Franchthi Cave or Frankhthi Cave ( Greek : Σπήλαιον Φράγχθι ) is an archaeological site overlooking Kiladha Bay, in the Argolic Gulf , opposite the village of Kiladha in southeastern Argolis , Greece .
160-554: The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern nation-state of Greece as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they inhabited and ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied throughout the ages and as a result, the history of Greece is similarly elastic in what it includes. Generally, the history of Greece is divided into the following periods: At its cultural and geographical peak, Greek civilization spread from Egypt all
320-482: A constitution and representative assembly . Despite the absolutism of Otto's reign, it proved instrumental in developing institutions which are still the bedrock of Greek administration and education. Reforms were taken in education, maritime and postal communications, effective civil administration and the legal code . Historical revisionism took the form of de- Byzantinification and de- Ottomanisation , in favour of promoting Ancient Greek heritage. The capital
480-501: A 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.6/10, ranking it 70th globally out of 172 countries. In 2024, Greece became the first country in the European Union to ban bottom trawling in marine protected areas what should protect its marine biodiversity . Rare marine species such as the pinniped seals and the loggerhead sea turtle live in the seas surrounding mainland Greece, while its dense forests are home to
640-868: A Paleolithic site took place in 1942 at Seidi Cave in Boeotia by the German archaeologist Rudolf Stampfuss. More systematic research, however, was conducted during the 1960s in Epirus , Macedonia , Thessaly and the Peloponnese by English, American and German research groups. The Mesolithic in Greece occurred between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic . Mesolithic sites in Greece were limited, and
800-598: A coastal plain that was slowly submerged over the course of their occupation. During the Upper Paleolithic Franchthi Cave was seasonally occupied by a small group (or groups), probably in the range of 25–30 people, who mainly hunted wild ass and red deer , carrying a stone tool kit of flint bladelets and scrapers. Its use as a campsite increased considerably after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), with occasional hiatus in
960-501: A coup in 1967 by the Greek junta , led by Georgios Papadopoulos . Civil rights were suspended, political repression intensified, and human rights abuses, including torture, were rampant. Economic growth remained rapid before plateauing in 1972. The brutal suppression of the Athens Polytechnic uprising in 1973 set in motion the fall of the regime, resulting in a counter-coup that established brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis as
1120-644: A detailed map of "the paleo-shorelines and submerged prehistoric landscapes of the late Pleistocene and Early Holocene ..." for use in discovering traces of prehistoric human activity. This study of the seafloor involved two research vessels: the Alkyon from the Hellenic Center for Marine Research, and PlanetSolar , currently the world's largest solar-powered boat, which was commissioned by the University of Geneva for its Terra Submersa program. In 2014
1280-529: A failed attempt to annex Crete from the Ottomans. He was replaced by Prince Wilhelm of Denmark, who took the name George I and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from Britain. A new Constitution in 1864 changed Greece's form of government from constitutional monarchy to the more democratic crowned republic . In 1875 parliamentary majority as a requirement for government
1440-529: A fleet) across the Hellespont , re-subjugating Thrace and adding Macedonia as a fully-subjugated client kingdom. However, before he could reach Greece proper, his fleet was destroyed in a storm near Mount Athos . In 490 BC, Darius sent another fleet directly across the Aegean Sea (rather than following the land route as Mardonius had done) to subdue Athens. After destroying the city of Eretria ,
1600-627: A major cultural and economic centre, was home to the Minoan civilization known for its colourful art , religious figurines , and monumental palaces . The Minoans wrote their undeciphered language using scripts known as Linear A and Cretan hieroglyphs . On the mainland, the Mycenaean civilization developed around 1750 BC and lasted until c. 1100 BC. The Mycenaeans possessed advanced military and built large fortifications . They worshiped many gods and used Linear B to write
1760-499: A major part of the diet at Franchthi Cave, implying deep sea fishing. It has also been suggested that the tuna could have been caught by placing nets near the shore. A few graves have been found buried in the cave during the Mesolithic that suggest care for the dead. The cave also contains some of the earliest evidence for agriculture in Greece . Around 7,000 BC, the remains of domesticated plants and animals are found among
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#17327764998311920-479: A nearby site. But it soon became clear that Franchthi Cave was more important than they had anticipated. The excavation, overseen by Jacobsen, would continue for nearly a decade, ending in 1976. Since then numerous scholars have examined the extensive finds. During much of its history Franchthi was significantly further from the coastline than it is today, due to lower sea levels that have since risen around 120 metres (400 ft). Thus, its inhabitants looked out on
2080-673: A potential ally of the Seleucid Empire , the greatest power in the East. Philip's allies in Greece deserted him, and in 197 BC he was decisively defeated at the Battle of Cynoscephalae by the Roman proconsul Titus Quinctius Flaminius . Luckily for the Greeks, Flaminius was a moderate man and an admirer of Greek culture. Philip had to surrender his fleet and become a Roman ally, but he
2240-516: A protracted war of independence , which started in 1821, Greece emerged as a modern nation state in 1830. Over the first hundred years, the Kingdom of Greece sought territorial expansion , which was mainly realized in the early 20th century during the Balkan Wars and up until the catastrophic defeat of its Asia Minor Campaign in 1922. The short-lived republic that was established in 1924
2400-666: A ruling minority. As a result, during the centuries that followed a vernacular form of Greek , known as koine , and Greek culture was spread , while the Greeks adopted Eastern deities and cults . Greek science, technology, and mathematics reached their peak during the Hellenistic period. Aspiring to maintain their autonomy and independence from the Antigonid kings of the Macedonians , many poleis of Greece united in koina or sympoliteiai i.e. federations, while after
2560-773: A significant barrier to east–west travel. Its extensions cross through the Peloponnese, ending in the island of Crete. The Vikos Gorge , part of the Vikos-Aoos National Park in the Pindus range, is listed by the Guinness book of World Records as the deepest gorge in the world. Another notable formation are the Meteora rock pillars, atop which have been built medieval Greek Orthodox monasteries. Northeastern Greece features another high-altitude mountain range,
2720-477: A sitting position, and some of the nobility underwent mummification . Around 1100–1050 BC, the Mycenaean civilization collapsed. Numerous cities were sacked, and the region entered what historians see as a " dark age ". During this period, Greece experienced a decline in population and literacy . The Greeks themselves have traditionally blamed this decline on an invasion by another wave of Greek people,
2880-471: Is Ἑλλάς ( Hellas , classical: [hel.lás] , modern: [eˈlas] ). This is the source of the English alternative name Hellas , which is mostly found in archaic or poetic contexts today. The Greek adjectival form ελληνικός ( ellinikos , [eliniˈkos] ) is sometimes also translated as Hellenic and is often rendered in this way in the formal names of Greek institutions, as in
3040-496: Is 1,160 km (721 mi). The country lies approximately between latitudes 34° and 42° N , and longitudes 19° and 30° E , with the extreme points being: the village Ormenio in the North and the islands Gavdos (South), Strongyli near Kastellorizo /Megisti (East), and Othonoi (West). The island Gavdos is considered the southernmost island of Europe. Approximately 80% of Greece consists of mountains or hills, making
3200-576: Is a significant Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age material culture from the Cyclades , best known for its schematic flat female idols carved out of the islands' pure white marble. The Middle Bronze Age Minoan civilization in Crete lasted from c. 3000 – c. 1400 BC . Little specific information is known about the Minoans, including their written system, which was recorded with
