Ancient Greek civilisation
developed in the south of
the Balkan Peninsula.
There is no
place in Greece
which is further
than 90 km from
the sea.
Greece is made
up of several
mountain
ranges
separated by
valleys.
They never formed
an unified state, but
they shared a
certain sense of
unity. They referred
to themselves as
Hellenes.
8th - 6th centuries BC.
Poleis were
independent
city-states
consisting of an
urban part
surrounded by a
rural part.
The causes of Greek
colonisation were
the increase in
population and the
uneven distribution
of the territory.
Ancient Greek
civilisation
developed
between the
8th and 1st
centuries BC.
There were 3
periods known
as Archaic,
Classical and
Hellenistic.
They created the
alphabet,
democracy,
money and
ironworking.
Classical Period:
At the beginning of
the 5th century BC,
the Persians tried
to conquer
continental Greece.
The Athenian
army had a key
role in the battles
of Marathon (490
BC) and Salamis
(480BC)
After this, Athens
became the
most important
Greek polis.
After the Greco-Persian wars
ended, Greece entered a civil
war, where Athens fought
against Sparta(431 BC - 404 BC),
Sparta won and imposed its
hegemony.
This left the polis
greatly weakened, and
in the 4th century BC,
Philip of Macedonia
imposed its rule over
all Greece, except for
Sparta.
5th century Bc - 338 BC
Hellenistic Period.
338 BC -30 BC.
Alexander the Great
(356 - 323 BC) started to
conquer more places,
for example, Egypt,
where he founded
several cities with
completely varied and
original names, such as
Alexandria, Alexandria,
Alexandria and
Alexandropolis.
When he died,
his generals
created the
Hellenistic
monarchies.