Ancient Greece History

Greece was founded in 3000 B.C. and is located in Southern Europe bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Turkey and Albania. The majority of Greece is surrounded by water. Greece is one of the most mountainous countries of Europe to be exact 80% of Greece is mountainous. Some of the mountains include: Mount Athos, Mount Olympus, and the Mountains of Crete. Greece’s area can be compared to the size of the state Alabama. Between 3500 and 3000 B.C., society was becoming more complex. Villages built during this time were becoming larger. However, the population increased at a slow rate. During the second millennium B.C. two Greek civilizations evolved – the Minoan in Crete and the Mycenaean on the mainland. Sometime around 1349 B.C., the Mycenaean peoples conquered the island of Crete, and the Minoan civilization basically stopped evolving. Archeologists and historians discovered that Minoans’ first wrote in the Greek language and the Mycenaean’s first spoke it. There was a time called the “Dark Age”. It was approximately 1099 B.C. to 800 B.C. This is the time when things seem to fall apart. An example is when a revolution occurs. In this case, peasants rebelled against the military rulers. It is believe that the Mycenaean’s were very strong in their armed forces, and that probably caused their own destruction. Things became unruly. People were just trying to survive. They lived in smaller communities and farmed for themselves. The population growth slowed down to probably its lowest levels. Sometime around 800’s B.C., things began to change again. Things were starting to get better. Renaissance is another word for re-birth. This is what was happening to the country. Between 750 and 500 B.C., the Greeks had founded colonies in many parts of the Mediterranean Basin and the Black Sea. The ports of Argos and Corinth, on the Eastern side of the country, grew very fast and trade with the Near East began to grow. Metals were traded with the...