3360-520: Is believed the inhabitants also occupied a village below the Paralia, which is now submerged beneath the sea. Several anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines have been recovered at Franchthi from the Neolithic era, and it has been suggested that the site may have served as a workshop for making cockle-shell beads to trade with inland communities during the Early Neolithic. The cave and
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#17327764998313520-435: Is called Linear B , which was deciphered in 1952 by Michael Ventris . The Mycenaeans buried their nobles in beehive tombs ( tholoi ), large circular burial chambers with a high-vaulted roof and straight entry passage lined with stone. They often buried daggers or some other form of military equipment with the deceased. Nobility was also often buried with gold masks, tiaras, armor, and jeweled weapons. Mycenaeans were buried in
3680-629: Is generally understudied in Greece because research has traditionally focused on the later parts of prehistory (Neolithic, Bronze Age) and the Classical times. Nevertheless, significant advances have been achieved over recent years, and the archaeological record has been enriched with new material, collected mostly in the framework of regional surveys but also through systematic or rescue excavations . New caves and rock shelters , as well as recently discovered and important open-air sites are now being excavated. Notably, an apparent elephant butchering site in
3840-527: Is now generally believed that emigrants from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B cultures of the Near East arrived by boat at the beginning of the seventh millennium BC to settle Greece (c. 6900 BC), introducing agriculture . For some time the evidence from Franchthi was used as an example in support of locally developed agriculture , but more detailed study of the remains has demonstrated that
4000-614: The Aetolian League as a means of defending it and restoring democracy in their states, as they saw Macedon as a tyrannical kingdom. The Achaean League , while nominally subject to the Ptolemies , was in effect independent, and controlled most of southern Greece. Sparta also remained independent, but generally refused to join any league. In 267 BC, Ptolemy II persuaded the Greek cities to revolt against Macedon in what became
4160-634: The Archaic period , which began c. 800 BC and lasted until the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC. It was during this period that the Greek alphabet and early Greek literature developed, as well as the poleis ("city-states") of Ancient Greece. With the end of the Dark Ages, Greeks spread to the shores of the Black Sea , Southern Italy (the so-called " Magna Graecia ") and Asia Minor . The Classical period began during
4320-553: The Balkans and Eastern Europe proper as well. In 499 BC, the Greek cities of Ionia , led by Miletus , revolted against the Persian Empire and were supported by some mainland cities, including Athens and Eretria . After the uprising had been quelled, Darius I launched the first Persian invasion of Greece to exact revenge on the mainland Greeks. In 492 BC, Persian general Mardonius led an army (supported by
4480-686: The Battle of Arginusae in 406 BC but was prevented by bad weather from rescuing many of its sailors, leading the city to execute or exile eight of its top naval commanders. Lysander followed with a crushing blow at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC which almost destroyed the Athenian fleet. Athens surrendered one year later, ending the Peloponnesian War and beginning a brief of period of Spartan hegemony in Greece. The war left devastation in its wake. Discontent with Spartan hegemony from both Athenian and former Spartan allies led to
4640-609: The Battle of Pylos , a significant fraction of the Spartan fighting force which it could not afford to lose. Meanwhile, Athens suffered humiliating defeats at Delium in 424 BC and Amphipolis in 422. The Peace of Nicias in 421 concluded the first stage of the war, with Sparta recovering its hoplites and Athens recovering the city of Amphipolis . Those who signed the Peace of Nicias in 421 BC swore to uphold it for fifty years, but peace lasted only seven years. The second stage of
4800-1068: The Boreal Kingdom and is shared between the East Mediterranean province of the Mediterranean Region and the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region . According to the World Wide Fund for Nature and the European Environment Agency , the territory of Greece can be subdivided into six ecoregions : the Illyrian deciduous forests , Pindus Mountains mixed forests , Balkan mixed forests , Rhodope montane mixed forests , Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests , and Crete Mediterranean forests . It had
4960-630: The Chremonidean War , named after the Athenian leader Chremonides . The cities were defeated and Athens lost her independence and democratic institutions. This marked the end of Athens as a political actor, although it remained the largest, wealthiest, and most cultivated city in Greece. In 225 BC, Macedon defeated the Egyptian fleet at Cos and brought the Aegean islands, except Rhodes, under its rule as well. Sparta remained hostile to
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5120-609: The Corinthian War of 395–387 BC. Backed by the Achaemenid Persian Empire , Athens, Thebes , Corinth, and Argos significantly weakened Spartan military power, though unsuccessful in ending Spartan dominance. The war concluded with the Treaty of Antalcidas in 387 BC, in which Sparta was forced to cede Ionia and Cyprus to the Persian Empire . The Corinthian War and its aftermath further sowed
5280-888: The Council of Europe , NATO (since 1952), the OECD , the WTO , and the OSCE . Greece has a unique cultural heritage, large tourism industry , and prominent shipping sector . The country's rich historical legacy is reflected in part by its 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites . Greece was the ninth most-visited country in the world in 2023. The native name of the country in Modern Greek is Ελλάδα ( Elláda , pronounced [eˈlaða] ). The corresponding form in Ancient Greek and conservative formal Modern Greek ( Katharevousa )
5440-527: The Cyclades , as well as some areas in the north featuring a cold equivalent climate ( Köppen : BSk ), such as the cities of Thessaloniki and Larissa . The mountainous areas and the higher elevations of northwestern Greece (parts of Epirus , Central Greece , Thessaly , Western Macedonia ) as well as in the mountainous central parts of Peloponnese – including parts of the regional units of Achaea , Arcadia , and Laconia – feature an Alpine climate ( Köppen : D , E ) with heavy snowfalls during
5600-600: The Dorians , although there is scant archaeological evidence for this view. Ancient Greece refers to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Greek Dark Ages ( c. 1050 – c. 750 BC ) to the end of antiquity ( c. AD 600 ). In common usage, it can refer to all Greek history before—or including—the Roman Empire , but historians tend use the term more precisely. Some include
5760-714: The Early Helladic II era (c. 2650 – c. 2200 BC), making it a contemporary of the House of the Tiles at Lerna , the building of the Great Pyramids , and both the Cycladic and Minoan cultures of the nearby Aegean islands. A second layer of Lambayanna has been identified as Early Helladic I (c. 3200 – c. 2650 BC), and a third layer has revealed pottery that dates all the way back to an intermediary period between
5920-642: The European Union (light green) Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in Southeast Europe . Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula , Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland , the Ionian Sea to the west, and
6080-648: The Greco-Persian wars in the 5th century BC and was marked by increased autonomy from the Persian Empire , as well as the flourishing of Ancient Greek democracy , art , theater , literature , and philosophy . The traditional date for the end of the Classical Greek period is the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, and the period that follows is termed the Hellenistic , ending with the rise of
6240-410: The Greek genocide (1914–22), when Ottoman and Turkish officials contributed to the death of several hundred thousand Asia Minor Greeks, along with similar numbers of Assyrians and a larger number of Armenians . The resultant Greek exodus from Asia Minor was made permanent, and expanded, in an official population exchange between Greece and Turkey , as part of the Treaty of Lausanne which ended
