The history of ancient greece briefly for children. Interesting facts about Greece

History of ancient Greece briefly - this is a summary (description, message about ancient civilization) of the era of the entire large section of Ancient Greece (namely, about the population, religion, myths of ancient Greece, aboutinynah,about cities, about rulers, etc., which you can read below)

Section - I - Description of Ancient Greece
Section - 2 - Nature and population of ancient Greece
Section - 3 - Myths and religion of ancient Greece
Section - 4 - Greek city-states in the 6th century BC
Section - 5 - Greco-Persian Wars briefly
Section - 6 - Slaves in ancient Greece
Section - 7 - Rise of Athens in the 5th century BC uh
Section - 8 - Life of the ancient Greeks
Section - 9 - Ancient theater of ancient Greece
Section - 10 - Ancient art and science of ancient Greece
Section - 11 - Power of Alexander the Great
Section - 12 - Ancient Hellas

A huge role in the development of human civilization is played by the history of Ancient Greece, which will be briefly discussed in this article. Today it is difficult to meet a person who knows nothing about ancient Greek culture and history. It was this state that became the founder of European values concerning politics, philosophy, literature and much more.

If you look at the map of Ancient Greece, you can see that it is located in the south of the Balkan Peninsula. Greece bordered states such as Illyria and Macedonia. Over time, its territories increased due to colonization.

In order to briefly consider the history of Ancient Greece, researchers divide it into certain periods.

about religion

Religion was the unifying link in ancient Greek culture. The dominant place was occupied by the god Zeus, who is the king of all other gods, as well as people. The Greeks considered the sacred mountain called Olympus to be the dwelling place of the gods, where, in addition to Zeus, they also lived 11 divine beings.

This is Hera, the wife of Zeus - the goddess of the family hearth,

God Poseidon is the patron of the water element, the seas and oceans.

The main god had sisters - the goddess of fertility, who was called Demeter and Hestia patronizing home life. The daughter of Zeus was Athena, the militant patroness of wisdom, as well as crafts.

Also, besides Athena, the god Ares patronized the war. The goddess Artemis at first patronized agriculture, but then she began to be revered as the goddess responsible for pregnant women and chastity. Her brother, Apollo, among the ancient Greeks, plays the role of the sun god. He patronized medicine, education, art.

As for Hermes, he was originally considered the patron of cattle breeding, but then he began to be revered as a messenger god. One of the daughters of Zeus - Aphrodite, was born from sea foam to become the goddess of love and beauty.

The ancient Greeks represented their divine patrons in human form, and they were characterized by human traits of behavior and character. The gods were aware of human feelings, desires, and they even had their own vices.

Mythology

Olympic Games

The ancient Greek tradition has survived to our times - Olympic Games .

These major sports competitions at first originated as part of a religious cult, during which various ceremonies were held to worship the gods.
The first day was entirely devoted to the rite of sacrifice, as was the last day of the games, when the winners were awarded.
The tradition of holding the Olympic Games began as an ordinary local competition, later this tradition became common in Greece. One of the sports invented by the ancient Greeks is the pentathlon.

In ancient Greece, this sport was invented in order to identify the strongest athlete.

The pentathlon included running, long jump, discus throwing, javelin throwing and wrestling.

During the competitions, wars stopped.

Games were banned in 394 AD, during the Roman domination. Emperor Theodosius I forcibly planted the Christian faith, and therefore banned the Olympic Games, as a relic of paganism.

Only in the XIX century the tradition of the Olympic Games was restored, and they became the most famous and prestigious competitions in the whole world.

CULTURE

About art

The art of ancient Greece played a very important role in the development of global culture.

The Acropolis, the most protected part of the city, has always been on a hill, and served as a place where local power was concentrated - both urban and religious.

The temples were built using yellow limestone and white marble. A distinctive feature of ancient Greek architecture are columns - an integral part of any building.

Temples were usually surrounded by one or two rows of columns.

The heyday of ancient Greek architecture fell on the classical period.

During the Hellenistic era, more attention began to be paid to the construction of not temple structures, but walking areas, amphitheatres, palaces and sports buildings.

Sculpture

Also an integral part of ancient Greek art is sculpture.

It has undergone some changes over the course of time.

During the classical era, images of the gods were popular.

They looked like ordinary people - physically developed, strong, beautiful, but at the same time they did not have any shortcomings inherent in people. Clothes were not depicted, it was customary to show a naked body, all its beauty. In the Hellenistic era, sculptural images became more magnificent and exaggerated.

Painting

There were two ways of painting vases - red-figure and black-figure. With black-figure, images of people and animals were drawn with the help of black varnish, drawing details with a needle.

Theatre

Theater was widespread in ancient Greece.

He appeared during the celebrations dedicated to the god of winemaking - Dionysus.

Music and literature are closely connected with theatrical art. The theatrical art of the Greeks, having united with literature, began to represent a separate direction of culture.

The most famous of them are Sophocles, Aeschylus, Efpyrides. Actors could only be men, playing in the play, they used masks. The theater was of great importance in the life of the people of those times - special buildings were built for this.

The largest of them could accommodate more than a thousand people - for example, the theater of Dionysus in Athens. Showing theatrical performances was an integral part of any festival.

The science

Ancient Greece is also known for its scientific knowledge, in which ancient philosophy occupies an important place.

Ancient Greek philosophers dealt with issues related to the origin of man and the universe.

His philosophy teacher is the famous Socrates. Also, ancient Greek philosophy gave the world Aristotle - the most famous philosopher in the whole world.

Ancient Greek culture developed the ideal of man - a harmonious union of physical and spiritual beauty was supposed.

This is precisely what education was aimed at in ancient Greece.

Attention was paid not only to the teaching of scientific knowledge, but also to physical education.

They taught the sons of free citizens from the age of seven. The first stage was studying at a lower school, where the guys studied basic subjects.

Moving to the second stage, astronomy with philosophy was added to the list of scientific disciplines.

Boys aged 12 to 16 were engaged in physical education in gymnastic schools - palestras.

Sparta

The upbringing and education of children in Sparta had its own characteristics.

Every Spartan between the ages of 8 and 20 was required to receive a school education.

In general, Spartan education was quite severe, the state was directly involved in the formation of personality - physical skills were brought up.

The guys were taught hunting, military affairs, dancing, there was physical education. Mental development was not given much importance - it was a personal matter for each person.

