Greek history and culture was significantly shaped by conflicts with the Persian Empire in the 5th century BC. The Greeks were able to defeat the Persian invasions thanks to the military prowess of the Spartans on land and the Athenians at sea. This allowed Greek civilization, including democracy, to flourish. Later, Alexander the Great expanded Greek influence throughout Asia and North Africa through his military conquests. Ancient Greek achievements in many fields including architecture, art, philosophy, science, and mathematics had enduring impacts and influenced Western civilization.

4. For many of us Greeks the most important aspect of Greek history is
Greek warfare, because Greece was invaded by the Persian Empire (in
492 and in 480 BC), and if Greece had lost, it would not have had the
development it had and Democracy would have stopped in its tracks
and everything else related to Classical Greece (499-323 BC) would
not have developed. And we beat them mainly thanks to the
Spartans, who were the best soldiers on land, and also thanks to the
Athenians who had the best navy.
Major battles: Battle of Marathon (490 BC), Battle of Thermopylae
(480 BC), Naval battle of Salamis (480 BC), Battle of Platea (479 BC),
Battle of Mycale (479 BC)
Moreover thanks to Alexander the Great’s (born in 356, died in 323
BC) military genius, Greece was able to conquer virtually all of Asia
and North Africa and spread Greek culture and language. The New
Testament was first written in Greek and that is thanks to Alexander.
Moreover some of his military tactics are still used today!
Spartan king Leonidas.
Alexander the Great.

5. (Δήμος: dimos, people. Κράτειν, kratin, to rule)
Solon (around 590 BC), Cleisthenes (508 BC), and Ephialtes (462 BC), (Athenian lawmakers
and polititians) contributed to the
development of democracy. Historians differ as to who created what institutions and who
among them represent a truly democratic movement. Usually, democracy’s establishment
is attributed to Cleisthenes , since Solon's laws were catalyzed by Peisistratos and
Ephialtes just improved some of Cleisthenes’ settings .
Pericles was the most important Democratic political leader and he was the man responsible
for the construction of the Parthenon.
CleisthenesSolonPericles Ephialtes

6. When speaking about Greece and athletics , people normally think of the
Olympics. They were created in 776 BC and they were
held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia. There is no scholarly
consensus as to when the Games officially ended, the most commonly held date is
393 AD, when the emperor Theodosius I decreed that all pagan cults and practices be
eliminated. Another date commonly cited is 426 AD, when his successor,
Theodosius II, ordered the destruction of all Greek temples.
Modern Games were revived, thanks to Baron Pierre de Coubertin because in 1894
he founded the International Olympic Committee and in 1896 the first modern
Olympic Games were held in Athens.
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42kms and
195 meters (26 miles and 385 yards),usually run as a road race. The event was
instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of
the Greek soldier/messenger Pheidipides,
who ran from Marathon ( the place where the “Battle of Marathon” ocurred) to
Athens, (42 kms) to announce to the rest of the Athenians that “νενικήκαμεν”, “we
won”, and then he dropped dead from exhaustion.

7. Like stated before, Alexander the Great spread Greek culture (and that includes language
too) when he conquered almost all of Asia and the north of Africa.
Consequently, all European languages have thousands of Greek words.
For example, English has approximately 45.000 Greek words and Spanish is
a mix of Arabic, Greek and Latin.
Besides the greek alphabet is the first complete
alphabet of all times as it is the first alphabetic script to have distinct letters for
vowels as well as consonants.
It is the ancestor of the Latin and Cyrillic scripts.Apart from its use in writing the Greek
language, both in its ancient and its modern forms, the Greek alphabet today also
serves as a source of technical symbols and labels in many domains of mathematics,
science and other fields.

8. Παιδαγωγία, ακαδημία, λογική,
φιλοσοφία,
δημοκράτια, βιολογία, γεωγραφία,
ιστορία, ψυχολογία,βιβλίογραφία,
μουσική,
πολιτική, τηλέφωνο, λέων,
τίγρης, ιπποπόταμος, γάτος,

9. Socrates (470/469 – 399 BC) He is known for creating the Socratic irony
(when you pretend to be ignorant about
something to expose the ignorance and
inconsistency of someone else, thus the irony)
and the Socratic method, (also known with
other names like maieutic (/meɪˈyu tɪk/),
maieutical, elenctic method, method of
elenchus or Socratic dabate), which is the
teaching practice of pedagogy, that he is
credited with inventing, wherein a teacher
questions a student in a manner that draws
out the correct response . He has had a
profound influence in Western philosophy,
along with his student Plato and Aristotle.
Though much of Socrates' contribution is to
the field of ethics, his input in the field of
epistemology and logic is also noteworthy.