6400-553: The Hittite and the Egyptian . The cause is still somewhat mysterious, but has often been attributed to the invasion of hypothesized Sea Peoples wielding iron weapons. A hypothesized Dorian invasion may have also contributed, as asserted by ancient Greek legend but unsubstantiated by the archaeological record. Legend asserts that Dorians migrated down into Greece equipped with superior iron weapons, colonizing and easily dispersing
6560-629: The League of Corinth in 338–337 BC. In 336 BC, power was transferred to Philip's son, Alexander the Great , who spent the next ten years conquering the Persian Empire and much of Western Asia and Egypt. By the age of 30, Alexander had created one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern India . He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. After Alexander's death in 323 BC,
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6720-441: The London Conference of 1832 , Britain, France and Russia installed Bavarian Prince Otto von Wittelsbach as monarch . Otto's reign was despotic , and in its first 11 years of independence Greece was ruled by a Bavarian oligarchy led by Josef Ludwig von Armansperg and, later, by Otto himself, as King and Premier. Greece remained under the influence of its three protecting great powers. In 1843 an uprising forced Otto to grant
6880-459: The Macedonian Empire disintegrated under widespread civil wars , beginning the Hellenistic Age of Greek history. The Hellenistic period of Greek history begins with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and ends with the conquest of the Greek peninsula and islands by Rome in 146 BC. Although the establishment of Roman rule did not break the continuity of Hellenistic society and culture, which remained essentially unchanged until
7040-478: The Macedonian Struggle , which ended with the Young Turk Revolution in 1908. Amidst dissatisfaction with the seeming inertia and unattainability of national aspirations , military officers organised a coup in 1909 and called on Cretan politician Eleftherios Venizelos , who conveyed a vision of national regeneration. After winning two elections and becoming prime minister in 1910, Venizelos initiated fiscal, social, and constitutional reforms , reorganised
7200-422: The Megarian decree . There was disagreement among the Greeks as to which party violated the treaty between the Delian and Peloponnesian Leagues, as Athens was technically defending a new ally. The Corinthians turned to Sparta for aid. Fearing the growing might of Athens and witnessing Athens' willingness to use it against the Megarians (the embargo would have ruined them), Sparta declared the treaty violated, and
7360-422: The Minoan palaces except Knossos were devastated by fire, which allowed the Mycenaean Greeks , influenced by the Minoans' culture, to expand into Crete. Remains of the Minoan civilization which preceded the Mycenaean civilization on Crete were first discovered in the modern era by Sir Arthur Evans in 1900, when he purchased and began excavating the site at Knossos . Pre-Mycenean Helladic period Following
7520-461: The Near East entered the Greek peninsula from Anatolia by island-hopping through the Aegean Sea . The earliest known Neolithic sites with developed agricultural economies in Europe, dated 8500–9000 BP, were found in Greece. The first Greek-speaking tribes , speaking the predecessor of the Mycenaean language , arrived in the Greek mainland sometime in the Neolithic period or the Early Bronze Age ( c. 3200 BC). The Cycladic culture
7680-402: The Near East to Europe. Greece is home to the first advanced civilizations in Europe and is often considered the birthplace of Western civilisation. The earliest of them was the Cycladic culture which flourished on the islands of the Aegean Sea , starting around 3200 BC, and produced an abundance of folded-arm and other marble figurines . From c. 3100 BC to 1100 BC, Crete ,
7840-496: The Persian Empire ), it took the form of an alliance going to war. It also gave ample opportunity for wars within Greece between different poleis . Two major wars shaped the Classical Greek world. The first was the Persian Wars (499–449 BC), recounted in the Greek historian Herodotus 's Histories . By the late 6th century BC, the Achaemenid Persian Empire ruled over all Greek city-states in Ionia (the western coast of modern-day Turkey ) and had made territorial gains in
8000-418: The Phoenicians , eventually spreading north into Italy and the Gauls . In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization. Literacy had been lost and Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet , modifying it to create the Greek alphabet. From about the 9th century BC, written records begin to appear. Greece
8160-403: The Rhodope range, spreading across the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace ; this area is covered with vast, thick, ancient forests, including the famous Dadia Forest in the Evros regional unit , in the far northeast of the country. Extensive plains are primarily located in the regions of Thessaly , Central Macedonia , and Thrace . They constitute key economic regions as they are among
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#17327764998318320-415: The Roman Empire at the end of the first millennium BC. Not everyone treats the Classical Greek and Hellenic periods as distinct—some writers treat the Ancient Greek civilization as a continuum running until the proliferation of Christianity in the 3rd century. Ancient Greece is considered by many historians to be the foundational culture of Western civilization . Greek culture was a powerful influence in
8480-415: The Russian -instigated Orlov Revolt in 1770. These uprisings were put down by the Ottomans with great bloodshed. Many Greeks were conscripted as Ottoman subjects to serve in the Ottoman army and especially the navy, while the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, responsible for the Orthodox, remained in general loyal to the Empire. In the 18th century, Greek merchants came to dominate trade within
8640-422: The Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin , featuring thousands of islands . The country comprises nine traditional geographic regions , and has a population of over 10.4 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city , followed by Thessaloniki and Patras . Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization , being
8800-532: The Second Hellenic Republic declared. In 1935, a royalist general-turned-politician Georgios Kondylis took power after a coup and abolished the republic, holding a rigged referendum , after which King George II was restored to the throne. An agreement between Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas and George II followed in 1936, which installed Metaxas as head of a dictatorship known as the 4th of August Regime , inaugurating authoritarian rule that would last until 1974. Greece remained on good terms with Britain and
8960-446: The Slavic invasion in the 7th century resulted in a collapse in imperial authority in the Greek peninsula . The imperial government retained control of only the islands and coastal areas, particularly the populated walled cities such as Athens, Corinth and Thessalonica. However, the view that Greece underwent decline, fragmentation and depopulation is considered outdated, as cities show institutional continuity and prosperity between
9120-400: The Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Having achieved record economic growth from 1950 through the 1970s , Greece is a developed country with an advanced high-income economy . A founding member of the United Nations , Greece was the tenth member to join what is today the European Union in 1981 and is part of the eurozone . It is a member of other international institutions, including
9280-559: The United Kingdom , each sent a navy. The allied fleet destroyed the Ottoman–Egyptian fleet at the Battle of Navarino , and the Greeks captured Central Greece by 1828. The nascent Greek state was recognised under the London Protocol in 1830. In 1827, Ioannis Kapodistrias , was chosen by the Third National Assembly at Troezen as the first governor of the First Hellenic Republic . Kapodistrias established state, economic and military institutions. Tensions appeared between him and local interests and, following his assassination in 1831 and
9440-409: The Western Macedonia region of Northern Greece may be the oldest known hominin settlement outside of Africa dating back to at least 2.5 million years BP, but this claim is controversial. The earliest undisputed traces of human habitation in present-day Greece, however, were discovered in Arcadia , Peloponnesus and date back 700,000 years. The Apidima Cave in Mani , southern Greece, contains