It was in Sparta that the first hoplites appeared - foot soldiers.

Social and political life

As for the socio-political life, the highest body of state power was the people's assembly, which in ancient Greece received the name "ekklesia".

Men who were free and had reached the age of 20 could participate in its work.

With its powers, the ekklesia covered not only the legislative, but also the executive and judicial branches of government.

Also one of the authorities was the Areopagus. In the era of tribal relations, it was a council of elders. Subsequently, the functions of the Areopagus began to be limited mainly to the judicial function.

In ancient Greece, there was such a thing as a secured loan.

Land was usually left as collateral. As a sign that the land was mortgaged, a debt stone was set there. It was removed after paying off the debt.

If a person did not have time to pay the debt, he was enslaved and all his property was confiscated.

The Athenian ruler Solon abolished this practice, freeing citizens from debt obligations.

The stones were removed, the debtors sold into slavery - freedom was returned. In the future, such a phenomenon as self-mortgage of the debtor was prohibited.

Money

The ancient Greeks used money.

To this day, a large number of various coins of Ancient Greece have been preserved, which are of interest not only to historians, but also to numismatists.

The craving of the Greeks for beauty is reflected in their costume, which has changed over the centuries.

But at all times, the clothes of Ancient Greece had a peculiarity - they were never sewn together.

As a conclusion, it should be noted that this article is only a brief description of the entire history of Ancient Greece.

The history of this state is one of the most interesting sections of the entire history of the ancient world.

Another version on a brief history of ancient Greece

Ancient Greece to this day is able to arouse great interest of many scientists of the world. The German philosopher, poet made an important contribution to the study of the culture of Ancient Greece. In his notes, he wrote that in Greece of that time 2 principles coexisted: Dionysian (i.e. wild, spontaneous) and Apollonian (i.e. harmonious). At first, no one took the entire theory of Friedrich Nietzsche seriously, and he himself was considered an outcast in scientific circles.

World scientists saw in ancient Greece only the Apollonian beginning. But today the rightness of Friedrich Nietzsche does not cause any doubts. It is worth starting with the earliest eras of Ancient Greece. This period is known as Crete-Mycenaean. On an island called Crete and in Mycenae, countries arose that in many ways resembled the oriental despotisms. In their essence, they had nothing to do with the Ancient Greece that we used to imagine, with its great city-states.

All our knowledge about this era is very limited. For a long period of time, the Aegean script (derived from the Aegean Sea) remained completely undeciphered. A large number of material monuments of this culture have survived to this day, but they, in turn, could tell little about that time. Only in the middle of the twentieth century, a researcher from England, Ventris managed to decipher this letter. Today we know the culture of that time a little more.

Even then, many people revered Zeus. Various cults were widespread in ancient Greece: the cult of animals, the cult of the double ax, the shield, the cult of trees, stones, and the sun. The main characteristics of the Crete-Mycenaean time are considered to be the presence of a "palace culture", a rather rigid centralization of the military-political, religious, as well as economic spheres of life. At that time, powerful, fortified palaces-citadels were formed.

These palaces were very large. They necessarily included places for administrative and religious purposes, as well as storerooms. Numerous buildings, in which the whole life of the palace took place, constantly required control and care. In the Cretan-Mycenaean period, the bureaucratic staff is of great importance. At the head of these palaces was the king-priest, whose main task was to preserve and maintain the sacred order. Community settlements were founded nearby. The duties of the king included the function of the supreme commander, who constantly ensured the protection of all his settlements. The second stage in the formation of ancient Greek culture begins with the decline of Crete and Mycenae. A powerful earthquake led to the death of civilization in Crete.

Greece occupies a special place among the states of the ancient world. Even after many millennia, the scientific achievements of the outstanding people of this small state are striking in their grandeur, and its cultural values are a huge contribution to the treasury of the entire world culture.

So, let's fast forward to the south of the Balkan Peninsula and the islands of the Aegean Sea, where ancient Greece was located.

What was ancient Hellas like?

In those distant times, and even now The Greeks call their homeland Hellas. We will begin our acquaintance with the Hellenes from the period of the highest prosperity of their state. And it fell on the V-IV century BC.

The Greek state, as such, did not exist then. Greeks lived in cities- Numerous completely disparate city-states. Each of these mini-states was concerned only with its own well-being. And they were in constant conflict with each other. The only thing they had in common was the language, and the gods they worshiped.

The inhabitants of the policies were divided into two groups - citizens and slaves. Every citizen had the right to own land. This allowed him not only to cultivate the land, but also to engage in cattle breeding. Farming provided quite a decent income for the maintenance of the family.

The main source of replenishment of the number of slaves was the war. They were not only deprived of the right to own land and tools, but they themselves were dumb and completely disenfranchised tools.

In each policy acted the principle of self-sufficiency, in fact, subsistence farming. All the needs of citizens were fully provided for within the native policy. This gave its citizens a sense of confidence and independence.

Soon, artisans were added to the citizens employed in agriculture, mastering the use of . Among them, the technologies for processing iron and bronze, manufacturing weapons and armor were constantly improved. Statue-casters, painters, and artists appeared.

Athens - the cradle of democracy

The main city of Greece, its cultural and intellectual center at that time was Athens. Right here formed the basic democratic principles social structure of policies. They were as follows:

All indigenous citizens of the policies were part of the civil collective. The supreme power belonged to the people's assembly of the collective. He was the deliberative and legislative body of his urban community. Laws were passed by the simple show of hands of those present. All decisions concerning the life, life and defense of the city were made collectively. Every citizen could express his opinion and could be elected to any position, except for the military leader.
Executive power was concentrated in the hands of officials elected by the people's assembly - magistrates, who were members of the Council of Five Hundred. This body decided all current affairs and prepared materials for consideration at the people's assembly.

The highest judicial power (heliya) monitored the implementation of laws, considered current controversial cases. Helia was also elective, its main purpose was to protect the rights of citizens. Information on this topic can be found on the pages of our website.
All of these authorities were accountable to the citizens of their policy.

Gradually improving standards of behavior became the basis of the civil law of Athens. A similar social hierarchy spread to other Greek policies. Athenian democracy, having existed for about 250 years, is gradually declining.

But why was it precisely in ancient Greece that the basic democratic principles were born, which later became part of the models of the structure of other states? This was facilitated by the small territory of the city-state, which allowed each full-fledged citizen to take a personal part in the people's assembly. In addition, their number was limited by the presence or absence of a land plot owned by the community. Slave labor freed citizens from hard daily work, allowing them to use their free time to participate in state affairs.

