Minoan Civilization-2000-1400BC flourished on Island of Crete.Great trading power. Carried goods from the Black Sea to the Nile Valley and to Phoenicia. Exchanged olive oil, honey, and wine for gold, precious stones, grain and linen. King Minos Knossos on Crete Sir Arthur Evans excavated palace in 1898. 800 rooms magnificent throne room. elaborate drainage system but not defensive walls. frescoes show athletic young men and women competing in acrobatic contest. Others picture elegantly dressed women strolling in royal gardens. women probably enjoyed equal status with men. Religious beliefs--bull (Minotaur) and a mother goddess. enjoyed life. Wealthy merchants spent lavishly on their homes and personal comforts rather than on temples and tombs as the Egyptians and Sumerians. Invaded 1400bc probably weakened by earthquake, volcano that may have left them vulnerable to outside invaders.
Myceneans (Achaeans)- 2000 BC Invaded Greece from the north. built on the achievements of the Minoans. 1250 BC banded together under the leadership of the king of Mycenae to attack troy, a rival power. Troy controlled trading routes between the Aegean and Black seas. This war is told in Homers Iliad and the Odyssey. composed about 750 BC According to Iliad Paris, a Trojan prince kidnaped Helen wife of the King of Sparta. The Spartan King and his brother Agamemnon, of Mycenae involved all of Greece int he effort to rescue Helen. After ten years of war Troy destroyed and drove the Trojans into exile. Schliemann excavated a site in northwestern Asia Minor. Found nine cities had been built at different times on the same spot. charred wood and destruction convinced him that this was the layer of Troy.
Dorians came down from the north. Settled further to the south on the Pelopennisus Peninsula. Conquered many of the regions occupied by the Myceneans. The art of writing was lost during this time. This period is called the "Dark Age"
Small city states or monarchies formed instead of a great empire. Their development was characterized by the Age of the Kings. ( Homer created his stories during this time about the "Dark Age") Later we have the Age of Tyrants when power was seized from the kings or aristocracy with the intention of reform and with the support of the lower classes. It is during this era that some of the city states form a democratic government.
Delian League - Persian and Peloponesian Wars create a new era of differing alliances in the Aegean Sea. Trade provided wealth and and some stablity. Also known as Classical Greece.
Persian occupation after the conquest of Greece by the Macedonian, Alexander the Great. Greek civilization spread throughout the world but mixed with other civilizations and changed.
Roman occupation after the conquest of Greece by the Romans.