9600-405: The election . In 2020, Greece's parliament elected a non-partisan candidate, Katerina Sakellaropoulou , as the first female President of Greece . In February 2024, Greece became the first Orthodox Christian country to recognise same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. Located in Southern and Southeast Europe, Greece consists of a mountainous, peninsular mainland jutting out into
9760-414: The helots , a subjugated population of Sparta, revolt. This strategy required that Athens endure regular sieges , and in 430 BC it was visited with an awful plague that killed about a quarter of its people , including Pericles. With Pericles gone, less conservative elements gained power in the city and Athens went on the offensive. In 425 BC, it captured 300–400 Spartan hoplites (soldiers) at
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#17327764998319920-402: The 19th century, many "crypto-Christians" returned to their old religious allegiance. The nature of Ottoman administration of Greece varied, though it was invariably arbitrary and often harsh. Some cities had governors appointed by the Sultan , while others, like Athens, were self-governed municipalities. Mountainous regions in the interior and many islands remained effectively autonomous from
10080-426: The 2nd and 3rd centuries, and Christianity's early leaders and writers were mostly Greek-speaking, though not from Greece itself. The New Testament was written in Greek, and some sections attest to the importance of churches in Greece in early Christianity . Nevertheless, much of Greece clung to paganism, and ancient Greek religious practices were still in vogue in the late 4th century AD, when they were outlawed by
10240-417: The 4th and 6th centuries. In the early 6th century, Greece had approximately 80 cities according to the Synekdemos chronicle, and the 4th to the 7th century is considered one of high prosperity. Until the 8th century almost all of modern Greece was under the jurisdiction of the Holy See of Rome . Byzantine Emperor Leo III moved the border of the Patriarchate of Constantinople westward and northward in
10400-432: The 4th century BC, the Greek poleis were subjugated to the rising power of the kingdom of Macedon under king Philip II into an alliance known as the Hellenic League . After Philip's assassination in 336 BC, his son and king of Macedon , Alexander , set himself leader of a Panhellenic campaign against the Persian Empire and abolished it. Undefeated in battle, he marched, until his untimely death in 323 BC, to
10560-451: The 50 years of peace afterwards are known as the Golden Age of Athens , a seminal period that laid many foundations of Western civilization. Lack of political unity resulted in frequent conflict between Greek states. The most devastating intra-Greek war was the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which marked the demise of the Athenian Empire and the emergence of Spartan and later Theban hegemony . Weakened by constant wars among them during
10720-415: The 5th century, is known as the Byzantine Empire , but called "Kingdom of the Romans" in its own time. With its capital in Constantinople , its language and culture were Greek and its religion was predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christian . The Empire's Balkan territories, including Greece, suffered from the dislocation of barbarian invasions ; raids by Goths and Huns in the 4th and 5th centuries and
10880-667: The 7th or 8th centuries BC. Poetry shaped beliefs to the Olympian gods , but ancient Greek religion had no priestly class or systematic dogmas and encompassed other currents, such as popular cults, like that of Dionysus , mysteries and magic . At this time there emerged kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, which spread to the shores of the Black Sea , Magna Graecia in southern Italy , and Asia Minor . These reached great prosperity that resulted in an unprecedented cultural boom, that of classical Greece , expressed in architecture , drama , science , mathematics and philosophy . In 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted
11040-426: The 8th century. The Byzantine recovery of lost provinces during the Arab–Byzantine wars began in the 8th century and most of the Greek peninsula came under imperial control again. This process was facilitated by a large influx of Greeks from Sicily and Asia Minor to the Greek peninsula, while many Slavs were captured and re-settled in Asia Minor. During the 11th and 12th centuries the return of stability resulted in
11200-454: The Achaean cities away from their nominal loyalty to Philip, and formed alliances with Rhodes and Pergamum, now the strongest power in Asia Minor . The First Macedonian War broke out in 212 BC and ended inconclusively in 205 BC, but Macedon was now marked as an enemy of Rome. In 202 BC, Rome defeated Carthage and was free to turn her attention eastwards. In 198 BC, the Second Macedonian War broke out because Rome saw Macedon as
11360-402: The Achaeans, and in 227 BC it invaded Achaea and seized control of the League. The remaining Achaeans preferred distant Macedon to nearby Sparta and allied with the former. In 222 BC, the Macedonian army defeated the Spartans and annexed their city—the first time Sparta had ever been occupied by a different state. Philip V of Macedon was the last Greek ruler with both the talent and
11520-727: The Bulgarians 40,000, and the Italians 9,000. Following liberation, Greece annexed the Dodecanese Islands from Italy and regained Western Thrace from Bulgaria. The country descended into a civil war between communist forces and the anti-communist Greek government, which lasted until 1949, with the latter's victory. The conflict, one of the earliest struggles of the Cold War , resulted in further economic devastation, population displacement and political polarisation for
11680-596: The Diadochi . Ptolemy was left with Egypt , and Seleucus with the Levant , Mesopotamia , and points east. Control of Greece, Thrace , and Anatolia was contested, but by 298 BC the Antigonid dynasty had supplanted the Antipatrid . Macedonian control of the city-states was intermittent, with a number of revolts. Athens, Rhodes , Pergamum , and other Greek states retained substantial independence and joined
11840-620: The Great Powers, however, Greece lost little territory, while Crete was established as an autonomous state under Prince George of Greece . With state coffers empty, fiscal policy came under International Financial Control . The government, aiming to quell Komitadjis and detach the Slavophone peasants of the region from Bulgarian influence, sponsored a guerrilla campaign in Ottoman-ruled Macedonia , known as
12000-679: The Greek peninsula benefiting from economic growth. The Greek Orthodox Church was instrumental in the spread of Greek ideas to the wider Orthodox world . Following the Fourth Crusade and fall of Constantinople to the " Latins " in 1204, mainland Greece was split between the Greek Despotate of Epirus and French rule (the Frankokratia ). The re-establishment of the imperial capital in Constantinople in 1261
12160-676: The Hellenic League in 481 BC, led by Sparta , which was the first recorded union of Greek states since the mythical union of the Trojan War . The second Persian invasion of Greece was decisively defeated in 480–479 BC, at Salamis and Plataea , marking the eventual withdrawal of the Persians from all their European territories. The Greek victories in the Greco-Persian Wars are a pivotal moment in history, as
12320-623: The Ionian Islands, located to the west of the mainland in the Ionian Sea. The climate of Greece is primarily Mediterranean ( Köppen : Csa ), featuring mild to cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. This climate occurs at most of the coastal locations, including Athens , the Cyclades , the Dodecanese , Crete , the Peloponnese , the Ionian Islands , and parts of mainland Greece . The Pindus mountain range strongly affects
12480-584: The Ionian islands and Constantinople lived in prosperity, and Greeks of Constantinople ( Phanariots ) achieved power within the Ottoman administration, much of Greece suffered the economic consequences of Ottoman conquest. Heavy taxes were enforced, and in later years the Ottoman Empire enacted a policy of creation of hereditary estates, effectively turning the rural Greek populations into serfs , while
12640-554: The Middle and Upper. This is partly due to the intense tectonic activity in the Greek area and the rise and fall of the Aegean Sea which destroyed every trace of habitation from some geographical regions. Paleolithic finds from Greece were first reported in 1867, but the first organized research on the sites was conducted many years later, between 1927 and 1931, by the Austrian archaeologist Adalbert Markovits. The first excavation of