Cultural heritage of the ancient Hellenes

The Greeks left to the world not only the advanced principles of the organization of society, but also presented the richest cultural heritage.

The science

Exactly we owe the most important information about the universe to the Greek philosophers, which are still used in science today. Here are some names from this glorious galaxy:

we owe ideas about the material and non-material world.

Thales of Miletus - initial information on electrostatics. It was he who began to use the basics of geometry for purely practical tasks - determining the height of the pyramids and calculating the distance from the ship to the coast.
It remains only to bow before the genius of Democritus, who laid the foundation for the idea of an atomistic picture of the world.
The name of the great Archimedes of Syracuse is associated with his enormous achievements in the field of physics, engineering and. The mechanisms he created raised flooded ships from the water, and the law of buoyancy discovered by Archimedes still bears his name. When danger loomed over his hometown, he set fire to the enemy flotilla with the help of concave mirrors. No less significant are the works of Archimedes in the field of mathematics.

culture

The heritage of the ancient Greeks is truly priceless in other areas of life.

Let's turn to Greek. Echoes of this beautiful, ancient language can be traced in many languages of the world. The ancient Greeks gave the world more than 1,000 words that were included in different languages. These are not only scientific and medical terms, but also quite familiar words: history, democracy, notebook, school, surgery, etc. This is the language of the New Testament and other Orthodox literature. It was composed of myths about the terrible Minotaur, about the handsome Perseus, who freed the charming Andromeda chained to the rock .... Plots for narratives (epic) were taken from these myths, and constellations were called the names of mythical heroes.

The most famous author of epic poems is Homer. His most famous works are the Iliad and "". The actions described in the Iliad take place on the battlefield. And "Odyssey" is a fabulously everyday poem. Both of these works are united not only by the striking beauty of poetry, but by the depth of images that personify honor, courage and devotion.

In the north of Greece is the highest mountain range - Olympus. The Greeks were sure that it was there that the gods lived. And among them is the supreme god Zeus - the lord of the sky, thunder and lightning. It is to him that the ancient Greeks attribute. Athletes competed every four years. At the time of their preparation and conduct, all wars between cities ceased, and those who violated this truce were severely punished. In the year of the games, messengers with torches in their hands were sent to all parts of the country, they carried news of a truce and the beginning of the Olympiad.

The Hellenes considered friendship, respect and noble rivalry to be the main principles of the Olympic Games.

Art

The ancient Hellenes were a cheerful, talented people. They are built the world's first theater, created great works of architecture and sculpture. The preserved ruins of ancient temples and stadiums allow us to judge the magnificent art of ancient architects.

A magnificent example of Greek architecture is the Parthenon temple, located in the capital of Greece, Athens.

It is part of the Greek Acropolis. The main building material for Greek architects was white marble. Its radiance against the blue sky, the magnificent colonnade surrounding the perimeter of the building make an indelible impression even now, after 2500 years.

The sculptural works of ancient architects are also striking. The works of Greek sculptors are reflected cult of the body and its physical beauty. Among the best works of ancient architects is the statue "Discobolus", the author of which is the great sculptor Miron.

The beautiful body of a young athlete is depicted at the moment of swing before throwing the disc.

Venus de Milo, carved out of stone by the architect Alexandros, is also a masterpiece of world sculpture.

Worthy of admiration is the jewelry of the ancient masters of Greece.

The achievements of the ancient Greeks in all these areas are truly enormous. Why was their contribution to the development of technology not so significant, and they did not make a real industrial revolution? The reason for this was the slave system - the labor of slaves, who were the main labor force, was very cheap. And there was no need to increase labor productivity and improve the mechanisms that facilitate this work.

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Not only professional historians and students of historical faculties are fascinated by ancient Greece. It is a subject of admiration and interest of researchers from related fields of science, tourists and travelers who want to know everything about Ancient Greece. This applies to both historical events and everyday life, culture, philosophy, scientific knowledge, philosophy, mythology.

Ancient Greece is commonly understood as a period in world history that began in 3000 BC and lasted until the middle of the 1st century AD.

periodization

Depending on what criteria scientists lay down in the division of ancient Greek history, this can be periodization. There are two most common and accepted classifications in science. The first of them involves the division into three large periods:

Preclassical, which began in the 3rd c. BC. and continued until the 4th c. BC.;
Classical, covering the 5th-4th centuries. BC.;
Hellenistic, dating from the second half of the 4th c. - the middle of the 1st c. AD

Archaeologists, however, insist that the preclassical period should be further divided into three stages - the Cretan-Mycenaean, Homeric and archaic. At the turn of 3-2 thousand BC on the island of Crete, the first civilization arose, which was separated from other periods, thanks to various artifacts. The culture of the Crete-Mycenaean period is not as rich as other eras of Ancient Greece, but it suggests that this civilization requires special attention from researchers.

The Homeric period has been little studied by historians; basic information about it has been preserved in the works of Homer. Chronologically covered the period from the 11th to the 9th centuries. BC.

After it, an archaic stage followed, in which the foundations of the statehood of the Greeks, mentality, culture, and mythology began to take shape. The period began in the 8th century. BC. and ended at the border of the 5th-4th centuries. BC.

Settlement of Hellas

People began to appear on the southern outskirts of the Balkan Peninsula during the Middle Paleolithic. Traces of primitive man have been found from Macedonia to Elis. In the Neolithic, people were already engaged in agriculture, raised cattle, began to build houses, a tribal system was taking shape, which in 3-2 thousand BC. evolved into an early class society.

During the Aegean period, the settlement of mainland and island Greece took place. In particular, the Minoan culture developed on Crete, the Helladic culture on the mainland, and the Cycladic culture on the islands.

In the Bronze Age, civilization actively developed on the Greek islands. This period was characterized by the following features and achievements:

The extraction of ores, including copper, began;
People began to actively use silver and lead;
Weapons, decorations, tools, cult items were made of metal;
Ceramic and pottery products were created;
Construction and crafts associated with it developed. This allowed the development of shipping. The construction of ships contributed to the gradual development of the islands neighboring Greece. As a result, the ancient Greeks established dominance over the coast of the entire Aegean Sea;
Large cities arose, which were the centers of certain tribes. The inhabitants were located on the hills, which indicates the beginning of the differentiation of society. There were rulers who sought to rise above other people. This provoked the first tribal wars in Ancient Greece.

