Today’s visitors to Greece have the opportunity to trace the “fingerprints” of Greek history from the Paleolithic to the Roman Period in the hundreds of archaeological sites, as well as in the museums and archaeological collections that are scattered throughout the country. .
The encounter with history
The first traces of human presence in Greece appeared during the Paleolithic (approximately 120000 – 10000 BC). During the Neolithic Age that followed (approximately 7000 – 3000 BC), a plethora of Neolithic buildings spread throughout the country. Buildings and cemeteries have been discovered in Thessaly, Macedonia, the Peloponnese, etc.
The beginning of the Bronze Age (approx. 3000-1100 BC) is marked by the appearance of the first urban centers in the Aegean region. Flourishing settlements were found in Crete, mainland Greece, the Cyclades, and the northeast Aegean, regions where characteristic cultural patterns developed.
The Minoans
At the beginning of the second millennium BC. Organized palace societies appeared in Minoan Crete, resulting in the development of the first systematic writings in history. The Minoans, with the palace of Knossos as the epicenter, developed a network of communications with races from the eastern Mediterranean region, adopted certain elements and, in turn, decisively influenced the cultures of the Greek mainland and the Aegean islands.
The Mycenaean
In mainland Greece, the Mycenaean Greeks, taking advantage of the destruction caused in Crete by the volcanic eruption of Santorini (around 1500 BC), became the dominant force in the Aegean during the last centuries of the second millennium BC. The Mycenaean acropolis (citadels) at Mycenae, Tirinto, Pylos, Tebas, Athens and Iolcus, became the centers of the bureaucratically organized kingdoms.
The extensive destruction of the Mycenaean centers around 1200 BC. C. led to the decline of the Mycenaean civilization and caused the population to migrate to the coastal regions of Asia Minor and Cyprus (first Greek colonization).
From the dark years to the Archaic
After approximately two centuries of economic and cultural inactivity, which appear in history as the Dark Years (1150 – 900 BC), the Geometric Period (9th – 8th centuries BC) followed . This was the beginning of the Greek Renaissance years. This period was marked by the formation of the Greek city-states, the creation of the Greek alphabet, and the composition of the Homeric epics (late 8th century BC).
The Archaic Years that followed (7th-6th centuries BC) were a period of great social and political change. Greek city-states established colonies as far as Spain to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and North Africa to the south (second Greek colonization) and laid the foundation for the heyday during the Classic Period.
From the golden age to Alexander the Great
The Classic Years (V-IV centuries BC) were characterized by the cultural and political dominance of Athens, so much so that the second half of the V century BC. Later the history called it “Age of Gold of Pericles” . With the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. C., Athens lost its prominence.
New forces emerged during the 4th century BC. The Macedonians, with Felipe II and his son Alexander the Great, began to play a leading role in Greece. Alexander’s campaign to the East and the conquest of all regions up to the Indus River radically changed history in the world, as it was at that time.
Roman occupation
After the death of Alexander the Great , the vast empire he had created was divided among his generals, leading to the creation of kingdoms that would prevail during the Hellenistic Period (3rd-1st centuries BC). In this period, the Greek city-states remained more or less autonomous, but lost much of their former power and prestige. The appearance of the Romans on the scene and the final conquest of Greece in 146 BC forced the country to join the vast Roman Empire.
During the period of Roman occupation (1st century BC – 3rd century AD), most Roman emperors, who admired Greek culture, acted as benefactors of Greek cities, and especially of Athens.
Christianity in Greece
Christianity, the new religion that would lay down the worship of Dodekatheon, (the 12 gods) then spread throughout Greece through the travels of the Apostle Paul during the 1st century AD. The decision of Constantine the Great to move the capital of the empire from Rome to Constantinople (324 AD), shifted the focus of attention to the eastern part of the empire. This change marked the beginning of the Byzantine years, during which Greece became part of the Byzantine Empire.
After 1204, when Constantinople was taken over by the Western Crusaders, parts of Greece were divided between the Western leaders, while the Venetians occupied strategic positions in the Aegean (islands or coastal cities), in order to control trade routes. The reoccupation of Constantinople by the Byzantines in 1262 marked the last stages of the empire’s existence.
The Ottomans gradually began to seize parts of the empire from the 14th century AD. C. and they completed the disintegration of the Greek Empire with the capture of Constantinople in 1453. Crete was the final area of Greece that was occupied by the Ottomans in 1669.
Ottoman rule
Then around four centuries of Ottoman rule followed, until the beginning of the Greek War of Independence in 1821. Numerous monuments from the Byzantine years and the Ottoman occupation period have been preserved, such as Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches and monasteries, Ottoman buildings, charming Byzantine and Frankish castles, various other monuments, as well as traditional settlements, some of which retain their Ottoman and partly Byzantine structure.
The result of the Greek War of Independence was the creation of an independent Greek kingdom in 1830, but with limited sovereign lands.
The new Greek state
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, new areas with compact Greek populations were gradually incorporated into the Greek state. The sovereign land of Greece would reach its maximum after the end of the First World War in 1920, with the substantial contribution of then Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos. The Greek state took its current form after the end of World War II with the incorporation of the Dodecanese islands.
In 1974, after the seven-year dictatorship, a referendum was held and the government changed from a constitutional monarchy to a presidential parliamentary democracy, and in 1981 Greece became a member of the European Union.