12800-526: The Orient, in art as well as in religion and mythology. Archaeologically, Archaic Greece is marked by Geometric pottery . The basic unit of politics in Ancient Greece was the polis ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : πόλις ), sometimes translated as " city-state ". The term lends itself to the modern English word "politics", which literally means "the things of the polis ". At least in theory, each polis
12960-645: The Ottoman Empire, established communities throughout the Mediterranean, the Balkans, and Europe, and used their wealth to fund educational activities that brought younger generations into contact with Western ideas. In the 18th century, an increase in learning during the Modern Greek Enlightenment led to the emergence among Westernized Greek-speaking elites of the notion of a Greek nation . A secret organization formed in this milieu
13120-665: The Ottoman conquest had cut Greece off from European historical developments. The Greek Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople were considered by the Ottoman governments as the ruling authorities of the entire Orthodox Christian population of the Ottoman Empire, whether ethnically Greek or not. Although the Ottoman state did not force non-Muslims to convert to Islam , Christians faced discrimination. Discrimination, particularly when combined with harsh treatment by local Ottoman authorities, led to conversions to Islam, if only superficially. In
13280-515: The Ottomans in 1453 and by 1460, Ottoman conquest of mainland Greece was complete. While most of mainland Greece and the Aegean islands was under Ottoman control by the end of the 15th century, Cyprus and Crete remained Venetian and did not fall to the Ottomans until 1571 and 1669 respectively and Venice maintained control of the Ionian Islands until 1797, after which they fell under first French, then British control. While some Greeks in
13440-459: The Ottomans in 1877 , Greek sentiment rallied to Russia, but Greece was too poor and concerned about British intervention, to enter the war. Greeks in Crete continued to stage revolts, and in 1897, the Greek government, bowing to popular pressure, declared war on the Ottomans. In the ensuing Greco-Turkish War of 1897 , the badly trained and equipped Greek army was defeated. Through the intervention of
13600-618: The Paralia were abandoned around 3,000 BC. The Franchthi area of Kiladha Bay is considered a strong candidate for having a submerged Neolithic village, and in 2012 a search was launched for any underwater evidence of such a site. Called the Bay of Kiladha Project, it is a collaboration between the University of Geneva and the Greek Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities . Its first step was to conduct coring, sampling, and charting to create
13760-778: The Peloponnesian War began in 415 BC when Athens embarked on the Sicilian Expedition in Magna Graecia to support its ally Segesta in Sicily against an attack by Syracuse (a Spartan ally also in Sicily) and conquer the island. Initially, Sparta was reluctant to help Syracuse, but Alcibiades , the Athenian general who had argued for the Sicilian Expedition, defected to the Spartan cause after being accused of grossly impious acts. Alcibiades convinced
13920-637: The Peloponnesian War began in earnest. The first stage of the war (known as the Archidamian War for the Spartan king Archidamus II ) lasted until 421 BC with the signing of the Peace of Nicias . It began with the Athenian general Pericles recommending that his city fight a defensive war, avoiding battle against the superior land forces led by Sparta, and importing everything needful by maintaining its powerful navy. Athens would simply outlast Sparta, whose citizens feared leave their city for long lest
14080-718: The Persians, the treasury was moved from Delos to Athens, further strengthening the latter's control over the League. The Delian League was eventually referred to pejoratively as the Athenian Empire. In 458 BC, while the Persian Wars were still ongoing, war broke out between the Delian League and the Peloponnesian League , comprising Sparta and its allies. After some inconclusive fighting,
14240-609: The Polytechnic uprising. A democratic and republican constitution was promulgated in 1975 following a referendum which chose not to restore the monarchy. Meanwhile, Andreas Papandreou , George Papandreou's son, founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in response to Karamanlis's conservative New Democracy party, with the two political formations dominating government over the next four decades. Greece rejoined NATO in 1980. Greece became
14400-714: The Roman Empire, which carried a version of it to many parts of Europe. Ancient Greek civilization has been immensely influential on the language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, art, and architecture of the modern world, particularly during the Renaissance in Western Europe and again during various neo-classical revivals in 18th- and 19th-century Europe and the Americas. The Greek Dark Ages ( c. 1100 – c. 800 BC) refers to
14560-569: The Roman emperor Theodosius I in 391–392. The last recorded Olympic games were held in 393, and many temples were destroyed or damaged in the century that followed. The closure of the Neoplatonic Academy of Athens by Emperor Justinian in 529 is considered the end of antiquity, although there is evidence that the academy continued. The Roman Empire in the east, following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in
14720-634: The Spartans that they could not allow Athens to subjugate Syracuse. The campaign ended in disaster for the Athenians. After the Athenian defeat in Sicily, Athens' Ionian possessions rebelled with the support of Sparta, as advised by Alcibiades. In 411 BC, an oligarchical revolt in Athens held out the chance for peace, but the Athenian navy, which remained committed to the democracy, refused to accept
14880-556: The Terra Submersa team, led by Julien Beck, was waiting for permission to conduct their survey of the Franchthi area of Kiladha Bay. To bide their time they ran some training dives several hundred metres north, just outside the mouth of the Bay, at Lambayanna Beach. These dives revealed very old pottery fragments and odd seafloor anomalies that piqued their interest. Returning in 2015 for a more thorough investigation, they found
15040-480: The Turks and Egyptians ravaged the islands, committing massacres . This galvanized opinion in western Europe in favour of the Greeks. The Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II negotiated with Mehmet Ali of Egypt , who agreed to send his son Ibrahim Pasha with an army, in return for territorial gain. By the end of 1825, most of the Peloponnese was under Egyptian control. Three great powers , France , Russian Empire , and
15200-482: The adoption of the euro, Greece could no longer devalue its currency to regain competitiveness. In the 2012 elections, there was major political change, with new parties emerging from the collapse of the two main parties, PASOK and New Democracy. In 2015, Alexis Tsipras was elected as prime minister, the first outside the two main parties. The Greek government-debt crisis , and subsequent austerity policies, resulted in social strife. The crisis ended around 2018, with
15360-481: The advent of Christianity , it did mark the end of Greek political independence. During the Hellenistic period, the importance of "Greece proper" (that is, the territory of modern Greece) within the Greek-speaking world declined sharply. The great centres of Hellenistic culture were Alexandria and Antioch , capitals of Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria , respectively. (See Hellenistic civilization for
15520-529: The already weakened Mycenaeans. The period that follows these events is collectively known as the Greek Dark Ages. Kings ruled throughout this period until eventually they were replaced with an aristocracy , then still later, in some areas, an aristocracy within an aristocracy—an elite of the elite. Warfare shifted from a focus on the cavalry to a great emphasis on infantry. Due to its cheapness of production and local availability, iron replaced bronze as
15680-697: The banks of the Indus . Alexander's empire fragmented, inaugurating the Hellenistic period . After fierce conflict amongst themselves, the generals that succeeded Alexander and their successors founded large personal kingdoms in the areas he had conquered, such as that of the Ptolemies in Egypt and of the Seleucids in Syria , Mesopotamia and Iran . The newly founded poleis of these kingdoms, such as Alexandria and Antioch , were settled by Greeks as members of
15840-720: The base of the future Mycenean civilization were developed. Early Bronze Age settlements saw further development during Helladic III, exemplified by the Tiryns culture ( c. 2200 – c. 2000 BC ), and the Middle Helladic period before the Mycenean period discussed below. Mycenaean civilization originated and evolved from the society and culture of the Early and Middle Helladic periods in mainland Greece. It emerged c. 1600 BC , when Helladic culture