In the Bronze Age, Crete was the center of social and economic development, on which several states developed. These include Festus, Mallia, Knossos. By their nature, these were early slave-owning states, which had their own written language (hieroglyphic). At the very end of the Bronze Age, a new palace period began in Crete, during which new palaces were created and old ones were renovated. The Cretan-Mycenaean civilization was one of the most developed in Ancient Greece, during which communications with the outside world, maritime dominance were significantly expanded, and cities were strengthened. In 1470 BC An earthquake occurred on the island of Thera, which reached Crete. Cities, palaces, and fleets were instantly destroyed. The entire population of the island also died, after which its territory began to fall into disrepair. A hundred years later, the Palace of Knossos was restored, but this state has not reached its former power.

On the mainland, other centers of slavery arose, which became separate city-states. It was Pylos, Tiryns and Mycenae who created the Achaean tribes. They built not only warships, but also large merchant ships, which made it possible to establish dominance over the existing trade routes of that time. The products of the Achaeans were sold to such countries of the East as Phoenicia, Syria, and Egypt. There are products of the ancient Greeks both in Asia Minor and in Italy. The Achaeans invented their own script, which, unlike the Cretan one, was not hieroglyphic, but syllabic.

Features of the Homeric period

The Achaean civilization fell under the onslaught of new tribes - the Dorian ones, who captured the states in the middle and southern regions. Athens survived, where the Achaeans from the Peloponnese moved. Here it was possible to maintain a high culture and develop further, while the rest of Greece was thrown back in development.

This is due to the fact that the Dorian tribes were in the conditions of the formation of the tribal system. Therefore, production, cities and political systems began to change rapidly. Tribal relations again came to the fore, which is why tools and weapons made of iron began to spread in ancient Greek society. Metal and iron products caused the formation of a special class of society - artisans, due to which at the end of the 9th century. BC. handicraft finally separated from agriculture and cattle breeding. This is how the market began to form, individual cities began to specialize in the production of only one type of iron products.

Independent communities began to take shape, headed by basiles. Their power was supported by the tribal nobility, which strengthened its influence through land holdings. The population living in such territories fell into slavery. People fell into dependence on the rich in different ways:

In Sparta, the dependent categories of the population included the perieks, which form the basis of the indigenous population of the state; as well as helots - farmers from Messenia. Perieki had little self-government, continuing to engage in trade and various crafts. Helots, on the other hand, were state property, were attached to plots of land of the Spartans - representatives of the local nobility;
In Thessaly, the subjugated population was called penesti;
In Crete, they were clarotes.

Slavery in the Homeric period also existed in Athens, but people who did not pay their debts became slaves.

Greece in the archaic period

The increase in the number of cities and the complication of the social system caused the active development of trade. Residents of settlements demanded constant raw materials for work and food. The situation was worsened by the fact that the cities became a haven for peasants who were deprived of their land. The number of representatives of the nobility, which constantly needed slaves, also increased. They were used for the construction of palaces, for cultivating fields, for domestic work.

All this created the prerequisites for the start of a new stage in the history of Ancient Greece - the colonial one. The impetus for the beginning of the creation of colony cities was the aggravation of the social struggle within Greek society. During the 8th-6th centuries. BC, colonies were bred on the islands of Sicily and Euboea, the coast of the Gulf of Tarentum, the Black Sea, along the Aegean coast.

The presence of a large number of colonies brought the Greek trade to a new level of development - international. The consequences of the creation of colonies include:

Growing demand for Greek goods;
Slaves constantly entered the metropolis;
The nobility received wealth and luxury items;
Coins borrowed from other peoples began to be used in trade;
The position of many landowners and tribal nobility strengthened;
Separate cities of Greece became common religious centers.

The archaic period was characterized by a constant struggle between the demos and the aristocracy. The population of the cities sought to get rid of slavery, and this was done in a number of cities in Hellas.

Resistance was provided by the tribal nobility, which they managed to humble through the establishment of a tyranny regime.

During the 8th-6th centuries. BC. a special form of political, social and economic structure of the Greek city also took shape. It was a policy - a free settlement in which only free citizens lived. If people belonged to the policy, then this provided them with rights, including slaves and land.

Policies were divided into two groups:

Oligarchic (Sparta and Crete);
Democratic (Athens).

In the city-states, slavery and elements of the tribal system simultaneously existed. In the south of mainland Greece, agricultural communities continued to develop, which belonged to individual tribes.

Hellas in the classical period of development

Greece reached its peak of development in the 5th-4th centuries. BC. Historians believe that this was the heyday of the economy, culture, politics, trade, sciences and arts. Trade and craft policies continued to use slaves - in craft workshops, in mines, in the fields, on the farm.

Small peasant farms and handicrafts became widespread.

In the classical period, the center of political life was Athens, which was famous for its democratic traditions. This allowed them to win a series of Greco-Persian wars, create the Delian League to fight against the Persians.

In Greece, unity between the policies never existed, and the struggle for dominance escalated precisely in the classical period. The peak of the confrontation was the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens, which ended in the loss of the last policy. Defeat and losses were suffered by the Greek cities that supported Athens. But the war caused the rise of Sparta and its supporters.

But this was not the last war in Hellas of that period. Another one flared up in 395-387. BC, and was called the Corinthian. It ended with the defeat of Sparta, and the fall of part of the Greek policies under the rule of Persia.

In the middle of the 4th c. BC. in the northern Greek regions, a new political force was formed, headed by the city-polis of Macedonia. Its king, Philip II, gradually captured the coast of Thrace, Thessaly, Hakidiki and Phocis. The influence of Macedonia was so strong that pro-Macedonian parties appeared in other policies.

In 338-337 years. BC, Philip II convened the Corinthian Congress, which formalized the dominance of Macedonia on the island and mainland Greece. He also created a union of policies, in which the regime of government was proclaimed oligarchic. Order among the population and in the authorities was maintained by the efforts of the Macedonian army.

Decline of Ancient Greece

At the end of the 4th c. BC Hellas entered a new period of development, which in historiography is called Hellenistic. It was associated with the name of Alexander the Great, son of Philip II. His conquests qualitatively changed all spheres of life in Greece, formed many other states, enriched Greek culture. Alexander the Great managed to create a huge empire, which ceased to exist immediately after his death in 323 BC.

