What was the First True Civilization among the Greek People?
The first true civilization among the Greek people was the Mycenaean Civilization. It originated in the Bronze Age from around 1600 BCE to 1200 BCE. It was a prosperous civilization on the island of Crete.
The period between the Mycenaean Civilization and the death of Alexander the Great is known as the Ancient Greek Civilization. It flourished from 1200 BCE to 323 BCE. It significantly influenced Western culture in all aspects- politics, philosophy, art and culture.
The duration of the Ancient Greek Civilization can be further divided into different periods.
- The Dark Ages from 1200 BCE to 900 BCE
- The Geometric Period from 900 BCE to 700 BCE
- The Orientalizing Period from 700 BCE to 600 BCE
- Archaic Greece from 600 BCE to 480 BCE
- Classical Greece from 480 BCE to 323 BCE
- Hellenistic Greece from 323 BCE to 31 BCE
Greek Civilization – When did it Begin and End?
Ancient Greece is often hailed as the cradle of Western civilization. Flourishing from 1200 BCE to 323 BCE, Ancient Greece was divided into several city states with their own set of political and cultural values. The Greek Civilization has left a lasting and permanent mark on the world through its contributions in philosophy, mythology, literature, art and culture and politics. Some examples of the contributions of Ancient Greece to the world include the birth of democracy in Athens, Homer’s famous poems ‘The Iliad’ and ‘The Odyssey’, philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and mathematicians like Pythagoras and Euclid and their famous theorems.