16000-622: The birthplace of democracy , Western philosophy , Western literature , historiography , political science , major scientific and mathematical principles, theatre , and the Olympic Games . From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states known as poleis (singular polis ) that spanned the Mediterranean and Black seas. Philip II of Macedon united most of present-day Greece in
16160-526: The central Ottoman state for centuries. The 16th and 17th centuries are regarded as a "dark age" in Greek history, with the prospect of overthrowing Ottoman rule appearing remote. However, prior to the Greek Revolution of 1821, there had been wars which saw Greeks fight against the Ottomans, such as the Greek participation in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the Morean War of 1684–1699, and
16320-529: The change and continued fighting in Athens' name. The navy recalled Alcibiades, who had been forced to abandon the Spartan cause after reputedly seducing the wife of Agis II , a Spartan king, and made him its head. The oligarchy in Athens collapsed and Alcibiades reconquered what had been lost for Athens. In 407 BC, Alcibiades was replaced following a minor naval defeat at the Battle of Notium . The Spartan general Lysander , having fortified his city's naval power, began winning victory after victory. Athens won
16480-421: The changing climate and environment ; instead they broadened their resource base to include a variety of small game , wild plants, fish and mollusks . The evidence of an expanding diet of fish and increased use of obsidian from Melos at Franchthi during this period shows they were accomplished seafarers. There is a notable stretch spanning several hundred years (circa 7,900 – 7,500 BC) when tuna became
16640-474: The climate of the country, as areas to the west of the range are considerably wetter on average (due to greater exposure to south-westerly systems bringing in moisture) than the areas lying to the east of the range (due to a rain shadow effect), resulting to some coastal areas in the south falling to the hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen : BSh ) category, such as parts of the Athens Riviera and some of
16800-758: The country one of the most mountainous in Europe. Mount Olympus , the mythical abode of the Greek Gods , culminates at Mytikas peak 2,918 metres (9,573 ft), the highest in the country. Western Greece contains a number of lakes and wetlands and is dominated by the Pindus mountain range. The Pindus, a continuation of the Dinaric Alps , reaches a maximum elevation of 2,637 m (8,652 ft) at Mt. Smolikas (the second-highest in Greece) and historically has been
16960-496: The dowry was abolished, while education and foreign policy doctrines changed. However, Papandreou's tenure has been associated with corruption, high inflation, stagnation and budget deficits that later caused problems. The country adopted the euro in 2001 and successfully hosted the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. In 2010, Greece suffered from the Great Recession and related European sovereign debt crisis . Due to
17120-528: The earliest attested form of Greek known as Mycenaean Greek . The collapse of the Mycenean civilization ushered in the Greek Dark Ages , from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the year of the first Olympic Games . The Iliad and the Odyssey , the foundational texts of Western literature , are believed to have been composed by Homer in
17280-420: The earliest pre-humans ( Ouranopithecus macedoniensis , 9.6–8.7 million years ago), and of quite possibly the oldest direct ancestor of all humans ( Graecopithecus , 7.2 million years ago) were found in Greece. In addition, 5.7 million year old footprints were found on the Greek island of Crete , which may suggest hominin evolution outside of Africa , contrary to current hypotheses. The Paleolithic period
17440-564: The end of the Neolithic , the last Stone Age period, the Early and Middle Helladic periods were established on the Greek mainland. The slow transition from the Final Neolithic period took place with the Eutresis culture ( c. 3200 – c. 2650 BC ). Over hundreds of years, agricultural communities transitioned from stone tools to metal ones. Following such materialistic developments, more powerful micro-states and
17600-513: The end of the bailout mechanisms and return of growth. Simultaneously, Tsipras, and the leader of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev , signed the Prespa Agreement , solving the naming dispute that had strained the relations and eased the latter's way to become a member of the EU and NATO. In 2019, Kyriakos Mitsotakis became Greece's new prime minister, after his centre-right New Democracy won
17760-508: The endangered brown bear , the Eurasian lynx , the roe deer , and the wild goat. Franchthi Cave Humans first occupied the cave during the Upper Paleolithic , appearing around 38,000BC (and possibly earlier.) Groups continued to live in or seasonally visit the cave throughout the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras, with occasional short episodes of apparent abandonment. Last occupied around 3,000 BC (Final Neolithic), Franchthi
17920-473: The establishment of economic relations with the East, a stratum of wealthy euergetai dominated their internal life. From about 200 BC the Roman Republic became increasingly involved in Greek affairs and engaged in a series of wars with Macedon . Macedon's defeat at the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC signalled the end of Antigonid power. In 146 BC, Macedonia was annexed as a province by Rome, and
18080-421: The evidence supports the foreign introduction of domesticated plants and animals. The Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of Greece rapidly adopted the methods introduced to them by Neolithic colonists, including at Franchthi Cave. During the Neolithic , the main occupancy of the cave shifted to an area outside the entrance, called the Paralia (the seaside), where terracing walls for growing crops were built. It
18240-399: The few arable places in the country. Greece features a vast number of islands —between 1,200 and 6,000, depending on the definition, 227 of which are inhabited. Crete is the largest and most populous island; Euboea , separated from the mainland by the 60 m-wide Euripus Strait , is the second largest, followed by Lesbos and Rhodes . The Greek islands are traditionally grouped into
18400-528: The fleet landed and faced the Athenian army at Marathon , which ended in a decisive Athenian victory. Darius's successor, Xerxes I , launched the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC. Despite Greek defeat at Thermopylae , after which the Persians briefly overran northern and central Greece, the Greek city-states once again managed to comprehensively defeat the invaders with naval victory at Salamis and victory on land at Plataea . To prosecute
18560-821: The following clusters: the Argo-Saronic Islands in the Saronic gulf near Athens; the Cyclades, a large but dense collection occupying the central part of the Aegean Sea; the North Aegean islands , a loose grouping off the west coast of Turkey; the Dodecanese, another loose collection in the southeast between Crete and Turkey; the Sporades , a small tight group off the coast of northeast Euboea; and
18720-417: The fourth century BC, with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the known ancient world from the eastern Mediterranean to northwestern India. The subsequent Hellenistic period saw the height of Greek culture and influence in antiquity. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its continuation, the Byzantine Empire , which
18880-410: The history of Greek culture outside Greece in this period.) Athens and her allies revolted against Macedon upon hearing that Alexander the Great had died in 323 BC, but were defeated within a year in the Lamian War . Meanwhile, a struggle for power broke out among Alexander's generals, which resulted in the break-up of his empire and the establishment of a number of new kingdoms in the Wars of
19040-490: The majority are located near the coast. Franchthi Cave , the Kalamakia Cave in Mani ( Peloponnese ), the Asprochaliko Cave in Epirus (where the first excavation took place in 1960) and the Theopetra Cave are among the most important Mesolithic sites in Greece and Southeast Europe , and were inhabited almost continuously throughout the Paleolithic and the Mesolithic Period. The Neolithic Revolution reached Europe beginning in 7000–6500 BC when agriculturalists from
