Greece has a long and storied history, with Greek culture spreading around the Mediterranean and influencing many other cultures starting around 6000 BC. Major early civilizations included the Minoans and Mycenaeans. The Greek city-states grew powerful in the Archaic period starting in the 8th century BC, but also competed violently with each other. They united to defeat Persia in the Persian Wars in the 5th century BC. However, internal conflicts weakened Greece, allowing Rome to eventually conquer it in 146 BC. Greek culture continued under the Byzantine Empire until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Greece re-established independence in the 19th century and though it has faced challenges, Greek culture and ideals

1. Greece
Brief of Greek history
The Greek story is old and glorious, known almost worldwide after the
Greek culture and Greek spirit examined by schools and universities
worldwide.
The fact is that Greece gave the lights of culture in several Nations around
the world and that is revealed by the show signs that saved monuments and
until today or by the cultural influences that still exist. This was a result of
the spread and colonization of the Greeks in various parts of the world but
mainly in countries around the Mediterranean, as a result of trade and
shipping which involved.
The colonization of Greece is about 6000 BC and the first of the
inhabitants were the Pelasgians and the Proellines. In 3000 BC new races
invading Greek territory and develops valuable culture (the Aegean
civilization). The same time is developed the Minoan civilization in Crete.
In 2000 BC first Greek tribes were appeared.
First the Ionians and 200 years after the Achaeans and Aeolians.
The Achaeans also develop their own valuable culture based in Mycenae
(Mycenaean civilization) and samples of excavations reveal the enormous
progress for the time.
The famous Trojan War falls in this period.
The 1200 BC begins a wave of invasion of different groups of
Mycenaean Greek world, known as the descendent of Dorieon (due to its

2. origin by Doris, area of the Sterea Hellas). The inhabitants of captured
regions receive new effects and created cities – member (that is the
autonomous cities) and due to the layout of the country, geophysical
communication of residents was not easy and therefore the creation of a
single State were not feasible. So, many cities-members that were developed
wrote their own history in Greek territory.
The ancient Greek history refers to the history of the various cities –
member and not in the history of Greece as a unitary State. The main cities
developed after 776 BC was Sparta, Athens, Argos, Corinth, Miletus,
Knossos, Biota and Ephesus.
The 8th century BC Greek colonization begins, and so formed new cities
within and outside of Greece such as Trabzon, Odessa, Abydos, Corfu,
Naykratis in Egypt, Marseilles in France, the Gelas and Syracuse in Sicily,
Byzantium, Rigio, Pompeii, Tares and Crotone in Italy, Alalia in Corsica,
Apollonia, Epidamnos, etc.
The establishment of colonies led to the influence of Greek thought and
Greek culture in the lives of local populations, the Greek alphabet is known
and the Greek products and artworks penetrate foreign markets. While the
Greeks accept several influences from the culture and the culture of other
peoples and this coupled with the economic development of the colonies was
an important factor for further development of Greek culture.
Then cut and the first Greek currency by Phidias in Argos and begins to
be used in transactions. And while the period of economic boom has soared,
begin rivalries and the civil wars between various cities of Greece, which
weakens their strength and makes them vulnerable and easy target for
foreign conquerors specifically Persians.
The war between the two nations lasted 43 years (492 – 449 BC) years
with the victory of Greece, while in Greek history was written golden heroic
deeds pages as the battle of Marathon, the battle at Thermopylae with the
sacrifice of the King of Sparta, Leonida and the 300, the battle of Salamis,
and the battle of Platees where all the Greek army was joined and it was a
total victory against the Persians and they managed to forfeited this threat.
The next ten years there is again a new period of prosperity and
reconstruction of the Greek cities, but disturbed again from a long-standing
civil war (431-404 BC) between Athens and Sparta which lasted for 27 years
and ended with the victory of Sparta.
At the same time comes to the fore the Macedonian State and the King
Fillips the second, manages to make the idea of a Union of Greek cities as
essential for the survival of Hellenism. It reached 337 BC and begins a new
period for unified Greece.
Great Alexander who successes his father, manages to lengthen the borders
of the Greek State and to spread culture until the depths of the East.
Unfortunately his premature death weakened the great empire because his
successor’s generals proved not able to preserve its integrity.

3. The Romans as the new power managed to subjugate the largest portion
of the great State in 146 BC, and established the Roman Empire divided
around the 2nd century in East based in Istanbul and Western based in
Rome.
The Western Empire lasted until 476 BC and the Eastern known as the
Byzantine Empire until 1453 BC. For 1000 years Greece was at the top and
created amazing progress projects.
After the conquest of Constantinople by the Turkey, the whole Greece
collapses. Four hundred years later the Greeks tried to escape and the Greek
State was instauration in 1827 with capital Nafplio and later in 1834,
Athens.
Due to its geographical position tangled several times with neighbors but
it was also involved occasionally in intrastate conflicts, but nearly 70 years,
Greece is going through a period of calm on and tries to recover in many
areas.
The position of Greece within the world history is important because
the ancient Greek spirit nourished and educated the whole civilized
world with the ideas and lessons.
Is the country where the idea of democracy and of the Olympic Games was
born, which first took place in ancient Olympia in 776 BC.
Greece is the hometown of heroes, glorious politicians and generals and
reputable people of letters and arts. It is the birthplace of remarkable
speech makers, significant philosophers, scientists and inventors.

4. Important poets, writers, speech makers and comedians, such as Homer,
Hesiod, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Pindar,
Demosthenes, Lycia, Aeschines, Aristotle, Herodotus and Thucydides,
philosophers in whose wise words bow our heads up until today such as
Diogenes, Heraclitus, Socrates and Platon, eminent mathematicians such
as Pythagoras, Thales Thrasybulus, Archimedes, Euclid, and
Hippocrates, the father of medicine Asclepius, the pioneering architects
Damon and Phidias, sculptors who made masterpieces such as Praxiteles,
Lysippus, Peonies and Myron born in this country and have won the respect
and esteem throughout the world.
Remarkably and with amazing beauty specimens of Greek culture is the
masterpiece of ancient architecture of the Parthenon, the Herodium,
Erechtheio, the Temple of Sounio and Olympia, the Temple of Apteryx
Nikes, the palaces of Knossos until now and Phaistos, the statue of the
Nikes of Samothrace and the Aphrodite of Milos (located in the Louvre in
Paris), Hermes of Praksitelous, the diskobolos of Myrwna, the Caryatid
and thousands of other findings that decorate the museums not only in
Greece but also of several European countries.
These works of art and the open-air museums in each part of the
Greek land reflects the splendor of ancient Greek culture and Greek
spirit and cause worldwide admiration.
Of course, the country's history is not written in a few pages nor ends here.
New pages will be added continuously and there are a lot of Greeks who
excel in the fields of science and letters, but also in other areas both in
Greece and internationally.

5. The Odeum of Herod Atticus
--------------------------------