The Ancient Greeks

It took a collection of farm-based communities to unite in order for cities to develop in Greece. Such cities had all the characteristics of sovereign states and led to them being described as city-states. The Greeks had found themselves able to grow an economy through trade with neighbouring states with, amongst other things, wine and olive oil. This had the effect of a rapid rise in population which put a strain on resources for a while in the Eighth Century BC. This strain was relieved by shipping groups to found settlements throughout the coastal Mediterranean region and even as far away as the Black Sea, so that they could sustain themselves.

The Greeks, always open to new and innovative ideas, established a system of money about a century later after the Lydians had the original concept. There was a period of power struggles and political upheaval. The monarchy had been replaced by aristocracies in the form of the landowner nobility, who in turn were usurped by tyrants, who took power by coercion.

Greek democracy was introduced in the year 510 BC after the Pisistratus was expelled from Athens; although only free men had any voting rights. Because these communities were small, eligible citizens could speak for themselves at executive and legislative meetings. The two dividing notions of how society should be run were democracy (rule by all free men) and oligarchy (rule by rich people). Democracy was more popular in Athens and oligarchy was more popular in Sparta. Sparta had a far greater proportion of slaves (called helots) in its population than other Greek cities and made it a necessity for Spartans to live a warrior lifestyle from a young age in marked contrast to the way of life in Athens.

The Greeks considered themselves to be a single nation despite the differences between lifestyles between city-states, due to their legal protection and their culture of physical and mental development. All outsiders were called barbarians and perceived to be inferior. The Persian war machine was a threat to the Greek mainland once Athens assisted Greek cities on the eastern coastline of the Aegean Sea, who had been since captured and absorbed into the swelling Persian Empire. The Persians were defeated by the Greeks at Marathon in 490 BC in response to the unsuccessful revolt.

After Darius died his son Xerxes succeeded him as King of Persia. His built a huge army which crossed the Hellespont (water separating Europe from Asia) using a bridge made of boats. Sparta made a valiant sacrifice with 300 men lost to hold the Thermopylae Pass. People fled the city of Athens and the Acropolis was razed to the ground. The Greek navy managed to overcome being outnumbered by the Persians by luring ships into the Straits of Salamis.

The Greeks managed to defeat the Persians for good after the Battle of Plataea. Athens had now become the dominant military force in the region over Sparta. Athens became far stronger a military power under the establishment of the Delian League where allied states paid tribute to Athens and received protection from the Persians.

This was also the time when Greek culture took off. It was famous for its pottery, philosophers and works of poetry. Athens was also the home of Plato and Socrates, whose investigations into human morality had an everlasting influence on Greek history. Sparta was concerned by the growth of Athens and there were clashes between their corresponding alliances. The Athenian leader, Pericles, died of the Plague which allowed the Spartans to destroy land outside the city walls of Athens, though not inside the city itself.

Athens was starved into submission in 404 BC after fruitless naval campaigns. The military prowess of Athens had been weakened to a point it never recovered from. This had the effect of alienating Athens, Corinth and Thebes from Sparta. Thebes attacked Sparta at Leuctra in 371 BC. This crushing blow destroyed not just the Spartan militia but also its reputation for good. Greece was a fractured society for many years after.

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