19200-408: The metal of choice in the manufacturing of tools and weapons. Slowly, however, equality grew among the different sects of people, leading to the dethronement of the various kings and the rise of the family. At the end of this period of stagnation, the Greek civilization was engulfed in a renaissance that spread throughout the Greek world as far as the Black Sea and Spain . Writing was relearned from
19360-400: The military, made Greece a member of the Balkan League , and led it through the Balkan Wars . By 1913, Greece's territory and population had doubled, annexing Crete, Epirus , and Macedonia . The struggle between King Constantine I and charismatic Venizelos over foreign policy on the eve of First World War dominated politics and divided the country into two opposing groups . During parts of
19520-415: The new junta strongman. On 20 July 1974, Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus in response to a Greek-backed Cypriot coup, triggering a crisis in Greece that led to the regime's collapse and restoration of democracy through Metapolitefsi . The former prime minister Konstantinos Karamanlis was invited back from self-exile and the first multiparty elections since 1964 were held on the first anniversary of
19680-456: The next thirty years. Although post-war was characterised by social strife and marginalisation of the left, Greece experienced rapid economic growth and recovery, propelled in part by the U.S. Marshall Plan . In 1952, Greece joined NATO , reinforcing its membership in the Western Bloc of the Cold War. King Constantine II 's dismissal of George Papandreou 's centrist government in 1965 prompted political turbulence, which culminated in
19840-438: The northeastern Argolid , in the Peloponnesos of southern Greece. Athens , Pylos , Thebes , and Tiryns also have important Mycenaean sites. Mycenaean civilization was dominated by a warrior aristocracy . Around 1400 BC, the Mycenaeans extended their control to Crete , the center of the Minoan civilization , and adopted a form of the Minoan script Linear A to write an early form of Greek . The Mycenaean-era script
20000-427: The occupation of Franchthi Cave occurred during the Younger Dryas climate cooling event, after which a Mesolithic culture appeared as the world settled into the warm Holocene climate that continues today. The Mesolithic is represented by only a few sites in Greece , and, like Franchthi, nearly all of them are close to the coast. They did not rely as heavily on big game as their predecessors, probably due to
20160-490: The official name of the Greek state, the Hellenic Republic ( Ελληνική Δημοκρατία , [eliniˈci ðimokraˈti.a] ). The English names Greece and Greek are derived, via the Latin Graecia and Graecus , from the name of the Graeci ( Γραικοί , Graikoí ; singular Γραικός , Graikós ), one of first ancient Greek tribes to settle Magna Graecia in southern Italy . The Apidima Cave in Mani , in southern Greece, has been suggested to contain
20320-403: The oldest known remains of anatomically modern humans outside of Africa , dated to 210,000 years ago. Currently known anthropological and archaeological finds allow the division of the Paleolithic in the Greek area into Lower (700,000–100,000 BP), Middle (100,000–35,000 BP) and Upper Palaeolithic (35,000–11,000 BP). There are, to date, few sites of the Lower Paleolithic, whereas there are more of
20480-410: The oldest remains of early modern humans outside of Africa, dated to 200,000 years ago. However others suggest the remains represent archaic humans . All three stages of the Stone Age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave . Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe, as Greece lies on the route by which farming spread from
20640-412: The opportunity to unite Greece and preserve its independence against the ever-increasing power of Rome. Under his auspices, the Peace of Naupactus (217 BC) brought conflict between Macedon and the Greek leagues to an end, and at this time he controlled all of Greece except Athens, Rhodes, and Pergamum. In 215 BC, however, Philip formed an alliance with Rome's enemy Carthage . Rome promptly lured
20800-418: The period of Greek history from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean civilization in the 11th century BC to the rise of the first Greek city-states in the 9th century BC and the epics of Homer and earliest writings in the Greek alphabet in the 8th century BC. The collapse of the Mycenaean civilization coincided with the fall of several other large empires in the near east, most notably
20960-456: The periods of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations, while others argue that these civilizations were so different from later Greek cultures that they should be classed separately. Traditionally, the Ancient Greek period was taken to begin with the date of the first Olympic Games in 776 BC, but most historians now extend the term back to about 1000 BC, toward the beginning of the Greek Dark Ages. The Greek Dark Ages are succeeded by
21120-407: The rest of Greece became a Roman protectorate. The process was completed in 27 BC, when emperor Augustus annexed the rest of Greece and constituted it as the senatorial province of Achaea . Despite their military superiority, the Romans admired and became heavily influenced by Greek culture. Greek-speaking communities of the Hellenised East were instrumental in the spread of Christianity in
21280-468: The ruins of an Early Bronze Age city. The site spans 1.2 ha (3.0 acres) and lies beneath 1 and 3 m (3 and 10 ft) of water. It includes the foundations of buildings, stone paved surfaces that are likely roads, and what appear to be the remains of a fortification wall with three large towers. Such a defensive structure would be the first of its kind to be discovered from the Early Bronze Age in Greece. The visible remains of Lambayanna are dated to
21440-401: The sea at the southern end of the Balkans , ending at the Peloponnese peninsula (separated from the mainland by the canal of the Isthmus of Corinth ) and strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Its highly indented coastline and numerous islands give Greece the 11th longest national coastline in the world, with 13,676 km (8,498 mi); its land boundary
21600-428: The seeds of discontent in Spartan Greece, inducing the Thebans to attack once more. Their general, Epaminondas , crushed Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC, inaugurating a period of Theban dominance in Greece. In 346 BC, unable to prevail in its ten-year war with Phocis , Thebes called upon Philip II of Macedon for aid. Macedon quickly unified the Greek city-states under Macedonian hegemony into
21760-408: The sequence of occupation. Obsidian from the island of Melos appears at Franchthi as early as 13,000 BC, offering the earliest evidence of seafaring and navigational skills by anatomically modern humans in Greece . (There is evidence that suggests ancient mariners - such as Homo erectus or Homo heidelbergensis – may have reached Crete at least 130,000 years ago.) An apparent break in
21920-415: The tenth member of the European Communities in 1981, ushering in sustained growth. Investments in industrial enterprises and heavy infrastructure, as well as funds from the European Union and growing revenue from tourism, shipping, and a fast-growing service sector raised the standard of living . In 1981, the election of Andreas Papandreou resulted in reforms over the 1980s. He recognised civil marriage,
22080-403: The two sides signed a peace treaty in 447 BC. That peace was stipulated to last thirty years: instead, it held only until 431 BC, with the onset of the Peloponnesian War . The main sources concerning the Peloponnesian war (431–404 BC) are Thucydides 's History of the Peloponnesian War and Xenophon 's Hellenica . Both historians were also Athenian generals who lived through
22240-479: The undeciphered Linear A script and Cretan hieroglyphs . Even the name Minoans is a modern appellation, derived from Minos , the legendary king of Crete. They were primarily a mercantile people engaged in extensive overseas trade throughout the Mediterranean region. Minoan civilization was affected by a number of natural cataclysms, such as the volcanic eruption at Thera ( c. 1628-1627 BC ) and earthquakes ( c. 1600 BC ). In 1425 BC, all
22400-404: The usual wild plant and animal species hunted and gathered during the Mesolithic , suggesting that either the inhabitants of Franchthi had begun to practice agriculture or were trading for seeds and meat with the Neolithic people who had recently arrived from the Near East . There has been some debate about whether agriculture developed locally in Greece , or was introduced by colonists. It
22560-417: The war and then to defend Greece from further Persian attack, Athens founded the Delian League in 477 BC. Initially, each city in the League would contribute ships and soldiers to a common army, but in time Athens allowed (and then compelled) the smaller cities to contribute funds so that it could supply their quota of ships. Secession from the League could be punished. Following military reversals against
