Aegean Civilizations

Civilization in the eastern Mediterranean began at about 3000 BC on the island of Crete. The Minoans were great sailors who became rich through trading .

At about 1500 BC Mycenae, a powerful town on the southern Greek mainland conquered and took control of Crete. Three centuries later the Dorians invaded Greece from the north and drove the Mycenaeans off to Asia.

City States

After 1000 B.C. Dorians and Ionians, who settled in the eastern part of Greece started to build large cities. These cities had their own governments , their own armies and were independent .

The two most powerful city states were Sparta and Athens. Sparta was the strongest and most powerful city state with many soldiers and a huge army. It was only interested in fighting wars. Sparta united surrounding villages and sent armies to conquer its neighbours and bring back slaves .

Athens, on the other side, concentrated on trade , science and other fields. It was the first city to form a democratic government.

Sparta and Athens - two of the most powerful city states

Persian Wars

At about 500 B.C. the Persian empire under Darius I invaded many Greek cities on the Asian coast. By 490 BC the Persians attacked the Greek mainland . Greek armies under Spartan leadership fought back and defeated the Persians.

Peloponnesian War

Under the rule of Pericles Athens had become the most powerful city-state and controlled most of the eastern part of Greece. Pericles wanted to make Athens a beautiful city with many temples. Art , philosophy and general knowledge became important. Sparta thought that Athens would become too powerful. In 431 BC it began a war against Athens.

In 430 BC a plague broke out in Athens and killed a third of its population. After becoming weaker and weaker it finally surrendered to the Spartan army.

Macedonian Rule

As Greek city-states became weaker Macedonia, a kingdom to the north of Greece, grew stronger and stronger. After King Philipp II had conquered all of Greece his son, Alexander, came to power in 336 BC. He set out to conquer Persia and got as far east as India . Alexander the Great spread Greek ideas and the Greek way of life throughout western Asia and the Middle East.

Alexander did not name a successor to his empire . After his death many generals fought for power and his empire broke up into many kingdoms .

Empire of Alexander the Great
Image : Generic Mapping Tools, CC BY-SA 3.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

Roman Rule

In 140 BC Rome took over Greece and the city states. They stayed under Roman rule until 395 AD and then became part of the Byzantine Empire .