, Thracians developed relations with Athenians and joined Delian League in Peloponnesian war. 

Parthenon and Golden Age

The Parthenon was a temple dedicated to goddess Athina in thanksgiving for a victory over Persians. Construction started in 447 BC when Delian League was at the peak of its power and ended in 438 BC. Artwork and decorations continued till 432 BC. As most temples, it served also as a treasury, for some time of Delian League.

The period between Greco-Persian wars and Peloponnesian war was a peak point of Athens and is known as "Golden Age" or "Age of Pericles", who was the ruler of Athens for most of this time. Peloponnesian war between the two Leagues, Peloponnesian (Spartan) and Delian (Athenian) started in 431 BC.

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