The Hellenistic period in Greece was characterized by the following events:

Creation of permanent unions of cities, policies. Such formations were of a military nature, and were aimed at challenging the dominance of Macedonia, Sparta or Athens in Greece;
Policies were headed by oligarchs or kings, who constantly fought among themselves;
Macedonia won the fight against Athens, which put an end to the famous Athenian democracy;
Macedonia lost power over the Balkans, as the Achaean and Aetolian military alliances constantly fought against it;
The death of Alexander the Great unleashed a struggle between his successors, as a result of which cities were destroyed, people died, the sale of people into slavery intensified, and new colonies were created. Pirates also began to attack Greece, especially island and coastal policies suffered from this;
In the policies, the social struggle intensified, which depended on what political force interfered in the internal affairs of Greece. They were both Romans and Persians.

In 196 BC the Isthmian Games took place, at which the commander Flamininus announced that the Greeks had freedom. This increased the popularity of Rome in Greece, which actually became the property of the republic. In 27 BC Hellas became one of the Roman provinces called Achaia. And so it went on for several centuries, until in the 4th c. AD barbarian raids did not destroy the Roman Empire, dividing it into Western and Eastern. On the basis of the latter, a new political force began to form on the Balkan Peninsula - the Byzantine Empire.

Religion and mythology of ancient Greece

The inhabitants of Hellas had their own original religion, which linked culture, mythology and art into a single whole. The Greeks believed that the main god is Zeus, sitting on Mount Olympus. Eleven more gods and goddesses lived there with him. Greek religion, like mythology, is interesting in that the Helladians represented their gods as people, endowed them with human traits of character and behavior. The gods had the same feelings as people, the vices and desires that were present in the ancient world.

Mythology was formed over several centuries, and reflected all the problems that the Greeks faced in everyday life. In addition to the gods, Greek mythology is rich in characters such as mortal heroes such as Achilles and Hercules, mythical creatures. These were satyrs, ora, nymphs, forest and river monsters, dragons, muses, dragons and vipers.

Art and science

The inhabitants of Ancient Hellas made a huge contribution to the development of theater, painting, and sculpture. The art of the Greeks is present in almost every corner of the globe. First of all, these are temples and architectural styles. The Greeks erected temples in honor of the gods, so that Zeus and his supporters had a place to live. But, unlike the Romans, or the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Babylonia, the Helladians built temples not large (relatively, judging by size), placing them in the acropolis of the city. It was the most protected part of the settlement. To make the temple visible from afar, it was erected on a mountain or hill. For construction, they tried to use two main materials - limestone and white marble. Each temple, like any Greek building, necessarily had columns, located in one or two rows. In the classical period, the art of building temples reached its peak of development. In the next era - the Hellenistic - stadiums, sports grounds, walking spaces, amphitheaters began to appear.

Simultaneously with sculpture, sculpture developed, which changed throughout the entire period of the existence of Ancient Greece. If in the archaic period the sculptures of people always had robes, then in the classical era the masters concentrated their main attention on the human body. It was customary to depict physically developed, strong, athletic people, which emphasized the inner and outer beauty. In Hellenism, sculptures began to have a metaphorical character, exaggerations appeared in works of art, pomp, which had not existed before.

The Greeks were also distinguished by a special painting technique, samples of which have practically not been preserved to this day. But the drawings can be seen on the vases. The Greeks used two methods of painting such items as black-figure and red-figure. The first was characterized by the use of black lacquer to depict people and animals. And the red-figure implied the complete painting over of the black background, while the figures were made red, and black varnish helped to clearly draw the details.

During the celebration of the festival of winemaking, which was dedicated to the god Dionysus, the Greek theater began to take shape. With its appearance, music and literature began to actively develop. Often these directions were not separated from each other, which made both literature and theater an organic whole. In productions, it was customary to use special masks worn only by male actors. Women did not take part in the performances.

The large number of theaters and amphitheatres speaks of the special role of theater in the daily and social life of Greece. Neither festivities nor festivities were complete without performances. The theater was distinguished by a wide variety of plots and themes, genres. These were comedies, and tragedies, and satires, and ironic performances on the topic of the day.

The scientific knowledge of the Greeks developed in different areas - philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, geometry, biology, physics, chemistry, history. A special place among knowledge was occupied by philosophy, which studied the problems of the origin of the cosmos, planets, man, and the search for answers to questions related to immortality. Several philosophical schools were formed in Hellas, the prominent representatives of which were Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Thales, Herodotus, etc.

Literature, grammar, mathematics, history, astronomy, and philosophy were taught in the schools of ancient Greece. Physical education was obligatory in order for a person's personality to develop harmoniously.

The most famous heritage of the Greeks is the Olympic Games, which were created in order to praise the gods and bring them various honors. At first, these were local competitions, which eventually developed into all-Greek ones. Athletes from different cities of Hellas competed at the competitions, trying to get the status of the best athlete. The main competitions took place in such a discipline as the pentathlon, now it is also present at the Olympic Games.

The history of the development of Greece begins with the deepest antiquity, when the Neolithic era can be considered the starting point in time. It should be noted that the entire ancient Greek history is closely connected with the sea. In 1500 BC there was a very strong earthquake in the area of the island of Santorini, which caused the first cultural decline.

A little later, the Achaeans came to the territory of Greece, since that time the beginning of a new cultural era of ancient Greece has been marked. Mycenae and Achaeans firmly established themselves on the world stage, everyone knows such signs of this period as Homer, the heroes Jason, Hercules, Theseus. The logical conclusion of this era was the Trojan War, as a result of which the power of the Mycenae was shaken, the wild tribes of the northern Dorians invaded the territory of the state. During this period, Greece slowly degraded, the only cultural outburst was the formation of a clear, true Greek language, in which myths began to be composed.

In the era of ancient Greece, the Penelopean Union was created to regulate relations with Sparta. These years are characterized by the growth and prosperity of the economy, the rapid pace of cultural development. The prerequisites for this were the foundations of Spartan education, which spread a commitment to rigor and simplicity of life. The laws of Solomon and the reign of Cleisthenes also had a positive effect. In 500 B.C. the period of ancient Greece ends, when the war with the Persians was over. There is a flourishing of Athenian rule, which causes discontent of the Spartans.