22720-469: The war, Greece had two governments: A royalist pro-German one in Athens and a Venizelist pro- Entente one in Thessaloniki . They united in 1917, when Greece entered the war on the side of the Entente. After the war, Greece attempted expansion into Asia Minor , a region with a large native Greek population, but was defeated in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) , contributing to a flight of Asia Minor Greeks . These events overlapped, happening during
22880-483: The war. The war began in 431 BC over a dispute between the cities of Corcyra and Epidamnus . Corinth , an ally of Sparta in the Peloponnesian League , intervened on the Epidamnian side. Fearful lest Corinth capture the Corcyran navy (second only to the Athenian in size), Athens intervened. They prevented Corinth from landing on Corcyra at the Battle of Sybota , laid siege to Potidaea , and forbade all commerce with Corinth's closely situated ally, Megara , with
23040-417: The war. The following era was marked by instability, as over 1.5 million propertyless Greek refugees from Turkey (some of whom could not speak Greek) had to be integrated into Greek society. The refugees made a dramatic population boost, as they were more than a quarter of Greece's prior population. Following the catastrophic events in Asia Minor, the monarchy was abolished via a referendum in 1924 and
23200-478: The way to the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan . Since then, Greek minorities have continued to inhabit former Greek territories (e.g. Turkey , Albania , Italy , Libya , Levant , Armenia , Georgia ), and Greek emigrants have assimilated into differing societies across the globe (e.g., North America, Australia, Northern Europe, South Africa ). At present, most Greeks live in the modern states of Greece (independent since 1821) and Cyprus . Fossils of one of
23360-610: The winter of 1941–42, tens of thousands more died because of reprisals by Nazis and collaborators , the economy was ruined, and most Greek Jews (tens of thousands) were deported and murdered in Nazi concentration camps. The Greek Resistance , one of the most effective resistance movements, fought against the Nazis. The German occupiers committed atrocities, mass executions, and wholesale slaughter of civilians and destruction of towns and villages in reprisals. Hundreds of villages were systematically torched and almost 1 million Greeks left homeless. The Germans executed around 21,000 Greeks,
23520-510: The winter. Most of the inland parts of northern Greece, in Central Macedonia , the lower elevations of Western Macedonia and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace feature a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cfa ) with cold, damp winters and hot, moderately dry summers with occasional thunderstorms. Snowfalls occur every year in the mountains and northern areas, and brief periods of snowy weather are possible even in low-lying southern areas, such as Athens . Phytogeographically , Greece belongs to
23680-426: The world's first democratic system of government in Athens . By 500 BC, the Persian Empire controlled the Greek city states in Asia Minor and Macedonia. Attempts by Greek city-states of Asia Minor to overthrow Persian rule failed , and Persia invaded the states of mainland Greece in 492 BC, but was forced to withdraw after defeat at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. In response, the Greek city-states formed
23840-418: Was accompanied by the empire's recovery of much of the Greek peninsula, while the islands remained under Genoese and Venetian control. During the Paleologi dynasty (1261–1453) a new era of Greek patriotism emerged accompanied by a turning back to ancient Greece. In the 14th century much of the Greek peninsula was lost by the Byzantine Empire to the Serbs and then the Ottomans . Constantinople fell to
24000-407: Was beset by the ramifications of civil strife and the challenge of resettling refugees from Turkey . In 1936 a royalist dictatorship inaugurated a long period of authoritarian rule, marked by military occupation , civil war and military dictatorship . Democracy was restored in 1974–75, leading to the current parliamentary republic . It was a belligerent on the side of the Greek Cypriots in
24160-425: Was divided into many small self-governing communities, a pattern largely dictated by Greek geography, where every island, valley, and plain is cut off from its neighbors by the sea or mountain ranges. The Archaic period can be understood as the Orientalizing period , when Greece was at the fringe, but not under the sway, of the budding Neo-Assyrian Empire . Greece adopted significant amounts of cultural elements from
24320-475: Was introduced, curbing the power of the monarchy to appoint minority governments . Corruption, coupled with increased spending to fund infrastructure like the Corinth Canal , overtaxed the weak economy and forced the declaration of public insolvency in 1893. Greeks were united, however, in their determination to liberate the Hellenic lands under Ottoman rule; the Cretan Revolt (1866–1869) had raised nationalist fervour. When war broke out between Russia and
24480-423: Was moved from Nafplio , where it had been since 1829, to Athens , then a smaller town. The Church of Greece was established as Greece's national church and 25 March, the day of Annunciation , was chosen as the anniversary of the Greek War of Independence to reinforce the link between Greek identity and Orthodoxy . Otto was deposed in 1862 because of the Bavarian-dominated government, heavy taxation, and
24640-541: Was not allied with the Axis . In October 1940, Fascist Italy demanded the surrender of Greece, but it refused , and, in the Greco-Italian War , Greece repelled Italian forces into Albania. French general Charles de Gaulle praised the fierceness of the Greek resistance, but the country fell to urgently dispatched German forces during the Battle of Greece . The Nazis proceeded to administer Athens and Thessaloniki, while other regions were given to Fascist Italy and Bulgaria. Over 100,000 civilians died of starvation during
24800-471: Was otherwise spared. At the Isthmian Games in 196 BC, Flaminius declared all the Greek cities free, although Roman garrisons were placed at Corinth and Chalcis . But the freedom promised by Rome was an illusion. All the cities except Rhodes were enrolled in a new League which Rome ultimately controlled, and aristocratic constitutions were favored and actively promoted. Greece – in Europe (light green & dark grey) – in
24960-424: Was politically independent. However, some poleis were subordinate to others (e.g., a colony traditionally deferred to its mother city, and some had governments wholly dependent upon others (e.g., the Thirty Tyrants in Athens was imposed by Sparta following the Peloponnesian War ), but the titularly supreme power in each polis was located within that city. This meant that when Greece went to war (e.g., against
25120-411: Was predominately Greek in culture and language . The Greek Orthodox Church , which emerged in the first century AD, helped shape modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox world . After the Fourth Crusade in 1204, Latin possessions were established in parts of the Greek peninsula, but most of the area fell under Ottoman rule by the mid-15th century. Following
25280-507: Was the Filiki Eteria , in 1814. They engaged traditional strata of the Greek Orthodox world in their liberal nationalist cause. The first revolt began on 6 March 1821 in the Danubian Principalities , but was put down by the Ottomans. This spurred the Greeks of the Peloponnese and on 17 March the Maniots declared war on the Ottomans. By October 1821 the Greeks had captured Tripolitsa . There were revolts in Crete, Macedonia and Central Greece , which were suppressed. In 1822 and 1824
25440-405: Was transformed under influences from Minoan Crete , and it lasted until the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces c. 1100 BC . Mycenaean Greece is the Late Helladic Bronze Age civilization of Ancient Greece , and it formed the historical setting of the epics of Homer and most of Greek mythology and religion . The Mycenaean period takes its name from the archaeological site Mycenae in
25600-459: Was used as a shelter for around 35,000 years and is one of the most thoroughly studied sites from the stone age in Southeast Europe . T. W. Jacobsen, a professor of classical archaeology and classical studies at Indiana University , began excavations at Franchthi Cave in 1967. The dig was only intended to temporarily occupy Jacobsen and his fellow researcher, M.H. Jameson, for one short season, while they waited for land use issues to be resolved at
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