Ancient Greece P1

1. Minoan Civilization (c. 2700-1450 BCE)

• Flourished on Crete, highly advanced Bronze Age culture.

• Political Structure: Palace-centered, decentralized rule, likely a thalassocracy (sea power).

• Economy: Maritime trade (pottery, textiles, olive oil, timber) across the Aegean, Levant, and Egypt.

• Art & Architecture: Elaborate palaces (e.g., Knossos) with frescoes, advanced plumbing, no defensive walls.

• Religion: Matriarchal elements, bull-leaping rituals.

• Writing: Linear A script (undeciphered)

• Decline: Unknown exact cause, possibly natural disasters (Thera eruption c. 1600 BCE) followed by Mycenaean invasion/assimilation c. 1450 BCE.

2. Mycenaean Civilization (c. 1600-1100 BCE)

• Located on mainland Greece (e.g., Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos).

• Political Structure: Independent city-states ruled by warrior kings (wanax), centralized palace economies.

• Economy: Agriculture, craftsmanship, warfare, limited trade.

• Art & Architecture: Heavily fortified citadels ("Cyclopean masonry"), elaborate shaft graves, tholos tombs for rulers.

• Writing: Linear B script (early form of Greek, primarily administrative).

• Culture: Militaristic, heroic ethos (basis for Homeric epics).

• Decline: "Bronze Age Collapse" (c. 1200-1150 BCE) - internal strife, Dorian invasions, sea peoples, climate change. Led to the Greek Dark Ages.

3. Greek Dark Ages (c. 1100-800 BCE)

• Period of decline in population, literacy (loss of Linear B), and material culture.

• Impact: Formation of tribal societies, migration (Ionian migration), emergence of the polis concept.

4. Archaic Period (c. 800-480 BCE)

• Rise of the Polis (City-State): Independent urban centers with surrounding territory, characterized by citizen participation.

• Colonization: Extensive Greek colonization throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea, driven by population growth, land hunger, and trade.

• Political Development: Evolution from aristocracies to oligarchies, tyrannies, and early democracies (Athens).

• Military: Development of the hoplite phalanx (heavy infantry formation), emphasizing solidarity and discipline.

• Culture: Emergence of epic poetry (Homer), lyric poetry, early philosophy, and monumental sculpture.

4.1. Sparta

• Political System: Oligarchy with two kings, a council of elders (Gerousia), and an assembly (Apella).

• Society: Highly militaristic, focused on severe training (agoge) for male citizens from age 7. Helots (state-owned serfs) formed the labor force.

• Goal: Maintain social stability and suppress helot revolts.

4.2. Athens

• Political System: Evolved from aristocracy to democracy.

  • Draco (c. 621 BCE): Harsh law code.

  • Solon (c. 594 BCE): Reforms addressing debt slavery, creating class-based timocracy, jury courts.

  • Peisistratus (Tyrant, c. 561-527 BCE): Public works, promoted arts and trade.

  • Cleisthenes (c. 508 BCE): "Father of Athenian Democracy," divided citizens into 10 tribes, established the Council of 500 (Boule) and expanded the assembly (Ecclesia).

• Culture: Emphasis on philosophy, arts, and rhetoric.

5. Classical Greece (480-323 BCE)

5.1. Persian Wars (499-449 BCE)

• Causes: Ionian Revolt (499-493 BCE) with Athenian aid, Persian expansionism under Darius I and Xerxes I.

• Key Battles/Events:

  • Battle of Marathon (490 BCE): Athenian victory over Darius I's forces. Tactics: Miltiades' strategy to weaken the center and strengthen the flanks, encircling the Persians.

  • Battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE): Spartan-led Greek stand against Xerxes I. Heroic last stand by 300 Spartans.

  • Battle of Salamis (480 BCE): Decisive naval victory for the Greeks (led by Themistocles). Tactics: Tricking the Persian fleet into the narrow straits, negating their numerical superiority.

  • Battle of Plataea (479 BCE): Final major land battle, Greek victory essentially ending the Persian threat to mainland Greece.

  • Battle of Mycale (479 BCE): Greek forces overpowered the Persians on sea and land, ultimately burning the entireity of the Persian Crew. The Persians suffered a lot of casualties.