In 337 B.C. Alexander the Great united the country, created the conditions for the successful development of the economy, technology, and military training. After the death of the great ruler, Greece disintegrates, in the Hellenistic period the empire was divided into autonomous states, art was replaced by entrepreneurship and commerce. The Romans subsequently became the carriers of Greek culture, who brought it to our days. There is a close relationship between Greek and Roman architecture.

Byzantine influence also played a significant role in Greek cultural development. At this time, art flourished and exalted, many laws were passed to protect women and children. But in 1453 the Byzantine Empire fell, the Turkish tribes began to rule, this time can be considered a black chapter in the entire history of the country. The country resisted the imposed power, tried to prove the right to its own religion.

With the consent of the Orthodox Church, a revolution took place in 1821. After her, the country was mired in civil wars. The government managed to return the Ionian Islands and part of Epirus to Greece, later it completely passed the country, along with Thrace and Izmir.

The state in its modern form was developed after the end of the war. At this time, the country regained Rhodes and liberated the entire mainland territory of the state. The year 1974 marked the start of a new free European period in Greek history, since at that time an agreement was concluded that secured the cessation of all military actions against Turkey due to a territorial war.

Since 1991, Greece has been recognized as a modern free state, an equal member of the EEC.

The history of Ancient Greece is one of the most exciting, majestic and interesting. It is customary to divide the entire history of ancient Greece into five main periods: the Aegean or Crete-Mycenaean (3-2 thousand BC), Homeric (11-9 centuries BC), archaic (8-4 centuries BC). BC), classical (5th-4th centuries BC), and Hellenistic (second half of the 4th to the middle of the 1st century BC). In addition, the first three eras are often grouped under the common name of the preclassic period. In this case, the entire history of Ancient Greece is divided into three large main periods: preclassical, classical and Hellenistic.

The settlement of the territory of Greece by humans is evidenced by archaeological excavations that discovered Paleolithic sites in the territory from Macedonia to Elis, dating back to the period of the Middle Paleolithic (about 100-40 thousand BC). The skull of a Neanderthal man, found on the peninsula of Halkidiki, dates back to this time. During the Neolithic period (about the middle of the 7th millennium BC), the population of Greece mastered agriculture, was engaged in cattle breeding, leading a sedentary lifestyle. During this period, the tribal system, which took shape back in the era of the Middle Paleolithic, reached its full development.

Aegean period (3-2 thousand BC)

It was to this time that the emergence of the first early class societies dates back. The history of Greece of this era is chronologically divided into early, middle and late periods. Differences in the cultural traditions of individual parts of Greece made it possible to identify geographical options: the culture of Crete was called the Minoan culture, mainland Greece - the Helladic culture, the islands of the Aegean Sea - the Cycladic culture.

Early Bronze Age (about 28th - about 21st centuries BC). This period is marked by a special rise of insular Greece. By the middle of the 3rd millennium, on many islands (on Syros, Paros, Melos, Kythnos, Amorgos, etc.), widespread mining of silver, lead and copper and the manufacture of metal utensils, weapons, tools, jewelry and ritual items were developed. At the same time, there was significant progress in pottery and building crafts. Navigation in the 2nd half of the 3rd millennium connected the entire coast of the Aegean Sea. The first cities appeared: Poliochni on about. Lemnos, Agios Kosmas in Attica.

A fortified settlement with a palace (the so-called "House of Tiles") on a hilltop in Lerna (Argolis) reflects the growth of power of tribal kings on the coast of southern Greece. In the rest of mainland Greece, the tribal system remained in full force. Between 2200-2000 tribal wars and movements destroyed a number of prosperous centers on the islands and the mainland. The ethnic composition of the population in the 3rd millennium is complex: at first, the Pelasgians predominated among the tribes, later they were pushed aside and partly assimilated by the proto-Greek tribes. Among the proto-Greek tribes, the Achaeans and Ionians intensified.

Middle Bronze Age (about 20-17 centuries BC). This period was marked by a significant progress of Crete in economic and social life. Small early slave-owning states arose here (Knoss, Festus, Agia Triada, Mallia). Cretan writing evolved rapidly: from pictographic to hieroglyphic (23rd-17th centuries). Around the 18th century a new system was developed - the so-called. syllabary A. Having created a large fleet, the Cretans subjugated a number of islands in the Aegean Sea. Wide trade and diplomatic relations with Egypt and the states of Western Asia provided Crete with primacy in the Aegean basin.

The internal history of mainland Georgia in the 20th–17th centuries. characterizes the relatively slow development that contributed to the stability of communal relations. Only since the 17th century. the formation of the early slave-owning states of Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, and others began. The burials of royal families discovered in Mycenae in large well-shaped (so-called shaft) graves contained a huge amount of precious things (weapons, jewelry, golden masks, etc.), testifying to the strengthening of the importance of the power of the Achaean dynasts already in the middle of the 17th - the end of the 16th centuries.

Late Bronze Age (about 16th - about 12th centuries BC). The rise of the Cretan states continued. In the so-called new palace period (about 1700-1450), the palaces of Knossos and Phaistos were rebuilt and expanded, and the palace in Kato-Zakro was re-erected. Cities grew, external relations expanded. The maritime dominion (thalassocracy) of the Cretans of this time was preserved in the memory of the Greeks many centuries later. Around 1470, a tectonic catastrophe on about. Thera caused a devastating earthquake in Crete. The destruction of cities and villages, the death of the population and the fleet - all these circumstances determined the desolation of the island. At Knossos the palace was rebuilt; until about 1380, a small state remained here.

Mainland Greece reached its highest peak in the 16th and 13th centuries. Progress in agriculture and crafts led to an increase in population. Civil strife between neighbors, defensive and military alliances of dynasts are characteristic of the history of that time. This was reflected in a rich legendary tradition and in the epic heritage of the Achaeans. The Mycenaean culture of the Achaeans influenced neighboring countries, including Egypt. The fleets of the kings of Iolkos, Mycenae, Pylos, Thebes and other states allowed the Achaeans to conduct an extensive overseas trade in handicrafts, which were sometimes produced specifically for export. For 15-14 centuries. characteristic is the wide distribution of Achaean products to the East (to the Troad and other regions of Asia Minor, to Cyprus, to Phenicia, Syria, Egypt) and to the West (to Sicily and southern Italy). The complication of the state life of the Achaeans led to the development of writing: having adapted the Cretan letter to their dialect, the Achaeans created a more perfect, so-called. syllabary.

