Top 10 important events of Ancient Greece History

The Ancient Greek events have played a significant role in framing the groundwork of Classical and Modern Greece. The Archaic period in Greece saw different political and geographical developments. The greatest war of all the times; the Trojan War, the composition of earliest surviving Greek literature; The Iliad and The Odyssey, the invention of Olympic games, and many such events circumscribe the boundaries of ancient Greece.

The flurry of development of the Archaic Era was followed by the period of maturity known as “Classical Greece”. Where the events in the archaic time were purely artistic, the Classical Era moved towards a more naturalistic approach.

Listed below are some major events which throw light upon the structures, developments, and tragedies that took place in the bygone age of Greece.

1. Beginning of Mycenaean Period- 1600 to 1100 BC

Mycenaean civilization forms the declining phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece. It showcases the very first advanced culture in Greece, followed by its plush states, works of writing and art, and public organization. The Mycenaean Greeks took forward innovations in the different fields of military infrastructure, engineering, and architecture. These discoveries were helpful in influencing the trade over the areas of the Mediterranean to carry forward their economy.

Moreover, the Linear B, their syllabic script, confirms about the first written records in the Greek language. Their religion included many deities that are also a part of the Olympic Pantheon. The civilization was under the power of elite warrior society which consisted a web of palace states.

These states developed political, hierarchical, economic and social systems which were not subjected to any flexibility. The king or the wanax was the head of the society.

The Minoan civilization (2000-1450 BCE) which preceded the Mycenaean civilization, were great influencers of the developments in the latter civilization. Art, architecture, and religious practices were now expressed in a better way. Major Mycenaean centres included Mycenae which was also the ancient home of Agamemnon, Tiryns which was considered to be the oldest hub, Pylos; Nestor’s conventional home, Midea, Thebes, Orchomenos, Argos, Gla, Nichoria, Sparta, and probably Athens.

Besides trade, art flourished. Geometric designs and decorative motifs were popular. Pottery shapes were somewhat same as the Minoan with some additions of the alabastron and the goblet. Terracotta statuette of standing female figures and animals were quite popular. Frescoes depicted captured, lions, plants, battle scenes, bull-leaping, and favourite Mycenaean activities.

Religiously, the Mycenaeans were of high beliefs. Burial was considered as a mandatory ritual. This civilization had a mysterious ending in 1200 BCE during the Bronze Age Collapse (possibly due to some earthquake, in-fighting or invasion)

2. The Trojan War- 1250 BC

The existence of Trojan war has always been ambiguous and debatable. Where some scholars take it as a myth, the others have found solid proofs pointing towards its reality.

Trojan War, in Greek mythology, is the battle between the people of Troy and the Greeks. The tiff began after Paris; the Trojan prince took away Helen, the wife of Menelaus of Sparta. When Menelaus asked for her return, the Trojans straightaway denied to give her back. Menelaus then cajoled his brother Agamemnon who headed the army against Troy. Agamemnon had with himself the Greek heroes Ajax, Achilles, Odysseus, and Nestor followed by a fleet of more than a thousand ships from all over the Hellenic world. For the next nine years, the Greeks wrecked Troy, its neighbouring cities, and countryside. But the well-fortified town, adjured by Prince Hector and other sons of the royal Trojan family, held out and won the war. Not accepting the defeat, the Greeks built a giant void wooden horse to hide small groups of warriors within.

Despite the repeated warnings of not to take the horse by both Laocoön and Cassandra, the Trojan king let it in. At night the Greeks returned, and their hidden companions swept out of the horse. They opened the city gates, attacked each, and everyone who came in their way and Troy was finally destroyed.

Now whether the war took place or not is the question. There is no evidence of Achilles and Helen’s existence. But most scholars agree to the fact that Troy itself was no fantastical Shangri-la but an actual city, and that the Trojan War happened in real. “The archaeological and textual evidence indicates that a Trojan war or wars took place and that Homer chose to write about one or more of them by making it into a great ten-year-long saga,” says Eric Cline.

Furthermore, according to a popular history channel, “The Layer Vlla of excavations, which is dated to some 1180 B.C., revealed skeletons and carbonized debris. This can be the evidence of the destruction that had happened during the wartime and hence the story of the Trojan War came to the front.” L&S

To be continued

Culled from: www.ancienthistorylists. com/greek-history/top-10-importantevents-of-ancient-greece/