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Ancient Greece (Ancient Greek:Ἑλλάς,romanized: Hellás) was a northeasternMediterranean civilization, existing from theGreek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end ofclassical antiquity (c. 600 AD), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically relatedcity-states and communities. Prior to theRoman period, most of these regions were officially unified only once under theKingdom of Macedon from 338 to 323 BC. InWestern history, the era of classical antiquity was immediately followed by theEarly Middle Ages and theByzantine period.
Three centuries after the decline ofMycenaean Greece during theBronze Age collapse, Greek urbanpoleis began to form in the 8th century BC, ushering in theArchaic period andthe colonization of the Mediterranean Basin. This was followed by the age ofClassical Greece, from theGreco-Persian Wars to the death ofAlexander the Great in 323 BC, and which included theGolden Age of Athens and thePeloponnesian War. The unification of Greece by Macedon underPhilip II and subsequent conquest of theAchaemenid Empire by Alexander the Great spread Hellenistic civilization across the Middle East. TheHellenistic period is considered to have ended in 30 BC, when the last Hellenistic kingdom,Ptolemaic Egypt, was annexed by theRoman Republic.
ClassicalGreek culture, especially philosophy, had a powerful influence onancient Rome, which carried a version of it throughout the Mediterranean and much of Europe. For this reason, Classical Greece is generally considered the cradle ofWestern civilization, theseminal culture from which the modern West derives many of its founding archetypes and ideas in politics, philosophy, science, and art. (Full article...)
Mycenaean Greece (or theMycenaean civilization) was the last phase of theBronze Age inancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC. It represents the first advanced and distinctivelyGreek civilization in mainlandGreece with its palatial states, urban organization, works of art, and writing system. The Mycenaeans were mainlandGreek peoples who were likely stimulated by their contact with insularMinoan Crete and otherMediterranean cultures to develop a more sophisticated sociopolitical culture of their own. The most prominent site wasMycenae, after which the culture of this era is named. Other centers of power that emerged includedPylos,Tiryns, andMidea in thePeloponnese,Orchomenos,Thebes, andAthens inCentral Greece, andIolcos inThessaly. Mycenaean settlements also appeared inEpirus,Macedonia, on islands in theAegean Sea, on the south-west coast ofAsia Minor, and onCyprus, while Mycenaean-influenced settlements appeared in theLevant andItaly.
The Mycenaean Greeks introduced several innovations in the fields of engineering, architecture andmilitary infrastructure, while trade over vast areas of theMediterranean was essential for the Mycenaean economy. Theirsyllabic script,Linear B, offers the first written records of theGreek language, andtheir religion already included several deities also to be found in theOlympic pantheon. Mycenaean Greece was dominated by a warrior elite society and consisted of a network ofpalace-centered states that developed rigid hierarchical, political, social, andeconomic systems. At the head of this society was the king, known as awanax. (Full article...)
Epirus (/ɪˈpaɪrəs/) is ageographical andhistorical region insoutheastern Europe, now shared betweenGreece andAlbania. It lies between thePindus Mountains and theIonian Sea, stretching from theBay of Vlorë and theAcroceraunian Mountains in the north to theAmbracian Gulf and the ruinedRoman city ofNicopolis in the south. It is currently divided between theregion ofEpirus in northwestern Greece and the counties ofGjirokastër andVlorë in southern Albania. The largest city in Epirus isIoannina, seat of the Greek region of Epirus, withGjirokastër the largest city in the Albanian part of Epirus.
A rugged and mountainous region, Epirus was the north-west area ofancient Greece. It was inhabited by the Greek tribes of theChaonians,Molossians, andThesprotians. It was home to the sanctuary ofDodona, the oldestoracle in ancient Greece, and the second most prestigious afterDelphi. Unified into asingle state in 370 BC by theAeacidae dynasty, Epirus achieved fame during the reign ofPyrrhus of Epirus who fought theRoman Republic ina series of campaigns. Epirus subsequently became part of the Roman Republic along with the rest of Greece in 146 BC, which was followed by theRoman Empire andEastern Roman Empire. (Full article...)
Plato (/ˈpleɪtoʊ/PLAY-toe;Greek:Πλάτων,Plátōn; bornc. 428–423 BC, died 348/347 BC) was anancient Greek philosopher of theClassical period who is considered a foundational thinker inWestern philosophy and an innovator of the writtendialogue anddialectic forms. He influenced all the major areas oftheoretical philosophy andpractical philosophy, and was the founder of thePlatonic Academy, a philosophical school inAthens where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known asPlatonism.
Plato's most famous contribution is thetheory of forms (or ideas), which aims to solve what is now known as theproblem of universals. He was influenced by thepre-Socratic thinkersPythagoras,Heraclitus, andParmenides, although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself. (Full article...)
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Ruins of theAncient Olympic Games training grounds at Olympia.The historical origins of the Ancient Olympic Games are unknown, but several legends and myths have survived. One of these involvedPelops, king ofOlympia and eponymous hero of thePeloponnesus, to whom offerings were made during the games.
Life:Agriculture · Art · Cuisine · Democracy · Economy · Language · Law · Medicine · Paideia · Pederasty · Pottery · Prostitution · Slavery · Technology · Olympic Games
Philosophers:Pythagoras · Heraclitus · Parmenides · Protagoras · Empedocles · Democritus · Socrates · Plato · Aristotle · Zeno · Epicurus
Authors:Homer · Hesiod · Pindar · Sappho · Aeschylus · Sophocles · Euripides · Aristophanes · Menander · Herodotus · Thucydides · Xenophon · Plutarch · Lucian · Polybius · Aesop
Buildings:Parthenon · Temple of Artemis · Acropolis · Ancient Agora · Arch of Hadrian · Temple of Zeus at Olympia · Colossus of Rhodes · Temple of Hephaestus · Samothrace temple complex
Chronology:Aegean civilization · Minoan Civilization · Mycenaean civilization · Greek dark ages · Classical Greece · Hellenistic Greece · Roman Greece
People of Note:Alexander The Great · Lycurgus · Pericles · Alcibiades · Demosthenes · Themistocles · Archimedes · Hippocrates
Art and Sculpture:Kouroi · Korai · Kritios Boy · Doryphoros · Statue of Zeus · Discobolos · Aphrodite of Knidos · Laocoön · Phidias · Euphronios · Polykleitos · Myron · Parthenon Frieze · Praxiteles
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