Homeric period (XI-IX centuries BC)

In the Homeric period, further formation of class societies took place. From the northern regions, new Greek tribes of the Dorians invaded, occupying part of the land in Central and Southern Greece. Only Athens was able to maintain its independence, and part of the population fled there from the defeated Achaean states of the Peloponnese. The invasion of the Dorian tribes, who still lived in the conditions of the tribal system, led to the rapid disintegration of the Achaean states and the revival of tribal relations in Greek society. The basis for the further development of the productive forces was the gradual spread of iron tools and weapons. The Dorians inherited from the Achaeans and Cretans a plow, wheeled carts, sailing ships, presses, a potter's wheel, other tools, and the rudiments of architecture (especially temple and fortress architecture).

After the Dorian conquest, small independent communities formed in Georgia; the basilei were in power, the tribal nobility strengthened everywhere. In many areas, family ownership of land became the basis of land ownership. The conquered local population became the property of the conquering families, which broke up into large family communities. The process of enslavement of the local population proceeded differently. In Sparta, the members of the community of conquerors - the Spartans - were opposed by the perieks - the former indigenous population of the territory of Sparta, conquered and pushed back to the borders of Laconia; Perieki retained limited self-government, engaged in crafts and trade. Dr. the category of the dependent population in Sparta was the helots—the agricultural population of Messenia and other regions subjugated by the Spartans; they were considered the property of the state and were attached to the land plots of the Spartans. Categories of dependent population similar to the helots existed in Thessaly (penestes), on Crete (clarotes), and in other areas of Greece. In Athens, the enslavement of farmers took place through debt dependence and the concentration of land in the hands of the tribal nobility, the Eupatrides.

By the 9th century Greek tribes settled: the Aeolians settled in Northern Greece, the Dorians in Middle Greece and the eastern part of the Peloponnese, the Ionians in Attica, and the Achaean tribes, which retained their independence, were pushed back to Arcadia and Achaia. The most important event of this period was the beginning of the Greek colonization of the islands and coast of Asia Minor: the northern regions were settled by the Aeolians, the central regions (Ionia) by the Ionians, and the southern regions by the Dorians.

The emergence and development of the polis system (8th-6th centuries BC). The further distribution of iron tools led to the separation of artisans. The separation of handicrafts from agriculture meant a transition to a wider exchange, production for the market, and the development of cities.

Archaic period (VIII-VI centuries BC)

For the cities of Greece, it became vital to establish regular trade relations and supply the population of the cities with raw materials and the missing foodstuffs. Landless peasants accumulated in the cities. At the same time, the need for slaves increased. The withdrawal of the colonies became an economic necessity. It was caused primarily by the class struggle within the Greek city-states and was carried out in order to mitigate sharp social contradictions. In the middle of the 8th c. the first colony of cities about. Euboea - Kumy (in Italy). The heyday of colonization falls on the 7th-6th centuries. Greek colonies spread along the northern coast of the Aegean Sea, the eastern coast of Sicily, the coast of the Gulf of Tarentum in Italy and advanced to the Black Sea coast. Only Miletus founded 75 colonies on the Black Sea.

As a result, Greek trade already in the 6th c. acquired an international character; handicraft products of the Greeks were widely sold both in the western and eastern markets. Slaves entered Greece; it imported grain and other foodstuffs, raw materials, and luxury items. Coins borrowed by the Greeks from the Lydians in the 7th century BC became widespread. Some cities turned into pan-Greek religious centers (Delphi, Olympia). The growth in the number of slaves in the cities strengthened the position of slave owners associated with trade, crafts and money management. However, the main means of production - land and political power still remained in the hands of the tribal nobility, whose economic power was based on family and tribal ownership of land and the enslavement and enslavement of small farmers.

The struggle of the demos against the tribal aristocracy and debt slavery is the main feature of the period of the 8th-6th centuries. As a result of a stubborn struggle, the demos achieved the abolition of debt bondage in some cities of Greece (for example, in Athens as a result of the reforms of Solon 594/593 BC). However, it was possible to suppress the resistance of the tribal nobility to the implementation of reforms only with the help of violence. Such a force was tyranny - the sole power established through armed struggle and based on the movement of the peasant poor and the support of merchants and artisans.

As a result of the reforms of tyrants, the economic and political privileges of the tribal aristocracy were eliminated. In the period of 8-6 centuries. BC e. a special form of socio-economic and political organization of ancient Greek societies was formed - the polis (city-state) as a collective of free citizens who opposed slaves and other categories of dependent population (clarots, penestes, helots, etc.), as well as foreigners - meteks. Belonging to the policy provided a collective of full-fledged citizens with the right to own land and slaves.

Depending on the degree of victory of farmers and artisans over the tribal nobility, the constitution of the policy was either oligarchic (for example, in Sparta, Crete) or democratic (for example, in Athens). By the end of the 6th c. BC e. slavery spread widely in some highly economically developed policies (Corinth, Athens), where slaves and slave owners became antagonistic classes. At the same time, in a number of other cities (Sparta, cities of Crete, Argos, and others), along with slavery, remnants of the tribal system were preserved for a long time. In Central and Southern Greece, there were still tribal agricultural communities in which a natural agricultural economy and a tribal system were preserved (Phocis, Aetolia, Acarnania, and others).

A struggle broke out between the policies, caused by various economic and political reasons. At the end of the 6th c. the first major association of cities arose - the Peloponnesian Union under the leadership of Sparta, created to unite the military forces of the Peloponnese (except Argos) and to organize assistance to Sparta during the uprisings of the helots.

Classic period (5th - 4th century BC)

5th-4th centuries BC e. in the history of Greece - the period of the highest economic, political and cultural flourishing of the polis system. The economic system of economically advanced trade and craft policies was mainly determined by the labor of slaves used in craft (slave workshops), in mines, and also sporadically in agriculture. Small peasant farming and small free handicrafts played a significant role. The heyday of Greece is associated with the rise of Athens as a result of the victory of Athenian democracy in the Greco-Persian wars (500-449) and the creation of the Delian Union led by Athens (or the First Athenian Maritime Union) from the states located on the islands of the Aegean Sea and its northern, eastern and western coasts.