10. Plato (427-347 BC), Socrates disciple and
Aristotle’s teacher, founded the Academy,
which many believe is the world’s first
university (it lasted from 387 BC to 529 AD)
and is the author of philosophical works of
unparalleled influence in Western thought.
Aristotle (384-322 BC), who was Alexander the
Great’s teacher, studied and discussed the
systematic understanding of logic, physics,
astronomy, meteorology, zoology, metaphysics,
theology, psychology, politics, economics,
ethics, rhetoric, and poetics.
In other words he was the first to classify areas
of human knowledge into distinct disciplines
such as mathematics, biology, and ethics.
Some of these classifications are still used
today.
That’s why he is the father of logic, as he was
the first to develop a formalized system for
reasoning.

11. Archimedes (c.287-c.212 BC) He is considered one of the great
mathematicians and scientists in history. He made many discoveries
both in math and physics including many inventions.
Aristarchus (310-230 BC) An astronomer and mathematician, he
presented the first known model that placed the Sun at the center of
the known universe with the Earth revolving around it.
Euclid (350-270 BC) The Father of Geometry, Euclid wrote a book
called Elements, likely the most famous mathematical textbook in
history.
Hippocrates (460-377 BC) A scientist of medicine, Hippocrates is
called the Father of Western Medicine. Many doctors still take the
Hippocratic Oath today.
Pythagoras (580-496 BC) A scientist and philosopher, he came up
with the Pythagorean Theorem still used today in much of geometry.
Giorgos Papanicolau (May 13, 1883 – February 19, 1962) pioneer
in cytopathology and early cancer detection in the cervix and in the
endometrium of the uterus, and inventor of the "Pap test“

12. Herodotus (c 484-425 BC) A historian who
chronicled the Persian Wars, Herodotus is
often called the Father of History.

13. The Parthenon is the most famous masterpiece of ancient Greek architecture.
Work began in 447 BC under Pericles’ orders, and it was finished in 432 BC. It was
built in honor of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and also to replace another temple which was
destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC.
Greek sculptures are very important as the vast majority of them tell us a story about Gods,
Heroes, Events, Mythical Creatures and Greek culture in general. When Alexander
conquered Asia he gave birth to Greco-Buddhist art, and its influence spread as far as
Japan. Romans copied Greek art
too as they built their own statues using Greek elements. Even to this day there are famous
structures, like the White House, that have taken elements from ancient Greek temples.
Buddha (Greco-Buddhist art)
White House

14. PARTHENON CARYATIDS
APHRODITE OF MILOS THE DISCOBOLUS OF MYRON HERMES OF PRAXITELES

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the-great
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Greco-Persian wars

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Athenean Democracy
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Olympic games in Ancient Greece.

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Marathon
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E%B7-
%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%BB%CE%B7%CE%BD%C
E%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE-
%CE%BC%CE%B7%CF%84%CE%AD%CF%81%C
E%B1-%CF%8C%CE%BB%CF%89%CE%BD-
%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD-
%CE%B5%CF%85%CF%81%CF%89%CF%80%CE
%B1%CF%8A%CE%BA%CF%8E%CE%BD/
Greek language, mother of all
European languages.
Greek alphabet

19. Socratic irony - Dictionary Definition :
Vocabulary.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from
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c%20irony
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Plato
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20. .
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kolaou
Georgios Papanikolaou

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Greco-Buddhism

23. Spartans! Prepare for glory! [Video file]. (n.d.).
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Fc
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MhPi5M8
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tzQ

24. ANCIENT GREEKS - HOW DID THEY HELP US?
(Documentary) History/Culture/Discovery
[Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from
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4E
ARISTOTLE-SKAI-GREAT GREEKS 2009 (HQ)
[Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from
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o4Lg
PLEVRIS’ (GREEK HISTORIAN) ANSWER TO
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1K44P7-us