rebuilding difficult. In 1967 a group of
army officers seized control of the
country. The military government
remained in power until 1974, when a
democratic government was elected.
That year Greece and Turkey nearly
fought a war over control of the island
of Cyprus.
During the late 20th and early 21st centuries
Greece worked to improve relations
with its neighbors. Athens hosted
the Summer Olympics in 2004.
#More to explore
Athens • Cyprus • European Union
• Greece, Ancient
1453 1829 1913 1922 1949 1967 1974
The Ottoman
Empire
conquers
Greece.
Greece wins
independence.
Greece wins
territory at the
end of the
Balkan Wars.
Greece loses
land to Turkey.
Anti-
Communists
win the Greek
civil war.
The military
takes over
Greece’s
government.
Greece returns
to democracy.
T I M E L I N E
Greek women perform a folk dance.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Greece 153
Greece, Ancient
The area that is now Greece was home
to the first civilizations in Europe.
Ancient Greece had powerful cities,
great thinkers called philosophers, and
fine art. The idea of democracy—rule by
the people—also came from ancient
Greece.
Aegean Civilizations
Greek civilization began sometime after
3000 BC on the island of Crete. Crete
lies south of Greece, on the southern
border of the Aegean Sea. This first civilization
is called the Minoan civilization.
In the 1500s BC Greek-speaking people
developed another civilization on the
Greek mainland. This civilization was
called the Mycenaean civilization. The
Mycenaeans conquered the Minoan
capital between 1500 and 1400 BC. In
about 1200 BC they probably fought a
war against Troy, a city in Asia Minor
(modern Turkey). Many Greek legends
tell of this war, called the TrojanWar.
Two great poems from ancient Greece
tell of Mycenaean times. The poems, the
Iliad and the Odyssey, were said to be the
works of a man named Homer.
In about 1100 BC the Dorians, a people
from the north, invaded. Mycenaean
civilization came to an end. Many
Mycenaeans moved across the Aegean
Sea. They settled in Ionia in Asia Minor.
Greek Cities
The Dorians settled mostly in the western
sections of Greece. The people in the
eastern parts became known as Ionians.
Together, the Dorians and the Ionians
formed the civilization known as classical,
or ancient, Greece. They built cities
in most of what is now Greece.
By 800 BC the Greeks were building
cities in new lands, too. Some went east
to the Black Sea. Others settled in the
west, on the island of Sicily and the
mainland of Italy.
Most of the classical Greek cities, called
city-states, were independent of each
other. Athens and Sparta grew to be the
most important city-states. Athens
spread its influence by uniting all the
surrounding villages. By contrast, Sparta
sent armies to make slaves of its neighbors.
By the 500s BC Sparta had the
strongest army in Greece.
The Hellenes
Despite their differences, the Greeks
came to think of themselves as one
people. They called themselves the Hellenes.
Many remains from ancient Greece are still
standing today. Three columns remain from
a temple called the Tholos at Delphi. The
temple was built in the early 300s BC.
154 Greece, Ancient BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
The Hellenes shared a similar culture
and spoke forms of the Greek language.
They even invented the word barbarian
to describe anyone who did not speak
Greek.
The ancient Greeks believed in many
gods. They pictured their gods as larger,
more beautiful, and more powerful
humans. These gods were said to live on
Mount Olympus in northern Greece.
People often gathered together for festivals
in ancient Greece. The most famous
festival was the original Olympic
Games, which began in about 776 BC.
Democracy and Culture in
Athens
Powerful leaders ruled most of the citystates.
Eventually, Athens took the first
steps toward democracy. In 621 BC a
ruler named Draco drew up a written
code of laws. Then, in the last years of
the 500s BC, another leader set up a
democratic government. All free men
with Athenian parents were members of
the city’s lawmaking group. However,
women, foreigners, and slaves were not
included.
Athens also became the Greek center of
literature and the arts. The philosophers
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were great
teachers there. Poets and playwrights
wrote works that are still read and performed
today. Painted pottery became a
fine art and a great industry. Athenians
built beautiful buildings and sculptures
out of marble.
The PersianWars
In the 500s BC the empire of Persia
(modern Iran) took over the Greek cities
in Ionia. In about 499 BC the city of
Miletus started a rebellion against the
Persians. Athens sent 20 ships to aid the
Ionian Greeks, but the Persians crushed
the revolt.
An ancient Greek mosaic shows the sea god Poseidon riding two dolphins. The mosaic
was made from many small, flat colored stones.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Greece, Ancient 155
Beginning in 490 BC the Persians
attacked the Greek mainland several
times. The Greeks fought back and
finally defeated the Persians in 479 BC.
After the Greek victory, Athens grew
stronger.
The PeloponnesianWar
By the 400s BC Athens controlled most