The time of the greatest power of Athens, the greatest democratization of the political system and the flowering of culture falls on the years of the reign of Pericles (443-429). However, this period was relatively short. The transformation of allies into subjects, the transfer of all important cases to the Athenian court, the restriction of freedom of trade, the collection of taxes - foros, punitive expeditions, the removal of cleruchia on the territory of the allies caused the desire of the latter to be released, especially from the oligarchic circles. At the same time, a conflict of a foreign policy nature was also brewing: the struggle between Athens and Corinth over trade routes to the west, and the struggle between Athens and Sparta for hegemony in Greece. All these contradictions led to the Peloponnesian War (431–404), which engulfed most of the Greek policies.

The war revealed all the fragility of the Athenian alliance and ended with the complete defeat of Athens. They lost almost all external possessions, the fleet was transferred to Sparta. The period of Spartan hegemony in Greece began.

Not only Athens, but also many Greek cities came out of the war weakened. Strengthening property contrasts caused sharp clashes and armed struggle within the policies. In each city, two camps formed: the poor and the rich. The further development of slavery, exchange, handicrafts, money management began to undermine the foundations of the state community (polis), the economic basis of which was small and medium landownership.

The accumulation of money in the hands of rich metecs destroyed the closed framework of the polis economy. The ruin of the peasants and artisans created in the policies the poor, who did not find application in the economic sphere. The military power of the policy was also undermined: the people's militia in a number of policies replaced detachments of mercenaries, since war became the only possible profession for the poor. The constant internecine wars of the policies further strengthened their plight.

In 395, the Corinthian War unleashed by Sparta (395-387) began; in the war, Sparta was opposed by a coalition of states (Athens, Corinth, Thebes, etc.). The weakening of the policies and the decline of the financial economy at that time made all the policies dependent on rich Persia, which actually dictated the terms of peace to the warring parties (the royal, or Antalkids peace): Persia restored its power over the cities of Asia Minor, unions of cities, surveillance and control were prohibited in Greece beyond the Greek cities, they were transferred to Sparta, whose policy was expressed in violations of the autonomy of states, in reprisals against democrats, and the establishment of oligarchic orders.

Sparta became the main enemy of Greek freedom and independence. A Spartan garrison was brought into Thebes, but the Theban democrats in 379, under the leadership of Pelopidas and Epaminondas, expelled the Spartans and restored the army that had existed in the 6th century. Boeotian Union. In 378/377, the Second Athenian Maritime Alliance arose to fight Sparta, which included Thebes. In 371, at the Battle of Leuctra, the Thebans inflicted a defeat on the Spartan troops, which dispelled the myth of Sparta's invincibility. After the death of the Theban commander Epaminondas in the Battle of Mantinea (362), the brief period of the rise of Thebes ended, which was facilitated by the hostile attitude towards Thebes of Athens, frightened by their strengthening. However, the attempt of Athens to establish in the Second Athenian Maritime Union the orders that existed in the First Union was rebuffed by the allies and led to the Allied War of 357-355 BC. e., ending with the collapse of the union.

During this period, a new power arose in northern Greece - Macedonia. By 346, the Macedonian king Philip II conquered first Thessaly, then Phocis, Chalkidike and the Thracian coast. In Athens and other cities of Greece, there was a struggle between the pro-Macedonian (Isocrates, Aeschines, Philocrates, etc.) and anti-Macedonian (Demosthenes, Hyperides, etc.) parties. Through the efforts of Demosthenes against Macedonia, a coalition of Greek cities was created, which, however, suffered a complete defeat in the battle of Chaeronea (338), where, according to Lycurgus, one of the leaders of the anti-Macedonian party, "together with the bodies of the fallen, the freedom of the Greeks was also buried." The congress in Corinth in 338-337, convened by Philip II, finally formalized the subordination of Greece to Macedonia, it announced the creation of a union of Greek states headed by Macedonia. In all policies, an oligarchic regime was established, supported by Macedonian garrisons.

Hellenistic period (late 4th BC - mid 1st century AD)

The Battle of Chaeronea and the conquests of the Greco-Macedonian army in the east under the command of Alexander the Great opened the Hellenistic period. The monarchy of Alexander the Great collapsed immediately after his death (323). The long struggle of the Diadochi and their successors, the epigones, led to the creation of a number of independent Hellenistic states (the largest of them were the Seleucid, Ptolemaic and Macedonian monarchies).

Greece of the Hellenistic period is characterized by the predominance of states and unions of a militarized type (Macedonia, the Achaean Union, the Aetolian Union, Sparta), which continued to challenge dominance in Greece. In most states, an oligarchy or kings were in power. The struggle of the states led by Athens against Macedonia after the death of Alexander (the Lamian War 323/322) ended with the victory of Macedonia and the massacre of the Greek democrats. After a second defeat in the Chremonid War (267-261; named after the Athenian commander Chremonides), Athens was defeated, becoming completely dependent on the Macedonian monarchy.

However, Macedonia was unable to restore its power over the entire Balkan Peninsula. They fought against it, sometimes uniting with each other, sometimes separately, two new powerful unions - Achaean (reborn around 280) and Aetolian (created around 320). The Achaean Union covered most of the Peloponnese (except for Sparta, which entered the union after 192) and the largest cities (Sicyon, Corinth, Megara). The Aetolian Union, in addition to Aetolia, included the regions of Middle Greece (except for Athens), southern Thessaly, and some other cities. The struggle of the successors of Alexander, and later Macedonia, and two alliances for power in Greece led to the massive destruction of cities, the sale of inhabitants into slavery, and the settlement of centers by new colonists. The Greek cities were also devastated by pirates, who were used by the Aetolians, selling them into slavery the inhabitants of the captured cities (from Laconica alone, up to 50 thousand people were sold). The result of the struggle was the slow agony of cities, the ruin of the middle strata of the Greek population, the growth of the poor, whose unrest became common (in Corinth, Argos, Miletus).

After the defeat inflicted by the Romans on Macedonia at the Battle of Cynoscephalae in 197, the Romans constantly intervened in the internal affairs of the Greeks, supporting the oligarchic layers against democracy. In the summer of 196, the Roman general Flamininus proclaimed the “freedom” of the Greeks at the Isthmian Games, faith in which made Rome popular in Greece for a short time. Since that time, Greece has been constantly under Roman influence. In fact, Greece was under the rule of Rome. With the establishment of the Roman Empire (27 BC), Greece was turned into the Roman province of Achaia (except for Athens, which was nominally considered a free city) and did not stand out much from other eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. From the 4th c. AD Greece formed the core of the Eastern Roman Empire - Byzantium.