• Impacts: Boosted Greek (especially Athenian) morale, led to the formation of the Delian League (Athens as hegemon), rise of Athenian imperialism.

5.2. Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE)

• Causes: Athenian imperialism and growing power, Spartan fear of Athenian dominance, conflict over Corcyra and Potidaea; triggered by Sparta's declaration of war.

• Combatants: Delian League (Athens and its allies) vs. Peloponnesian League (Sparta and its allies).

• Key Phases & Events:

  • Archidamian War (431-421 BCE): Spartan invasions of Attica, Athenian naval raids; Plague in Athens (430 BCE) weakens Athenian manpower and kills Pericles.

  • Peace of Nicias (421 BCE): Temporary truce.

  • Sicilian Expedition (415-413 BCE): Disastrous Athenian attempt to conquer Sicily, resulting in massive losses of men and navy.

  • Decelean War (413-404 BCE): Sparta entrenches at Decelea in Attica, permanent harassment of Athens, Spartan naval buildup with Persian support.

• Key Battles:

  • Battle of Pylos/Sphacteria (425 BCE): Athenian capture of Spartan hoplites, significant blow to Spartan prestige.

  • Battle of Aegospotami (405 BCE): Decisive Spartan naval victory (Lysander) in the Hellespont, destroying the Athenian fleet.

• Impacts:

  • Athenian defeat, end of Athenian democracy (briefly replaced by the Thirty Tyrants).

  • Decline of the polis system; prolonged warfare weakened all Greek city-states.

  • Rise of Sparta and then Thebes as dominant powers (briefly).

  • Increased mercenary employment, political instability.

5.3. Rise of Macedon

• Philip II (r. 359-336 BCE): Transformed Macedon into a military powerhouse.

  • Military Reforms: Developed the sarissa (long pike, \approx 18 \text{ feet} ), combined arms tactics (infantry, cavalry, siege engines).

  • Conquests: Subdued Thessaly, Thrace, and Greek city-states (Battle of Chaeronea, 338 BCE).

  • League of Corinth: United Greek states under Macedonian hegemony.

5.4. Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 BCE)

• Son of Philip II, tutored by Aristotle.

• Conquests:

  • Asia Minor: Battle of Granicus (334 BCE) - first major victory over Persians.

  • Syria/Levant: Battle of Issus (333 BCE) - defeated Darius III, captured his family. Siege of Tyre (332 BCE).

  • Egypt: Founded Alexandria (331 BCE), declared pharaoh.

  • Mesopotamia: Battle of Gaugamela (331 BCE) - decisive victory over Darius III, leading to the collapse of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.

  • Persia: Captured Babylon, Susa, Persepolis (burned).

  • India: Reached the Indus Valley (326 BCE), Battle of the Hydaspes (against King Porus). His troops eventually refused to go further East.

• Tactics: Brilliant use of cavalry (Companion Cavalry), flanking maneuvers, and adaptability on various terrains.

• Impacts:

  • Established one of the largest empires of the ancient world.

  • Died in Babylon (323 BCE) without a clear successor.

  • Spread of Greek language (Koine Greek) and culture across vast regions.

  • Hellenistic Age: Led to the division of his empire among his generals (Diadochi).

6. Hellenistic Period (323-31 BCE)

• Period following Alexander's death, characterized by the spread of Greek culture and the emergence of large monarchical states.

• Diadochi (Successor Kingdoms):

  • Antigonid Kingdom (Macedon and mainland Greece).

  • Seleucid Empire (Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia).

  • Ptolemaic Kingdom (Egypt).

• Culture:

  • Cosmopolitanism: Large cities like Alexandria, Antioch, Pergamum became centers of learning and trade.

  • Science & Philosophy: Advances in mathematics (Euclid, Archimedes), astronomy (Aristarchus, Eratosthenes), medicine. New philosophical schools (Stoicism, Epicureanism, Skepticism).

  • Art & Architecture: Grandiose, emotional, and realistic (e.g., Laocoön and His Sons).

• Decline: Gradual absorption by the rising power of Rome, culminating with the Roman conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt in 31 BCE.